Alpacas are, simply put, incredible. Their personalities captivate our hearts, and their fleece has many highly desirable qualities. 

They need a large space to run, and while they could survive in smaller pastures, running is part of their wellbeing and we feel this is important.

Most of the time they are foraging while eating a wide variety of grasses. Their pasture is adjascent to the prairie where we have 20+ species of native grasses and wildflowers growing as part of a prairie restoration project. Seed exchange between pasture and prairie is important to promote diveristy and health in our animals and ecosystem. We've learned that asture management (getting rid of invasive and toxic plants) is essential, and not just for their health, but for maintaining a clean fleece. The fiber mill in Utah that processes their fleece respectfully noted that thistle reminants in their fleece is not a good idea, for obvious reasons.

We shear our alpacas once a year, usually in May. The finest quality of fiber comes from the “primary blanket” which is the fleece covering their middle body. This fleece is very fine, light, silky, and soft. It’s the wearable fleece, meaning it's the kind that we can wear close to our bodies. The other fleece, we call “seconds” come from their neck, legs, and bellies. This is what we use to make rug & rope yarn and a few other things such as pillow filling. While this fleece is not ideal for wearing on our skin, it is still dense and strong. Since alpacas don’t produce an oil called lanolin, like sheep, their fleece is hypoallergenic.

If you would like to read some more fun facts about alpacas, please visit Alpaca Facts.