National Alpaca Farm Days 2021

What a beautiful weekend we had this year for our 2021 National Alpaca Farm Days! During this
weekend our visitors were able to experience alpacas up close and personal while learning all about
them, feeling their fleece, touring the farm, shopping for alpaca products, viewing live demonstrations
of knitting and spinning with our very own alpaca fleece and of course all while spending the day having
a peaceful and exciting outing with the whole family!

So, for those of you who may have missed this one-of-a-kind event, let’s go over a few fun and
interesting facts about alpacas. Alpacas are members of the Camelid Family and are a domesticated
species of the South American camelid. Today there are five recognized camelids breeds: camels, llamas,
guanacos, alpacas, and vicunas. Can you guess which ones we have? If you don’t know, we of course
have our herd of about 80 alpacas, we then go on to have our two resident llamas Harry and Llarry, and
then we have our Camel, Gus. They vary by size and purpose; some being used primarily as pack animals
and others valued for their fiber. Llamas are excellent guardians; they protect the smaller animals from
predators by standing in front of the herd and will even make a sound alerting them that something isn’t
right. Alpacas however are glorified for their luxurious and incredibly soft fleece.

So, what makes alpacas or their fiber so special? Alpaca fiber is warmer than sheep’s wool, lighter than
sheep’s wool and is considered hypoallergenic as it doesn’t contain lanolin which is what most often
causes allergic reactions when some wear sheep’s wool. It is incredibly warm, soft, lightweight and the
animals are not harmed when we shear their fiber each spring. But wait, it gets even better. So, if
you’re like me and break out to itchy sweaters sometimes, alpaca may be a good fit for you!

Alpaca fiber is also wind-resistant, water-repellent, odor-repellent, fashionable, biodegradable and the
list just keeps on going! I don’t know about you guys but ever since being introduced to alpaca fiber and
the wonders of alpacas, I have never turned back. My favorite alpaca products to wear during the winter
are my alpaca hat, alpaca gloves, alpaca leggings, and you must own a pair of alpaca socks! The wonders
of alpaca socks are endless…for starters, they wick away moisture keeping your feet nice and dry and
are odor resistant. I have never spent the winter days so warm and cozy, it will have you wondering
how you lived without it!

So, as you can tell there are some cool and interesting things you can learn about alpacas and their
importance. National Alpaca Farm Days is celebrated and honored at farms across the country and one
thing we enjoy doing here is sharing our love of animals and the alpacas are a huge part of what we do
here! We hope everyone who came had a wonderful visit learning about alpacas and being able to
experience all its wonders. If you missed it, don’t be worried because our fall hours during weekdays
are Monday, Thursday, Friday from 10:00 am-5:00 pm and weekends from 10:00 am-6:00 pm. So, if you
want to learn more about alpacas, just stop on in, as here on the farm we celebrate our alpacas daily!