Our Pet Alpacas

When guests visit us at Anglesey Holiday Accommodation the first thing they notice and enjoy is the peaceful surroundings of the beautiful Anglesey countryside. We wanted to add to this beauty and tranquillity by the introduction of our beautiful herd of Huacaya alpacas.

Alpacas originating from Peru, part of the camelid family and closely related to Llama are known for their calm temperaments and peaceful nature making them perfect holiday companions.

While you stay with us you are more than welcome to meet the boys and even help out at feeding time.

Huacaya Alpacas

There are only two breeds of alpaca, the suri (soo-ree) alpaca, and the huacaya (wah-KI-ya) alpaca. There are no wild alpacas, with alpacas being domesticated from the vicuña.

Here at Anglesey Holiday Accommodation, all of our boys are huacaya alpacas. The fleece of huacaya alpacas are sturdier than suri fleece, which makes them ideal for the Welsh countryside. Like other Alpacas their coats can be made into wool, creating a soft durable yarn. The wool is moisture resistant and cooler than lambswool.

Alpacas are also sometimes used as protection for other farm animals, as in a herd they will protect each other. Having said this, Alpacas are calm, social and peaceful creatures which makes them family friendly.

In recent years, alpacas are being used more and more as part of therapy. Their trusting, gentle nature can help sufferers of a variety of mental health issues. Being around animals, in general, is known to reduce blood pressure and lower the heart rate of people feeling the stress of daily life.

With their slow and elegant movements, alpacas are extremely calming to watch to take in their gentle nature. Alpacas are very clear communicators, making them a great partner in a therapeutic relationship. Alpaca-assisted therapy is known to help to build trust, decrease loneliness, develop communication skills and boost self-esteem. Working therapeutically with alpacas does not need to solely be aimed at those with mental health needs. Just being around them can be a great source of meaningful activity, physical exercise and a chance for socialising with others.

Walking Alpacas

Walking or trekking with Alpacas is now a very popular pastime for people, with many expressing feelings of relaxation by the end of the walk. It is a relaxing and fun experience to spend one on one time with an Alpaca, finding out about their personalities as you spend time with your Alpaca. Owners will often walk with their Alpacas to complete health checks, for example the walking motion will allow you to see if they are lame.

Currently we are unable to provide organised walks. Hopefully we will be able to offer this to our guests one day as an optional extra experience. We also hope to provide sessions to our guests where you can come and meet the boys and interact through feeding, learning about and hanging-out with these lovely animals.

Meet The Boys

Our herd consists of 5 boys, with no girls currently. Alpacas do not have a breeding season and are induced ovulators, therefore, they cannot be mixed in a herd unless the owner desires to breed them. Our boys are a variety of ages, colours, shapes, sizes, and of course, they all have different personalities. Alpacas can live from between 15 and 20 years, our herd are relatively young with our oldest member, Blizzard, who is 10 years old and our youngest, Nelson, is 5 years old.

Napoleon is a light fawn alpaca and is 7 years old. He loves food, especially apple and carrot, and will make some strange noises when food comes his way. He will always double check that all the crumbs are gone from the food bowl! He is the smallest of the herd but has tonnes of character. Napoleon enjoys going for walks and is very friendly and sociable.

Nelson is a light fawn alpaca and is the youngest, but biggest, of the herd at 5 years old. He is a very gentle and friendly alpaca and interested in what is going on around him. You can tell him apart from Napoleon by his little beard! He’s very well behaved on his walks and likes giving kisses to your hands or the top of your head.

Crunchy is the darkest fawn and is 6 years old. He is extremely cheeky and easily distracted. He has adorable fluffy ears and loves his food. He’s very sociable and friendly and likes to be stroked on his neck and the backs of his ears.

Breeze is a white alpaca who often looks like he’s smiling. He is one of the youngest at 6 years old and gets on very well with Nelson. He is a very good walker and enjoys meeting new people and giving kisses.

Blizzard is a white alpaca and the oldest in the herd at 10 years old. He is very chilled out and respected by the younger alpacas. He enjoys going out for walks and takes very good care of his herd. He is often first to make an alarm call if he is unsure about something.

The herd are all very friendly and sociable. They will come up to you for food and will enjoy being stroked on the neck. All of them are very inquisitive and gentle with people, they’re very relaxing to watch and be around. Next time you stay with us at Anglesey Holiday Accomodation make sure to pop by to see the team, if you are lucky you may even get a little kiss.

If you are an animal lover why not take a look at our dog friendly accommodation so that your four legged friend can join you on your stay with us.

Keep up to date on the progress of the herd and their cheeky antics on Facebook and Instagram.