Can you believe that it’s already October? It seems like just yesterday it was April and we were preparing for the 1st Farmers Market of the season. Now, we are counting down to the end of this month, when our regular season ends and we again transition to the Winter Market series as well as several Holiday bazaars.
#Alpactober
I got a good laugh this week when the Alpaca Owner’s Association announced that October was now going to be known as ALPACTOBER! With an announcement that THE ALPACALYPSE IS COMING, members were invited to take part in a 12 day social media challenge to share the alpaca lifestyle. I’m sharing our posts on Instagram, and I invite you to follow us there!
What’s so special about alpacas?
I’m glad you asked!
- Alpacas are kind to the earth. They have soft padded feet with 2 toes and a toenail on each foot. This means they tread very gently over the terrain (unlike our cloven hooved sheep and goats)
- Continuing the concept of being kind to the earth – their poo is an amazingly wonderful soil amendment. Because of the low nitrogen level, it can actually be applied directly to plants without burning
- Alpacas only have bottom teeth. This means no biting!
- Have you ever felt alpaca fleece? Warmer than wool, not itchy, 100% hypoallergenic… and incredibly soft.
Plus, they are just so darn cute!! This is baby Aspen and baby Willow, who were both born on our farm in the fall of 2016.
Fun fact: baby alpacas are called crias.
What sound does an alpaca make?
Ducks quack.
Dogs bark.
Sheep baa.
But what about alpacas? They hum!! Be careful you don’t get motion sickness from watching the video (I was trying to hold my phone for the video, feed the 3 girls, and love on the dog all at the same time!!) – but you can listen to the sounds of some happy alpacas here.
And what about spitting?
Though they are not nearly as prolific spitters as their cousins the llamas, alpacas do spit sometimes. Usually it’s at each other, but we have to watch and be careful not to get caught in the crossfire!
And let’s also just say… the smell of that spit is absolutely unlike any of the most incredibly nasty and foul smells you could ever imagine.
Alpacas meeting their new neighbors for the first time – our dairy goat herd
Grandson Liam saying HI to “Papaw’s Pacas”
And what do we do with our alpacas?
In addition to just being a very fun aspect of our farm, we also shear them once a year and use their fleece for amazing products like the yarn and socks we sell at the Farmer’s Market. We also use their poo to fertilize our fields! There will also be a brand new product announcement coming next spring!!
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