Alpaca
Bred for fleece rather than meat, and the fleece carries no lanolin, so it does not need scouring. Alpacas hum to one another and share a single dung pile.
Photo by Drew Avery, CC BY 2.0
Overview
Alpacas are kept for fleece, and the fleece is also the thing that can kill them. They grow a heavy coat quickly, they are sheared once a year, and a coated animal in high heat and humidity can go into heat stress, which is an emergency rather than a matter of discomfort. The heat leaves through the underside, the ventral thorax and abdomen, which is why a barrel clip across the trunk is a recognised way to prevent it.
They are herd animals and they do badly kept alone. Three is the usual minimum, and where physical contact is not possible, even being able to see other camelids reduces the stress. An alpaca on its own in a paddock is not a low maintenance lawnmower, it is an animal missing the thing it needs most.
Temperament
Cautious, quiet and not naturally handled. Alpacas are prey animals and they prefer to be near people rather than touched by them, and most of the work of keeping one is done at a distance.
The spitting reputation is mostly about each other. It is how camelids settle disputes over food and status, and a human generally gets caught in the crossfire rather than aimed at. They hum constantly, which is the sound a content herd makes.
Care and grooming
Pasture and hay, with a mineral formulated for camelids rather than one made for sheep or cattle.
Body condition has to be judged by hand, not by eye, because fleece hides everything. The standard method is palpating the lumbar vertebrae and scoring from 1 for emaciated to 5 for obese, aiming at 3, and a fleeced alpaca can be well down that scale before anybody notices. Toenails need trimming, and shearing happens annually whether or not you want the fibre.
Living and exercise
About an acre carries up to five, with shelter, clean water and shade that is genuinely shaded in the middle of summer.
Fencing keeps predators out more than it keeps alpacas in, since they are not escape artists. In hot weather the important things are shade, moving air, cool water and a hose on the belly rather than the back, because wetting the fleece on top traps heat instead of releasing it.
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