Alpaca Colors

We are still trying to decide our favorite colors. We just love them all!

Alpaca color is determined by evaluating the fleece color near mid-side skin in the blanket coat. The color of the fiber on the outside can be rather different due to weathering. If the color is between two shades, then the darker shade is selected.


White spots or dark spots on the face and legs do not affect these designations.

There are sixteen basic solid colors of alpacas with various shades in between.

• White
• Beige
• Fawn (light, medium, dark)
• Brown (light, medium, dark)
• Bay Black
• True Black
• Rose Gray (light, medium, dark)
• Silver Gray (light, medium, dark)

The Alpaca Registry, Inc (ARI) has a cool natural fiber color chart that helps alpaca breeders determine the correct color of their alpacas. This fiber chart is used at alpaca shows during color checks for determining color classes.

Some alpaca owners prefer white alpacas since their white fleece can be easily dyed. White alpacas are preferred in South America and especially in Peru for this very reason.

Because white alpacas have been bred for quality for so many years, white fleece usually has excellent fleece characteristics. Thus, the white class at alpaca shows is exceptionally competitive. If your alpaca can place in the white class, it can place anywhere!

Blue-eyed white alpacas are a result of a breeding between two alpacas each of whom have white spots. (By the way, tuxedo grays are a form of a white spot.) The combination of these two white spot genes results in hair follicles without any pigment. Eye color and ear hairs are also affected. Thus, the resulting alpaca is totally white, has blue eyes, and is often deaf.

Beige and fawn color designations can be tricky!

Beige alpacas may be solid beige, or may have gradations of light fawn to beige to white from the dorsal midline (top of the back) to the abdomen.

Fawn alpacas may be solid fawn, or may have gradations of dark fawn to light fawn to beige from the dorsal midline (top of the back) to the abdomen.

Some alpaca breeders prefer darker alpaca colors. Generally, these color classes have been less competitive in alpaca shows – until recently! Since alpaca breeders have been concentrating on breeding black alpacas and brown alpacas lately, their quality has improved dramatically.

This breeding process can be statistically difficult because these darker colors are recessive genes while light colors are dominant genes. But to get higher quality, the breeder must breed with lighter color alpacas at some point.

Bay black alpacas are interesting since they are mostly black with brown fibers. True black alpacas only have black fibers.

The gray alpacas are very popular alpaca colors these days. Breeding for grays is also statistically challenging. Two tuxedo grays are generally not bred together since the result could be a blue-eyed white alpaca. Instead, a gray alpaca is bred with a brown or black alpaca with a 50% chance of achieving a gray cria.

Alpaca color genetics can be so confusing!

Rose gray alpacas have a reasonably uniform distribution of gray and white fibers mixed with a base of brown. Sometimes a few black fibers may be present.

Silver gray alpacas have a reasonably uniform distribution of gray and white fibers mixed with a base of black.

Then there are some unusual color designations!

Indefinite light alpacas are white or beige alpacas with easily recognizable dark fibers uniformly distributed throughout the blanket. But they are not gray alpacas.

Similarly, indefinite dark alpacas are colored alpacas with easily recognizable white or light fibers uniformly distributed throughout the blanket. Again, they are not gray alpacas.

There are four color designations for multicolor alpacas. These designations refer to the blanket coat only.

• Pattern – The pattern alpaca has a six inch or more solid patch in the blanket which is not gray.
• Pinto – The pinto alpaca has two distinct colors in the blanket one of which is white. The majority of the blanket is medium fawn or darker. The neck and legs are mostly white.
• Fancy – The fancy alpaca has three or more distinct colors in the blanket which is not gray.
• Appaloosa – The appaloosa alpaca has six or more spots of two or more colors in the blanket which is not gray.

Personally, I think that these indefinite and multicolor alpacas are so attractive. Every visitor to your farm will be drawn to them which is super for public relations. And their fleece would make highly desirable alpaca products in the alpaca cottage industry. However, commercial fiber processors would rather get solid blankets so they can blend with similar fleece for consistency.

So, altogether there are 22 designations for alpaca colors in the alpaca industry.

So, there is a favorite color for everyone!

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