Authors:
Giorgio Castellaro G., Jorge García-Huidobro P. De A. and Pedro Salinas

Date of Publication:
September 1998

Publication:
Journal of Range Management, Vol. 51, No. 5 (Sep., 1998), pp. 509-513

Abstract:
A study of liveweight changes of alpaca adult males, females, and their progeny, was conducted through 3 seasons under continuous grazing on natural grasslands on the Mediterranean range of the Chilean Central Zone. Liveweight changes were positive and highest in spring (100 to 200 g day^-1), moderate during winter (50 to 100 g day^-1), and negative only at the end of summer and in fall (-110 to -150 g day^-1). Weight gains of new born alpacas were greatest (110 to 150 g day^-1) in the first 90 days after birth and then decreased slightly, reaching values of 75 g day^-1 at 8.5 months old. Weight gains stabilized at 10 to 20 g day^-1 at 3-years of age. The average annual fibre production was 1.57 and 2.36 kg in females and males, respectively; staple length varied between 8 and 10 cm.

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