If you are looking for Vicunas for sale, you are probably looking for Paco-Vicunas. These offer the best traits of a Vicuna and an Alpaca combined. A Vicuna is a wild animal that has hair less than half the diameter of the finest sheep wool. It needs this fine hair as an insulating coat because it lives high up in the Andes in freezing conditions.
The Vicuna is believed to be the wild ancestor of the Alpaca. They are both part of the Camelidae family but the Alpaca is domesticated. The unusual mating habits and bullish behavior of a Vicuna make it unsuitable for domestication. Its body is uniquely adapted to survive the high altitudes and the cold. It is smaller than other camels but otherwise looks much like them with a long neck, padded, cloven feet, thin legs and huge, round eyes.
The fleece of the Vicuna is not only fine but it is warm too. The fibers are air-filled and tiny scales on these fibers lock together, making pockets to trap air. The super-fine fibers are slow growing which means that the yield is not as high as from the faster growing Paco-Vicunas that can be sheared more often.
These animals were being slaughtered for their fine fleece and they almost became extinct. Fortunately, this situation has been reversed by conservation efforts. Capture and shave programs have also been instituted by the governments of Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina whereby local communities profit from keeping these animals alive. Roundups called Chacus are held to capture the animals. They are then shaved and set free. The fibers are sold to foreigners who turn the raw materials into usable items.
Foreigners pay for the raw materials which they then have made into items that fetch excellent prices. The demand for this fleece is larger than the supply as the yield is not very high. Farmers in the United States, seeing a demand, began to look for solutions.
Paco-vicuna have existed for some time in small quantities in South America. Now they can be found on over a dozen farms in the United States. Breeders select animals that exhibit stronger Vicuna traits. The resulting offspring vary, often having the longer fleece length of an Alpaca but finer fleece than an Alpaca. These farmers have the aim of achieving the finest coats they can. The Alpaca traits they are looking for are the gentleness of disposition and a faster growing fleece. The unit measuring the fineness is a micron.
Breeding females and herd sires are available for purchase from breeding farms. At present there are not that many of these animals available but the interest in breeding them is growing all the time. As this industry is in its beginning stages, it is likely to grow speedily over the next few years. There is even a registry where information on them is kept. Six classifications are defined and all animals are DNA tested and micro chipped.
Breeding these animals offers an excellent money making opportunity. If you are wanting to find Vicunas for sale, there are a number of breeding farms with online websites. An online search shows stock available for purchase with photographs for viewing.
The Vicuna is believed to be the wild ancestor of the Alpaca. They are both part of the Camelidae family but the Alpaca is domesticated. The unusual mating habits and bullish behavior of a Vicuna make it unsuitable for domestication. Its body is uniquely adapted to survive the high altitudes and the cold. It is smaller than other camels but otherwise looks much like them with a long neck, padded, cloven feet, thin legs and huge, round eyes.
The fleece of the Vicuna is not only fine but it is warm too. The fibers are air-filled and tiny scales on these fibers lock together, making pockets to trap air. The super-fine fibers are slow growing which means that the yield is not as high as from the faster growing Paco-Vicunas that can be sheared more often.
These animals were being slaughtered for their fine fleece and they almost became extinct. Fortunately, this situation has been reversed by conservation efforts. Capture and shave programs have also been instituted by the governments of Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina whereby local communities profit from keeping these animals alive. Roundups called Chacus are held to capture the animals. They are then shaved and set free. The fibers are sold to foreigners who turn the raw materials into usable items.
Foreigners pay for the raw materials which they then have made into items that fetch excellent prices. The demand for this fleece is larger than the supply as the yield is not very high. Farmers in the United States, seeing a demand, began to look for solutions.
Paco-vicuna have existed for some time in small quantities in South America. Now they can be found on over a dozen farms in the United States. Breeders select animals that exhibit stronger Vicuna traits. The resulting offspring vary, often having the longer fleece length of an Alpaca but finer fleece than an Alpaca. These farmers have the aim of achieving the finest coats they can. The Alpaca traits they are looking for are the gentleness of disposition and a faster growing fleece. The unit measuring the fineness is a micron.
Breeding females and herd sires are available for purchase from breeding farms. At present there are not that many of these animals available but the interest in breeding them is growing all the time. As this industry is in its beginning stages, it is likely to grow speedily over the next few years. There is even a registry where information on them is kept. Six classifications are defined and all animals are DNA tested and micro chipped.
Breeding these animals offers an excellent money making opportunity. If you are wanting to find Vicunas for sale, there are a number of breeding farms with online websites. An online search shows stock available for purchase with photographs for viewing.
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