Goats and Alpacas – a good match

Goats and Alpacas – a good match?

We started our breeding herd with a very small number of alpacas. These two female alpacas certainly look lost in a 3½-acre pasture! The two males also seemed lonely in a smaller 1½-acre pasture. And no way could they keep the grass clipped, it was up to their bellies in no time. As much as we would have loved to just go out and buy more alpacas, that wasn’t in the budget.

But, we did feel that they would do better with a larger herd so we decided to add a few Nubian Goats. Nubians are not very large – only about 70 lbs full grown – and the ones we bought had been hand raised and were friendly as dogs. Plus, those long droopy ears are pretty darn cute. We got 3 yearling unbred females that we put in the alpaca males and 4 bottle-babies (3 female and 1 wether) to finish off weaning and join the alpaca females. All 7 goats had been de-horned.

The good things...

In terms of providing company and allowing the alpacas feel safer and more comfortable by being part of larger herd; putting them together has been a major success. They play and chase each other around the pasture or they all drowse and chew cud in happy companionship.

The goats and alpacas quickly bonded and it’s adorable the way the goats respond to alpaca alarm calls.They come running and hollering to see what’s the matter. The goats have actually been somewhat useful as herd guardians because they tend to holler and make a loud racket if anyone or anything comes near the pasture fence. Frequently, I can hear the goats carrying on even when the alpacas are not alarming.

Goats, at least these goats, are very friendly and want to get close to people and beg for scratches and treats. I believe the alpacas observed this behavior and were more inclined to be friendly and trusting of us as a result.That’s not the only thing the goats have taught the alpacas. Goats are very sensible about taking shelter when it’s rainy, cold, or windy. I believe the alpacas tend to follow the goats inside – most of the time.

For an alpaca breeder, goats are simple to care for because they need very similar care to alpacas. They need their hooves trimmed; they need to be wormed and to have their routine vaccinations. They mainly eat forage with just supplemental minerals or specially formulated pellets. In fact, they tend to eat the weeds and brushy things in the pasture that the alpaca are less inclined to eat.

The Down Side...

First off, goats do not share alpacas’ tidy toilet habits. They just go where and when they please. So you have a higher risk that the alpacas will be grazing in an area where goats have defecated with the attendant risk of internal parasites being ingested. This means a more careful monitoring of internal parasites is in order.

Second, the nutritional requirements of goats and alpacas are similar, but not identical. Generally speaking the alpaca formulated pellets and minerals are a good deal more expensive than goat pellets and minerals. And, again speaking about my goats, goats are much more aggressive and piggy eaters than the alpacas. So in order to ensure that only alpacas are eating the expensive alpaca pellets, we’ve had to implement a practice of separating the goats from the alpacas at feeding time by confining one group or the other in paddocks. Sorting them out is not a huge problem, but you might be surprised at how inconvenient it can be – especially in bad weather.

Third, goats are pesky creatures – maybe a little too friendly and curious. If you’re working in the pasture they’ll carry off tools or gloves and just generally interfere with your activity. And, when we have prospective buyers in to see the alpacas, we have to confine the goats or they’ll mob the visitors for treats and the shyer alpacas can’t get near.

Lastly, even shorthaired goats like Nubians grow a longer winter coat and shed it in the spring – all over everywhere. Last year when the alpacas were sheared, there was an undesirable number of coarse goat hairs caught in the alpaca fiber that had to be picked out when I was skirting.

My Final Thoughts...

Keeping goats and alpacas together has been a better strategy than I hoped, but now that my herd is growing the downsides are beginning to outweigh the advantages. As the alpacas have more of their own kind, I’ll build a nice safe “retirement” pasture for the goats and let them live out their lives in peace and comfort. They’ve earned their keep.