Our
Alpacas
The gentle Alpaca.
Native to the high, windswept Andes of Peru, the Alpaca has a sumptuous
coat that produces a velvety, fine-grained fiber—one of the world’s
softest, most versatile, natural wools. Domesticated more than 5,000
years ago by the Incas, these animals are becoming popular here
in the United States, raised both for their cashmere-like fleece
and as pets.
Please take some time to learn more about each of the alpacas:
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Join us
for Autumn Alpacafest!
Mark your calendars for Saturday, September 30th
and Sunday, October 1st for Blankstone's
Autumn Alpacafest , featuring The Alpaca Marketplace.
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Facts about the Alpaca
A relative of the llama, but half the size and twice as wooly, alpacas
are hearty animals which do not require much acreage and are easy
keepers. Gentle to people and land alike, intelligent, and serenely
beautiful, these "huggable investments" come in 22 natural colors.
Originally from South America, there are two types: Huacaya and
Suri. Both are now being raised all over the U.S.A. for their soft,
warm, non-allergenic fleeces.
Shorn annually, an alpaca can produce from 4 to 10 pounds of prime
fiber. Suri fiber is almost silk-like and is most frequently used
in hand weaving and worsted. The rare Suri alpaca is covered with
lustrous dreadlocks which do not have the characteristic crimp ("waviness")
of the Huacaya fiber. Either type of alpaca fiber is in great demand
by hand spinners and knitters who find it to be a strong but fine
fiber which can be dyed almost any color. An alpaca sweater is a
cherished possession. Alpacas are kept as pets or as a breeding
herd with excellent investment potential; they are definitely the
world's most lovable lawn mower!
- Alpacas come in two varieties: the crimpy Huacayas and the
locketed Suris.
- There are fewer than 1323 Suri and 8378 Huacaya Alpacas in
North America to date.
- Alpacas produce fine fiber which is not "prickly" but is very
light, soft and warm.
- Alpaca fiber can be hand or commercially spun and is used to
make knitted, woven, braided and felted articles as well as clothing.
- Alpacas do not need to be groomed.
- Alpacas come in 22 natural colors: various shades of fawn,
black, brown, gray, white, rosegray, and multi colored pintos.
- Alpacas are first bred at 12 to 18 months of age, have a gestation
period of 11 months and very rarely have twins.
- Alpacas communicate by humming and live peacefully in herds.
They get along well with other domestic animals.
- Alpacas weigh an average of 120 to 175 pounds, are 36 inches
at the wither and can live in excess of 20 years.
- Alpacas are ideal for small acreage farms. It is not
necessary to have an expensive barn or special fencing.
A maximum of 10 per acre and a minimum of 2 is recommended.
- Alpacas "cush" when in transit and can easily be transported
in a mini van.
- Alpacas are browsers and are gentle on pastures because of
their padded feet.
- An adult eats approximately 3 pounds of hay daily.
- Alpacas pastures are easy to keep clean because alpacas only
use a communal dung pile.
- Alpacas are intelligent animals, easy to train, gentle and
safe for children to handle because they do not bite or kick.
- Alpacas can be raised as income producing breeding stock, pets,
4H animals or as fiber producers. They are considered the
world's finest livestock investment.
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