Paco-vicuñas are a breed of alpaca that is known for its exceedingly dense, fine fleece. Alpacas that exhibit the traits of their wild ancestors, the vicuña, are being selectively bred to keep the gentle disposition of today’s alpaca without losing the fine fiber of the vicuña.

If you are looking for the next big thing in the animal world, think paco-vicuña. (P-V) These unique alpacas are catching on in a big way. They have fiber nearly as fine as the pure vicuña but also have the gentle disposition of the alpaca.

With the coming end of the breeders market in the alpaca industry, the focus will no longer be on ribbon winning show animals. Instead, many breeders will be making their living selling the wool. (Which is actually very fine hair as it does not contain lanolin as wool does.) The finer the fiber, the more money it will bring. Here’s where the P-V comes in. The extremely fine microns of their fiber will pull more dollars from sales than from most alpaca fleeces. The breeders of P-V’s will be at the forefront of this industry and reap the rewards of having a much sought after product.

Traditional alpaca ranches who want to have alpacas with fiber that sells for top dollar can cross their alpacas with P-V’s and increase the desirability of their fleeces. Where will they buy such animals? From the very few P-V breeders that are out there today.

At the end of 2008 there were only about 300 P-V’s in the United States. Future imports will be limited due to cost and the politics of South America. The only P-V’s available will be the offspring of our current national herd. Now is the time to buy. The current crop of P-V’s have more vicuña genetics then succeeding generations will have because they are closer related to their South American ancestors.

The P-V now has its own organization which will register and promote the animals.

This last October the P-V breeders held a four day conference in Denver Colorado. The details of forming an association, formalizing the registry and developing an Expected Progeny Differences (EPD’s) program were finalized. This is expected to promote more sales and help new comers succeed.

Besides the money making aspect of raising paco-vicuñas, their personalities make them a fun animal to own. Evenings will find them pronking about the pasture or running in short spurts of pure joy. Walk up to them and they will sniff you, jump in the air, turn and run away only to sneak back for a closer look. They are as easy to train as any alpaca and are guaranteed to lower your blood pressure just by watching them.

Those new to raising livestock will be delighted to learn that there are many tax breaks related to being in an agricultural business. Fencing, barns and etc. can be depreciated as well as many other immediate tax benefits. Check with your CPA. You may find that you can get into this business for very little out of pocket costs.

P-V’s are easier to raise then horses, cattle or goats and eat very little. Extremely hearty, your veterinarian bills will be almost non-existent. Birthing is easy and they eat very little. Sales of fiber can easily cover all these costs.

If you haven’t had a hands on encounter with a paco-vicuña, come see the ones at Llama Linda Ranch near Carbondale, Colorado. It will be an experience that could change your life. Give Linda Hayes a call. 800 815 0488 hayestees@sopris.net.