Is the alpacas industry going to turn out to be like emus or ostriches?
No one can say with absolute certainty that it will not. HOWEVER, there are some huge differences between alpacas and the strange flightless birds that you ask about that would suggest that the alpaca industry will NOT follow the course that emus and ostriches did. First of all, the growth of the herd size of alpacas will be at a much more gradual rate than that of emus and ostriches. A breeding pair of fowl could produce between 60 and 90 fertile eggs per year. It did not take long for the U.S. to become awash in these birds. Alpacas on the other hand have single births (viable twin births are not unheard of, but are extremely rare) and a gestation period of approximately 11.5 months. Also, mass reproductive practices common with other livestock are not useful with alpacas. Because of certain physical characteristics of the alpaca, embryo transfer and artificial insemination are difficult if not impossible. Furthermore, the Alpaca Registry will not recognize animals that are not produ
