Alpacas produce luxurious fleece but did you know how much fun there is in breeding them? These eco-friendly animals are suited to small lifestyle blocks as well as large broad-acre farms. Their soft padded foot, communal dung piles, low water intake and gentle grazing nature make them very low impact on the land. The region offers friendly, personalised service to prospective alpaca owners whether you are looking for pets, lawn mowers, herd guards or breeding stock.  Alpaca owners love to talk about their animals and have a wealth of information to share including offering the opportunity to inspect hundreds of alpacas on-farm giving you an insight into their feeding and fencing requirements. Some of our members provide ongoing management support and agistment.

Alpacas are members of the camelid family and are native to South America.  They have been bred throughout Queensland and in most States of Australia for well over a decade. See our Local Breeders listing to find someone closeby who can assist you in learning more about alpacas.

There are two types of alpacas, the more common Huacaya (pronounced wa-kay-ya) and the rarer Suri with its dreadlocked fleece. Both types are thriving in Queensland and our members continue to be successful in breed shows both at a State and National level.

Activities

We currently have over 106 members in our growing region, who are committed to continually working to improve the quality of their individual herds through better husbandry, breeding and knowledge and are active members of the Australian Alpaca Association.  We have a motivated regional committee and an enthusiastic membership who meet regularly and cooperate in educational field days, workshops hosted by interstate speakers, shows, fleece collection days and social activities (see Calendar of Events).

Newsletter - QRIA

The regional newsletter, the QRIA (Queensland Region Information on Alpacas) is published four times a year.  It is not only a major communication medium for members, but contains a wealth of informative articles including insight into breeders' exeriences, new arrivals, animals for sale and relevant items of commercial interest. Members are encouraged to send interesting articles and photographs to the Editor for inclusion in the newsletter. An index and picture of the latest edition is available at the link above. All our members receive this publication but you might consider a subscription of $20 per annum by contacting our Editor.

More Information

If you are interested in becoming part of this exciting livestock and fleece growth industry or merely researching some aspects of it, please refer to our Committee Contacts orLocal Breeders pages or email our Secretary for an information pack to be sent to you.

If you would like Alpaca Information Pack sent to you, please EMAIL US with your postal address and one will be posted to you free of charge

BUSH FIRE ALERT - QUEENSLAND

Currently there are several serious bush fires around Queensland. Breeders should be vigilant and be consulting Rural Fire Service Queensland website, Queensland Police Service Facebook page to watch for news in their area.

There are several very good websites with Bush Fire Plans to familiarize yourself with preparing for such an event (Rural Fire Service NSW, DPIW Tasmania has excellent information on caring for livestock emergencies, Country Fire Service Information on protecting livestock. Be prepared but stay safe. For emergencies call 000