Week 43: Not a Llama

In my quest to do something new each week in 2019, Week 43 took me somewhere very unusual. Middle Child (the one with autism) and I visited an alpaca farm in rural Ohio.

The farm was located behind the owner's house, in the middle of nowhere. I wanted to get a photo of how large the pens were. This one extends all the way to the trees. The photo only shows a small portion of the farm.

There weren't a lot of rules. You could buy food pellets and just let yourself into the pens, closing the gates behind you. My daughter was a little squeamish about feeding them, so we opted not to. We watched other people let the alpacas eat right from their hands. I thought this fellow's face was cute.

Most of the alpacas in this pen were young. The owner said this gal was about 2 weeks old. My daughter kept trying to pet her, but she was skittish about it (as was my daughter - LOL) The 'fur' felt similar to a sheep's.

I honestly thought this one was dead, but she was just sleeping in the dirt.

It was interesting to watch them lay down and get up. It reminded me of giraffes.

There was also a variety of other animals, such as these miniature donkeys, some goats, and a few sheep.

They even had a llama! His name was Larry. To be honest, he had a lot more personality than the alpacas! 

Afterwards, we visited the little boutique on the property. It sold alpaca and llama knickknacks and clothing items, rugs, and yarn made from alpaca fiber. However, it was super pricey. A pair of gloves cost $48. I learned that the alpacas are shorn just once a year to make the items sold in their store. They also sell the fiber to commercial industries.

From their website: 

Alpacas are members of the camelid family. People often confuse alpacas with llamas. While closely related, llamas and alpacas are distinctly different animals. First, llamas are much larger, about twice the size of an alpaca, with an average weight of about 250 to 450 pounds, compared to an alpaca whose weight averages 100 to 200 pounds. Llamas are primarily used for packing or for guarding herds of sheep or alpacas, whereas alpacas are primarily raised for their soft and luxurious fleece making it a top choice for clothing and other alpaca-related products​.