Alpaca Fields Forever, LLC
"Where Living is Easy"
"Where Living is Easy"
Your Subtitle text
Home Page
Serene (Mom) and Bella (her cria)
Alexander (Born 6/6/2009)
The first known record of Alpacas were discovered 5000 years ago in the drawings on the walls of the caves found high in the Andean Mountains. Alpaca were the domestic cattle of South America. They became the foundation of the prosperity of the Andean Indians. The Incas conquered the Indians and captured their "Precious Cattle". Alpaca became the basis of wealth for the Incan Society.
Alpaca produce one of the world's finest and most luxurious natural fibers. It is sheared from the animal once a year, without causing any injury. Soft as cashmere and warmer, lighter and stronger than wool without the oil or lanolin. The fiber contains microscopic air pockets, which create lightweight garments with high insulation values.
The European fashion industry use this fiber in much of their designer clothing.
Alpaca were first imported to this country in 1984. They are gentle and easy to raise. They deposit their droppings in a few spots on the farm, so clean-up is effortless. They weigh about 175 to 200 lbs. and have two nails on each foot with pads like dogs. They require minimal fencing and it is possible to have 10-12 Alpaca per acre.
Our farm is located on 19 beautiful acres in Southern Chester County, New London PA on an old sheep farm. Here, the alpaca are free to roam from pasture to pasture and into the barn for water in a fenced area. The males are separated from the females so not to cause unplanned pregnancies. The females don't have a menstrual cycle but the egg is delivered at time of breeding, so females can get pregnant anytime of year. The gestation period is 11 months and only deliver one cria (baby) at a time.
I started in 2002 with two pregnant females as my foundation. Eleven months later I was blessed with two more beautiful females. I had doubled my investment in less than a year. The foundation females were then bred to outside sires 14 days later. In eleven months, a female and one male were born and so on... for the next six years. I now have 21 Alpaca 11 females and 10 males.
The alpaca are not a labor intensive or financial drain like most livestock. Vet bills are minimum, shearing once a year with nail cutting approximately twice a year. The most effort was the the planning of the pastures. I use electric tensile which keep the animals in and predators out.
At shearing time, a group of alpaca farmers get together and schedule a shearer to come to our farms. One at a time, each alpaca is secured to a table, front legs and rear legs tied to a post so the animal in unable to move. When shearing begins the animal is carefully positioned to cause as little stress as possible. Bags of fiber are divided in three categories: blanket, neck, and seconds. We put their names on the bags and weigh them to document the amount and quality of the fiber. The animal is then released slowly, so the animal in not injured. The animal feels alot cooler, prepared for the hot summer months ahead.
The fiber is such a treasure. We ship the fiber to mills that process it into beautiful 3-ply yarn. Some of it is woven into soft and warm blankets. Local yarn shops buy the yarn and sell it to the local "knit-wits" who find it such a luxury.
The seconds of the fiber is felted and used in making hats and vests.
Alpaca Fields Forever, LLC
4 Duncan Lane
Lincoln University, PA 19352
610 255-1412 office 610 255-0627 fax
email: Daniel@AlpacaFieldsForever.com
Alpaca produce one of the world's finest and most luxurious natural fibers. It is sheared from the animal once a year, without causing any injury. Soft as cashmere and warmer, lighter and stronger than wool without the oil or lanolin. The fiber contains microscopic air pockets, which create lightweight garments with high insulation values.
The European fashion industry use this fiber in much of their designer clothing.
Alpaca were first imported to this country in 1984. They are gentle and easy to raise. They deposit their droppings in a few spots on the farm, so clean-up is effortless. They weigh about 175 to 200 lbs. and have two nails on each foot with pads like dogs. They require minimal fencing and it is possible to have 10-12 Alpaca per acre.
Our farm is located on 19 beautiful acres in Southern Chester County, New London PA on an old sheep farm. Here, the alpaca are free to roam from pasture to pasture and into the barn for water in a fenced area. The males are separated from the females so not to cause unplanned pregnancies. The females don't have a menstrual cycle but the egg is delivered at time of breeding, so females can get pregnant anytime of year. The gestation period is 11 months and only deliver one cria (baby) at a time.
I started in 2002 with two pregnant females as my foundation. Eleven months later I was blessed with two more beautiful females. I had doubled my investment in less than a year. The foundation females were then bred to outside sires 14 days later. In eleven months, a female and one male were born and so on... for the next six years. I now have 21 Alpaca 11 females and 10 males.
The alpaca are not a labor intensive or financial drain like most livestock. Vet bills are minimum, shearing once a year with nail cutting approximately twice a year. The most effort was the the planning of the pastures. I use electric tensile which keep the animals in and predators out.
At shearing time, a group of alpaca farmers get together and schedule a shearer to come to our farms. One at a time, each alpaca is secured to a table, front legs and rear legs tied to a post so the animal in unable to move. When shearing begins the animal is carefully positioned to cause as little stress as possible. Bags of fiber are divided in three categories: blanket, neck, and seconds. We put their names on the bags and weigh them to document the amount and quality of the fiber. The animal is then released slowly, so the animal in not injured. The animal feels alot cooler, prepared for the hot summer months ahead.
The fiber is such a treasure. We ship the fiber to mills that process it into beautiful 3-ply yarn. Some of it is woven into soft and warm blankets. Local yarn shops buy the yarn and sell it to the local "knit-wits" who find it such a luxury.
The seconds of the fiber is felted and used in making hats and vests.
Alpaca Fields Forever, LLC
4 Duncan Lane
Lincoln University, PA 19352
610 255-1412 office 610 255-0627 fax
email: Daniel@AlpacaFieldsForever.com
