Among these, we find alpacas for which we know a real craze. Several hundred Belgians have adopted this type of miniature llamas, almost unknown a few years ago. “Not everyone has an alpaca at home,” confides Eric Varlet, owner of the Maquis Alpacas, a breeding farm with around seventy heads located near Gouvy, in the province of Luxembourg. Alpacas must be at least in pairs because they are gregarious animals.”
The alpaca has enormous sympathy thanks to its anthropomorphic face, laughing eyes and its ability to smile. In Eric’s breeding, a little one was born a few days ago. And around thirty females should give birth in the coming weeks.
If some newborns will remain on the farm for their fibers (seven times more insulating than sheep’s wool, thermoregulating, hypoallergenic and particularly soft) others will be sold to other farms, particularly abroad, or, after sterilization, to individuals. “The demand is great and far exceeds births,” confides Eric. “This is proof of the popularity of this very friendly animal, which does not require much care.”
The alpaca is in fact a rustic and robust animal which “adapts to any type of climate” provided it has a sufficiently large plot of land. “It’s an animal that needs a certain amount of space, but less than a horse, however. If you have to count one horse per hectare, you can have up to 10 alpacas on the same surface. have grass and hay available, summer and winter, because European soil is too poor in vitamins and minerals compared to the alpaca’s country of origin. This is why we give them supplemental hay. “
An animal that should not fall into just any hands. “You don’t buy an alpaca like you do a goldfish, but it is an animal that can get by as long as it has enough food and water. For example, it will always do its business. in the same place. And its excrement, which does not smell, is a very good fertilizer for lawns.”
In short, an ideal animal for maintaining large grassy areas. Which also explains its popular success: in Belgium, there are already several hundred domestic alpacas. “We take care of shearing the alpacas that we sell and, in Belgium, we have 516 animals,” concludes Eric.
For those who would like to adopt one, however, you will have to loosen the purse strings: alpacas cost the same as horses. And some breeding males can reach 50,000 euros.
