Before and after...

Well, looking at an alpaca can be intersting for sure. What I find that is so funny about them is they are usually looking right back at you and I'm almost sure we are both trying to figure the other one out. One thing that most people will notice about an alpaca is the fleece and how "puffy" the animals look. This is the part of the animal that everyone ends up most intersted in for sure. However, when you look at an alpaca even a couple months after it is sheared it looks much bigger than it is. This something only some pictures can help with.

The next 3 pictures are my girls each with thier alpaca on a cold shearing day. Ashley/Alexander, Alli/Odyssey and Haleigh/Coronado then all 3 after shearing.








As you can see, they are much smaller than they first appear. All of our boys were just under 1 year old in these pictures. Like people they will have various hieghts and weights but the normal male will be about 5'6" at the head and weigh about 165-190lbs. Our largest male was about 95lbs.

I hope you enjoy the pictures and are learning something along with us.

I've been asked...

I have been asked to upload pictures by my wife, which I've finally done. As we blog we'll add those pictures for everyone to see.

I've also been asked by many people who do not know much about alpacas what they are used for. I think many people consider them to be an odd/exotic pet. While they are very friendly animals, they do serve a purpose and nothing can explain that as well as a picture...


While looking at this picture you'll see just how thick the fleece is on an alpaca and how long the staple is. The alpaca pictured is our oldest, Alexander, who was about 1 year old and had about 10 months of growth on him. One of the easiest ways to tell how dense they are is by looking at the longer fleece still on them for where the dirt line stops.

There are as many uses for this product as for silk and/or wool. The product is much stronger than silk, carries a similiar luster and feel. It is also much softer and less itchy when compared to wool products. We have recently learned how to work more with our fleece, as noted in a prior post and hope to process it into a final product at some point this year.

What a community...

I wanted to thank all the people in the Alpaca community that have helped us so far in determining many many things. They range from who we bought from, boarded with, shearing and advice on fencing, scales, meds, flies, care, skirting and more.

A big thanks to Windswept Farms Alpacas for a good couple Saturdays where we got our hands on several animals, learned/practiced herd health, got advice and learned a lot about skirting and processing our fleece.

I also want to send my thanks out Willow Ridge for the continued help with supplies and information as we try to get up to speed.