About Alpacas:
- What do alpacas eat?
- What are alpacas raised for?
- Do they spit?
- What sounds to alpacas make?
- What is meant by "Huacaya'?
- What is the difference between 'double-registered' and 'single-registered'?
About Alpaca Fleece:
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What makes alpaca fleece so special?
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What do you do with the fleece?
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What is a histogram and how do you read it?
About Alpaca Farming:
- What do I need to get started?
- I don't yet have a farm but I am interested in alpacas, what can I do to start?
- Would I make any money from alpaca farming?
- What are the advantages to raising alpacas?
- Can I buy just one alpaca?
- What is the 'AHEAD' program?
About Calypso Moon Alpacas:
- Where are you located?
- Can we come by for a visit?
- Do you offer financing to buyers?
About Alpacas
What do alpacas eat?
Alpacas are modified ruminants and mostly eat pasture and hay. They have a high in digestive efficiency and require far less to feed than many traditional domestic animals. Small amounts of supplemental feeds, vitamins, and minerals are often provided to make up for any defiencies in the forage. A supply of good, clean water is essential.
What are alpacas raised for?
Alpacas are mainly raised for their prized fleece that is as fine as cashmere, soft, silky and much warmer than sheep's wool. With the exception of mohair, alpaca fibre is the strongest produced by animals in the world. Their fleece has a wide range of natural colours, allowing for variety without resorting to dyes. Alpaca fibre is highly sought after by the textile makers of Britain, Europe and Japan.
Do they spit?
Like other camelids, alpacas do spit. They rarely spit at people and this mostly happens when they are frightened or over-excited. They do use spitting as a form of communication when resolving disputes with one another in the herd or as a means of defense.
What sounds do alpacas make?
Alpacas are fairly quite animals and communicate using soft humming noises as well as body posturing, ear and tail positioning and head tilting. They have other vocalizations like a high pitched staccato 'alarm call' to alert the rest of the herd of potential danger. They also will 'scream' at one another if fighting (mostly the males).
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What is meant by "Huacaya"?
There are two breeds of alpacas - Huacaya (pronounced Wah-kie-yah) and Suri (pronounced Surrey). Huacaya is the most common and is characterized by a fleece that stands out from its skin giving it a fluffy look. Suri fleece hangs from the skin in 'locks'. Due to the characteristic of the Suri fibre, it usually feels smoother and silkier than Huacaya fleece and has more sheen to it. Both are still luxuriously soft and warm.
What is the difference between 'Double-Registered' and 'Single-Registered'?
Most of the alpacas in North America are registered with one or two registries. The U.S. registry (ARI) is closed to animals that are not descendents of alpacas already registered to it. The Canadian registry (CLAA) is similarily closed to alpacas that are not descendents of animals already registered with it. Prior to these registries becoming closed, some alpacas were registered with both registries. The descendents of these double-registered alpacas have the benefit of being eligible to continue being registered in both countries. As such, there is potentially a much larger market for double-registered alpacas than there is for single-registered. In Canada, especially, this has allowed alpacas that can be sold to the larger U.S. market (double-registered) to command a higher price. The higher price is not a reflection of the quality of the animal but simply a reflection its potential for it or its descendents to be sold to a larger market. The quality of an alpaca and its fleece has very little to do with its registry status. Having alpacas that are double-registered only becomes valuable if one is planning to market their alpacas to people in the U.S.
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For More Information About Alpacas -
About Alpaca Fleece
What makes alpaca fleece so special?
Alpacas produce a deluxe fleece that is as fine as cashmere, soft and silky to the touch, and much warmer than sheep's wool. With the exception of mohair, alpaca fibre is the strongest animal fibre in the world. Their fleece has a wide range of natural colours, allowing for variety without resorting to dyes. For those that do wish to dye it, alpaca takes the dye and holds it easily allowing for bright colours. Further, it lacks lanolin or grease which allows it to be processed without harsh chemicals. Because of this, it is hypoallergenic and can be comfortably worn by many who can not wear wool. Due to its desirable attributes, alpaca fibre is highly sought after by the textile industry and high fashion houses as well as by local spinners, knitters and weavers.
What do you do with the fleece?
Once the fleece has been sheared from the alpacas, there are a number of options available to alpaca producers. There are fibre cooperatives that one can belong to. The largest is the The Alpaca Fiber Cooperative of North America which operates out of the U.S. Alpaca Canada is currently working on some alpaca fleece processing initiatives for Canada. There are frequently some more local ones as well. These cooperatives pool your alpaca fleece so as to lower the processing costs. You are then able to receive alpaca products back from the co-ops to sell or for your own use. Another option is to send your fleece to a mill and have them process your fleece alone without it being pooled with others (some also offering pooling options as well). There are now a number of mills and mini-mills throughout Canada that specialize in processing alpaca fleece. Because the industry is at such an early stage, there are not yet many options for selling raw fibre. However, there are indications that this is beginning to happen.
For more information on alpaca fibre production, visit Alpaca Canada's website.
What is a histogram and how do you read it?
An alpaca fibre histogram is report on the qualities of an alpaca's fleece resulting from it going through special testing at a lab. For more on this, go to Fleece Stats.
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For More Information about Alpaca Fleece:
About Alpaca Farming
What do I need to get started?
People start the process of becoming alpaca farmers from different places. Some people have farms or land already while others are living in the city and planning on getting a farm at some point in the near future. Either way, here is a general outline of how you might go about beginning:
- Visit a number of alpaca farms. This will give you sense of the variety of farm set ups and differences in how various farms approach alpaca farming. In Canada, you can find a list of alpaca members at Alpaca Canada. Other more local associations also have a membership listing (e.g. Alpaca Ontario)
- Have a general outline or plan as to the goals for your alpaca farm (e.g. hobby farming, fleece production, retailing products, sale of breeding stock)
- Purchase alpacas based upon your general plan. Choose sellers that you feel comfortable with, have good references, are willing to negotiate payments that work for you, and most importantly, offer after-sale support (See Buying Tips)
- Prepare your farm. In general, the alpacas will need shelter, pasture with adequate fencing, access to good water and a place to store hay (See Farm Preparation)
I don't yet have a farm but I am interested in alpacas, what can I do to start?
Many alpaca farmers provide 'agisting' or boarding options when you buy animals from them. This can be a good option as you can learn hands-on skills around caring for your alpacas while in the process of searching for and setting up your farm. Doing it this way also may allow you to build your herd slowly even though you don't yet have your farm.
Would I make any money from alpaca farming?
You definitely can make money in the alpaca industry. There are two main streams of income - from the sale of the alpaca fleece products and from the sale of the animals themselves. Because the popularity of alpaca farming is growing and due to the slower speed of herd growth (long gestations and limitations on importing), the demand for alpacas continues to be strong. As the industry grows more, the demand for alpaca fleece will grow along side this resulting in even more demand for alpaca farming. As your herd grows, the returns on your orginal 'investment' grows tax free. As well, since alpacas qualify as livestock, there is the potential to make use of tax savings. At the same time, we would not recommend that you approach alpaca farming as a financial investment only. Desiring to live a farming lifestyle is also an important factor in your decision.
Contact us to discuss what opportunities might fit with you and your plans.
What are the advantages to raising alpacas?
There are many advantages to having alpacas as livestock. See Why Alpacas.
Can I buy just one alpaca?
Alpacas are herd oriented animals as such they need to have the companion of other alpacas. At a bare minimum, there should at least be two together.
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About Calypso Moon Alpacas
Where are you located?
Calypso Moon Alpacas is located in south-eastern Ontario not far from the cities of Kingston and Belleville. We are 2 km north of the village of Tamworth on County Rd 15 (also known as "Arden Rd"). Tamworth is approximately 2 hours from both Toronto and Ottawa, and 20 minutes north of the 401 (at Napanee) or 15 minutes south of Hwy 7 (at Kaladar). For directions, see our Contact page.
Can we come by for a visit?
Most certainly! We welcome visitors to our farm. Call ahead or Contact Us so that we can be sure to be here.
Do you offer financing for buyers?
We are committed to finding a way to make owning alpacas easy and affordable. As such, we offer payment terms that make it possible including 0% interest for 1 full year and low interest on whatever balance is remaining thereafter. We are fully open to negotiating terms that will work for both you and us.
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