Where To Find Vicunas For Sale

By Rhea Solomon


If you are wanting to find Vicunas for sale, this could be a problem. A Vicuna is a wild animal with behavior that makes it difficult to domesticate. The Alpaca on the other hand, has a gentle nature suited to domestication. It is no wonder that farmers are choosing to breed Paco-Vicunas, combining the best traits of both.

There is a belief that the Vicuna is actually the wild ancestor of the Alpaca. They both belong to the camel family as is evident from their bodies with the long necks, cloven padded feet, thin legs and protruding eyes. However, the Vicuna is smaller than the other camels.

One of the reasons its fleece is so popular is because it is so warm. Each fiber has a hollow filled with air. Tiny scales on the hollow, air-filled fibers interlock, forming pockets that trap more air for insulation. The fiber is soft, dense and super-fine. It is slow growing, often only long enough to shear about every three years. The fibers of Paco-Vicunas is somewhat longer and denser but they are still fine and luxurious. An advantage is they are faster growing.

At one point these animals almost became extinct because they were being slaughtered for their sought after fleeces. This was averted by serious conservation efforts. The governments of Bolivia, Chile, Peru and Argentina also instituted capture and shave roundups called Chacus. Locals are allowed to capture the animals, shave them and set them free again. The fibers are sold and the local communities benefit from the profits.

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.

Farmers are breeding for the coat traits of a Vicuna while attempting to keep the advantageous traits of an Alpaca, like its gentle nature and faster growing fleece. The most valuable animals are those with the finest and densest fibers. The micron count refers to the fineness of fibers.

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.

If you are wanting to find Vicunas for sale, there are a number of these breeding farms with online websites. It is a simple matter of seeing what stock is available, from herd sires to breeding females. Photographs of all the animals for sale are usually provided. Purchasing animals provides an excellent chance of getting in on the ground floor of a good opportunity as the prices are likely to increase as the demand increases.




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