Alpacas Facts and Information

Alpaca fleece is one of the warmest, most durable fibers. Alpaca fleece contains no oil or lanolin like sheep wool and is therefore hypo-allergenic. We have the option of selling the fiber as is after shearing, or carding, spinning into yarn, or even making items with the yarn. It all depends on the time we want to invest and the effort we want to put into our final product.

My daughter works with fiber: spinning, dyeing, knitting, crocheting. We bought these guys so that she can expand her knowledge of the fiber arts. We will need to buy shears or hire someone to shear them. The veterinarian came today and checked them over and gave them vaccines. They need to have their teeth trimmed and toenails trimmed.

We don't have a spinning wheel as my daughter spins on a hand spindle that she made herself. I'm sure that we'll be investing in a spinning wheel in the near future as well as tools for carding the fiber, dyeing the fiber, and miscellaneous new crocheting and knitting needles. I can see where all this is headed.

We learned the hard way the need to keep alpacas cool during the summer months. We lost Twister (photo above) from the Kansas heat in the summer of 2011. We've since learned the best way to keep alpacas cool during the summer is to provide them with wet sand or dirt to lie down in. You can also spray water on their undersides only. Getting them wet on the top during a hot day actually increases the temperature close to the body as the wet fiber traps heat in. We will dearly miss him and his toothy smile.