Cost effective covers for cria and older alpacas

Over the last 4 yrs I have spent considerable time and resources looking for a cost effective cover that would be suitable to put on Alpaca.  I don’t know about yours, but some of my alpaca could rival Houdini in their ability to climb out of some of the covers I have tried. 

I’m not suggesting that I cover all my alpaca, but there are times when having a cover available to fit any size alpaca has come in very handy.  For example, (and most commonly), suri cria that are still young, and don’t have their full density of fleece in place yet, who are having to face bad weather can appreciate the protection of a cover, or, an alpaca of any age that is not well.  Here are Sonric Suri Alpacas, we do not have animal barns available to put our herd under cover during a storm, instead, if we have a sickly animal that needs protection from the weather we have used our covered in trailer to double as a hospital room.  This works fine, but of course the animal stresses a bit because they are away from the others, so, as soon as possible, I like to get them back out into the paddock.  That’s where the cover comes in.

I have found that the best source here in NZ that produce a large range of sizes is from Saddlery Warehouse who have stores located across the country, and you can place phone orders.  They sell a dog cover made by Kiwi Dog Covers that go from 30cm – 90cm (12”- 34”).  These covers come in a range of styles, one with Velcro neck and belly straps, another with the horse style metal buckles at the neck and two that cross over under the belly.  Both these styles work fine.  They range from $20NZ - $25NZ no matter the size you buy.  I have found that to make the cover stay in place more securely, it helps if I sew on a strap that goes across the back of the animal (sitting under the tail just like a horse cover does).  These straps I have made from soft webbing that I purchased at AJ’s Emporium very cheaply then sewed them on myself.

This combination has proved to be very effective and I would be happy to show anyone how it all works together if you would like to get in touch with me - see Contact Us

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The information presented here is from our own experiences, adapted from others to suit our situation, property and our animals. We don’t claim to be experts and you are welcome to disagree, if you find something useful – great. Everyone is welcome to comment and provide feedback – see Contact Us.