Alpaca fiber is oh, so, so warm and socks, hats, scarves, gloves, and sweaters made from alpaca, are the best! Alpacas have their fiber to keep them warm, and honestly they mind the heat much more than the cold. However, there are times and conditions when our alpacas appreciate a little help keeping warm.
Our rule of thumb is that we close the alpacas in the barn, when we hit single digit temperatures. Even alpacas appreciate being able to get out of cold, harsh winds and pelting rain or snow. We line the inside walls of their shelter with bales of straw, stacked three or four high, to cut down on the drafts as well as have handy for layering on top of the manure. Other than the cold and the snow, alpaca care is actually a little easier in the winter because we don’t clean up the manure in the barn. Rather we spread straw on top of the manure. Heat is generated from the lower layers of composting manure and straw.