Alpacas are amazing! I didn’t realize just how much I didn’t know about them until I started doing research for this month’s Mindful Fiber! I was going to compare alpaca husbandry in the Americas, but let’s have a lesson about the animals instead.
Things I knew about alpacas before I started doing the research for this article:
- They look like fluffy llamas.
- Alpaca fiber is warmer than wool, longer than wool and often as soft as cashmere.
- Alpaca are sheared like sheep.
- A baby alpaca is called a ‘cria’.
- They ‘pronk’ when they are happy. I’m not kidding, here’s a baby:
Mira and Oppie (North Star Alpacas)
(Pronking is a little bouncy happy dance.)
Things I know about alpacas now:
- There are two types of alpacas: Suri (long, silky locks of hair) and Huacaya (crinkly, dense fuzz). About 90% of the world’s population are Huacaya. Both have coarse hairs (‘guard’ hairs) that have to be removed before spinning the soft wooly fiber. There’s a machine for that, although my source (see below) says in many cases the guard hairs can be separated by hand.
- Alpacas have been domesticated since 4,000BC, so there is no such thing as a ‘wild’ alpaca. Their closest wild cousins are vicuñas.
- Alpacas are social animals. They prefer to live in family groups consisting of an alpha male, females and their young. Alpacas make a ton of sounds to communicate: humms, grunts, clicks and a Fearsome squeaky, gaspy, donkey-like noise when threatened.
- They are tidy critters who specify a latrine area that the entire group uses.
- They have paddy feet and toes with toenails – not hooves (neither do camels and llamas so that’s something I should have known). And can spit (that is, vomit grass in projectile fashion) like all camelids. AND only have teeth on the bottom! Food chewing is done by grinding the bottom teeth on an upper plate (hence the sort of figure-8 mouth movement).
- Alpacas do not make lanolin! So even if you’ve got a wool sensitivity, alpaca fiber is still worth a try. There is plenty to try: there are 22 naturally occurring colors of alpaca fleece.
Gold star if you can tell me Suri or Huacaya!
The vast majority of commercially available alpaca fiber is still grown in South America – nearly all (like 99%) of the world’s alpaca population is found in the highlands of Peru, Chile and Bolivia. The species was domesticated in the Andes mountains thousands of years ago, and export to other countries has been tightly controlled. It wasn’t until the mid-1980s that the alpaca moved to the U.S. as an industry. And when I say industry, it’s not the fiber that U.S. investors are interested in – it’s the animals themselves! Since the import of alpacas is still limited, an average breeding female can sell for anywhere between $1000 and $30,000. In the U.S., the alpaca industry remains relatively small with few reports of the abuses often seen in the wool industry. But (as with anything) as it grows there will be more potential for neglect and misconduct.
Which is why I gravitate towards small farms for my fiber wants. Small farms with respect for their animals. Small farms like North Star Alpacas.
Maple’s goal is to never have to mow the grass. There’s been a lot of clever fence building with that in mind.
Maple is the self-declared #1 pooper scooper in the North Star barn. She also washes, dyes, picks, cards, and spins the fleece her alpacas grow. The farm is strictly a fiber-farm these days and hosts a herd of 22 alpaca, 2 horses, 2 dogs, 2 barn cats, and 1 house cat. There are four new boys arriving this weekend to bring the herd size up to 26! The North Star Alpacas blog is closed, but I had a wonderful time exploring the archives and learning about life among the hairy. In her own words, “I’m lucky to be doing something that I love that actually pays for itself.”
For the month of October, I have a $50 gift certificate to North Star Alpacas’ Etsy shop. You can use it to buy all of this:
OR this:
OR some of Mr. Jones’ fleece if you spin:
If you don’t knit (or if you are feeling lazy), Maple has hats and scarves already made! Shop for Christmas presents for friends (or presents for yourself).
Since we’re almost out of October, this is a short short giveaway and will close on Wednesday, October 31, 2012. Don’t waste time – leave a comment on this post to be entered in the drawing. The random number generator will take care of the rest. Since it is a short short short giveaway, I’ll offer extra entries if you promote this on your social media outlet of choice (Ravelry, Twitter, Facebook, etc.)! Please leave a second comment with a link to the post/tweet/whathaveyou for accounting purposes.
You can find North Star Alpacas on Facebook, in PhatFiber boxes, and (of course) on Etsy.
Unless otherwise noted, Maple Smith holds the copyright to all the still pictures used in this article. They are used with permission
YUMMMM…..looks heavenly!!! hope your number generator picks 1!!! 🙂
It would be great not to have to mow the grass. I wonder if my neighborhood association would notice a few alpaca in our yard 🙂
Ooh! I love their store — I could do serious damage there this Christmas!
And I’ve tweeted (as @zuzus_books) — not sure how to link to a tweet, but I’ve already gotten a spammed response!
Amazing animals, love the baby alpaca!!!
I love alpacas. They are less intimidating in size too. Yarn made from them is so soft and light. I am using some baby alpaca to make a hat. I am going to be sad when it’s done because it is so wonderful to knit with.
I found this to be very interesting. I have always thought alpacas were cute and cuddly , and have thought having one or two would be fun,my husband – not so much.
I learned the the alpacas make noises! I have visited a couple alpaca farms and have never heard them make their sounds!
Thank you for a very informative article.
I fell in love with alpacas in Texas, years before I learned to spin – and I fall in love with them again every time I open a package from Maple. Whether you’re into raw fleece, roving, or yarn – you won’t be disappointed!
Loved seeing the happy baby prance around! Very cute!
*inarticulate noises here*
alpaca!
there are actually people around here that keep them as pets. I’ve gotten some of their fleece (though it was more a hair cut and less a shearing) from a friend before. My some-day-farm will definitely have a small herd to keep my sheep company. (:
They look so serene in Maple’s pasture. I want to visit those white fences and beautiful barn. Heck, I want to own something like that. Maple is one lucky lady.
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not having to mow grass sounds great, but otherwise i would just love to have them around my house, thea seem to be wonderful animals. thanks for the article on them ,i learned quite a bit.
Alpaca are wonderful 🙂 They had some at the fiber section of a faire I went to; they were far better behaved than the llamas ^^” I like them because I have a (slight) lanolin allergy, and because alpaca is so SOFT.
I love alpaca. They’re so soft and melodic. And their fiber is one my wool-sensitive mother can actually wear, which always makes me a happy camper.
The North Shore Alpaca is calling out to me…”Bring me home, bring me home!”
Thanks for acquainting me with the North Star shop! I love alpacas. The fiber/yarn is bliss to work with and the animals themselves are positively adorable. Such gentle creatures with big, lashy eyes. My favorite thing about them is the sound they make – it sounds like “Hmmm.” So cute!
Thanks for all the great information about alpacas!
I just learned about your blog from Maple — your patterns are really charming!
I adore buying directly from farmers — it helps them and I know much more about how the animals were raised. I’ve seen Maple’s farm and her alpacas — they’re really wonderful!
I love alpaca yarn, especially since it gets so cold in Montreal in the winter. I saw an new alpaca farm outside of the city just a few weeks ago. My first thought was, I hope I can find a way to buy yarn from them! It’s so hard to find local yarns in Canada, and there doesn’t seem to be as many small farms here.
I have been spinning alpaca for over a year and I didn’t know anything about them other than they are soft and really fluffy. This was really cool, thanks for writing it up. 🙂
Lovely post. I love spinning alpaca – so gorgeous and soft!
I shared one of your alpaca videos on my FB page (http://www.facebook.com/regis.woofington). Alpacas are becoming my new obsession.
I’ve been fortunate enough to try some of Maple’s alpaca yarn; it’s heavenly! Just leaves me wanting more….
Thanks so much for the article and for the giveaway!
I have been to Maple’s place, and it is just a magical as it can be. What a lovely, talented lady.
What a lovely set of pictures–I love alpaca because of it’s warmth and beauty. Thanks for posting, and thanks for the giveaway!
I love Maple’s alpaca. Her shop is my go to place when I want alpaca.
Wonderful and educational post. Especially loved the “pronking” video. They are just too adorable for words.
Alpacas are so very adorable, and I love the yarn – it’s so soft and warm!
Great write up on alpacas! Maple is my #1 source for alpaca fleece. The fleece is always awesome and Maple is wonderful!
Getting alpaca yarn from a local farm was what made me start spinning.
Glorious!!!
The first alpaca fiber I ever spun was purchased from Maple at North Star Alpacas – I loved it! I knit it into a soft little shrug that is both very warm and light weight.
Alpaca is always so soft. And watching that video made me want to plonk, myself. That seems like such a happy farm.
My best friend and I dream of having an alpaca farm. They just seem so sweet. Your research has solidified it for me!
I am pronking right now!! What great information and a lovely giveaway! Yes, Alisa (who commented above) and I share this dream. Thank you!
I learned about your blog from Maple. I love your patterns! I may have solved my dilemma regarding knit Christmas gifts this year. Fantastic blog; I am very glad I found it.
So adorable! I love working with alpaca, one of my favorite fibers. I never knew that alpacas pronked. Reminds me a bit about how guinea pigs popcorn.
A girl could have a lot of fun in that store!
I was really surprised the first time I heard alpacas making noises; for some reason I assumed they were kind of silent. Not so much….
I tweeted about the contest here: https://twitter.com/mommyknitter
Gorgeoumous!!!!
Awww, lovely happy proinking alpaca baby!
Ever since I’ve started spinning I’ve wanted to own a fiber farm of my own, and seeing this just makes me want one so much more!!
Alpacas are so adorable. I keep trying to convince my husband to buy me one, but he keeps arguing that we wouldn’t have anywhere to put it. I tried to convince him it could stay in our room, but I guess he didn’t like that idea.
Maple’s stuff is awesome. I would so love to win that gift certificate!
I’ve been trying to convince my fiancé that we could really use an alpaca in the backyard, for fiber, mowing, fertilizer and sheer entertainment. So far the best I’ve managed is to get him to accompany me to Peru for (among other excursions) a fiber and yarn shopping spree in Arequipa. Maybe once I knit him a sweater out of the alpaca yarn I got, he’ll be convinced otherwise.
I’ve never knit with alpaca, but it’s looks AMAZING!
Well, you taught me a few things. I did not know that alpacas have padded feet! Thank you for taking the time to share some of your new-found knowledge!
Oh I love the blue color way. and I enjoyed the videos and the good info you give us, always something new to learn. Now I’m off to visit NSA store. Thanks
I love the pronking! I also love to spin alpaca and just finished some alpaca/silk from a local (to me) ranch. Lovely stuff.
another great give away!!!!!!!!
they are adorable animals…
I love the plonking video, and the noisy one. I had no idea what kind of noises they make!
I adore alpaca fibre. It’s so soft and a delight to spin! Your article is really interesting, I now know a little more about the animal that produces my favourite fibre.
Alpaca is my favorite fiber! It is lovely to have alpaca knits up here in Minnesota in the winter.
Oh! How I LOVE Alpacas! Thier fleece is simply amazing! And they are adorable to boot.
Would love to try alpaca!
Love the sounds the alpaca make and their wonderful fiber. Thanks for the information (and giveaway!).
Alpacas are so awesome. Also goofy looking. 🙂
Alpaca is a fantastic fibre to spin and really warm. Love the way the look too.
I have been preparing some alpaca fiber for spinning… It’s pretty when still in the lock, but by the time you clean it (alpacas love to roll in the dust and it stays in their fleece) and card it, it’s downright gorgeous!
I have visited several alpaca farms and really enjoy the animals. I escorted my Sunday School class on a tour several years ago and the kids just love the animals too. They are so friendly, fun to watch and so willing to have their pictures taken 🙂 If I had the space, I would seriously consider owning alpaca….well, lots of money would help too.
Great article Emily!
Alpaca is lovely fiber. I have never really read to much about the Alpaca though and found your blog to be really interesting. I love listening to the Alpaca sounds. It seemed so peaceful and relaxing.
I love alpacas. I had the most fun visiting and doing spinning demonstrations for 2 local small alpaca farms for National Alpaca Days in September.
Pinterest post
http://pinterest.com/pin/65794844527516555/
Facebook post
https://www.facebook.com/mrsn2itiv
I own sheep, goats, and a llama but would love some alpaca. I know they’re related to the llama, but alpaca just have this sort of cute-thing going on! Their faces are almost human!
I love alpacas… they are so cute and cuddly. Lots of interesting information.
when I grow up I want to have alpacas too! crias are the cutest things!
Such beautiful animals and yarn! Thanks for all the information.
I adore alpaca fiber. Love spinning it. Makes for an awesome base.
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I love alpaca fiber, and I have a fleece from one of Maple’s lovely alpacas!
What a lovely post! I didn’t know about the teeth at the bottom only, or the pronking.
Alpaca is one of my favourite fibres to spin (and wear).
Great giveway!
I’ve never worked with alpaca, but I’d love to give it a try.
There are seriously 22 natural colors of alpaca? Who knew?! That’s awesome.
Alpaca are our silent brothers.
Alpaca is one of my fav fibers, its soft and warm perfect for winter weather!~
They are the cutest animals! I had no idea there were so many colors..
Love this post! Thanks for sharing.
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Thank you once again for a great article. Alpaca is such a yummy fiber!
I would love to add some alpaca yarn or fiber to my stash!
I had a technical drawing professor in college who raised Alpacas. He used to go on and on about them- like every single one of his herd was his personal pet. I wonder if he sends their fiber anywhere?
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Alpaca is glorious yarn! I bought some for socks once-upon-a-time but didn’t have the heart to walk on it so I made fingerless mists instead. 😉
Beautiful! Do they spit like Llams? Thanks for sharing such great information (as always!).
I haven’t used a lot of alpaca yarn yet, but they’re interesting animals.
Oh, I love North Star Alpacas, and Maple is one of the sweetest people I’ve yet met! So glad she directed me to your blog! I’ve learned a lot, and look forward to reading more posts from you 🙂