Weekly Feature: Hidden Gems

Today's Hidden Gem: Alpha Omega Alpacas

I have to admit, I have not been to this Alpaca Farm yet, but their press release caught my eye! I contacted them about their upcoming event this weekend and am intrigued by what they told me!

This Saturday, May 17th, they are having an Open House. The open house goes from 9am until 4pm at 14500 Darrow Road just outside of Vermilion, Ohio. For more details, feel free to contact the farm at 440.967.1103.

Then on May 19th, this farm will be shearing their alpacas. They only shear them once a year and usually get 5 to 10 pounds of fiber per alpaca.

I've been in contact with Stephanie White, from Alpha Omega Alpacas. I'd first like to thank Stephanie for her wealth of knowledge on this subject and for sharing it with me! This particular Alpaca Farm does so much. They just got back from a show in Columbus. Farms from all over the U.S. were in attendance. Alpha Omega Alpacas took some of their best alpacas and came home with 1st and 2nd place ribbons!

At Saturday's open house, you will see alpacas ranging from all sizes, shapes, and colors.

There will be spring babies, which weigh 15 to 20 pounds at birth. You can get a glimpse of these babies playing, napping or being fed by their moms...

And, you can even get close enough to see how soft they feel!

I've gleaned some wonderful factoids! For instance, Alpacas are raised for their fibers ...but can also be raised as livestock which eventually will be sold.

This farm carefully picks which animals they breed in hopes of bringing a spectacular offspring into the world! Farms are happy when the offspring are female or male. If the offspring is a female, she can obviously reproduce. If you get a male, breeders pay a lot for a superior male stud, which is the herdsire.

A little background from the Alpha Omega Alpacas Farm folks: The Alpaca is part of the South American camelid. They are a bit smaller than the llama. Most alpacas can be found in Ecuador, Peru, Chili and Bolivia. In 1999, alpacas stopped being imported. They usually weigh between 120 and 170 pounds and can live from 18 to 25 years. Alpha Omega Alpacas say they have the breed known as Huacayas, which has a full fleece and looks like a teddy bear. However, another breed is the Suri, which has dreadlocks. Alpacas make a humming and clucking sound. Some alpacas spit but all are capable of doing so.

Alpacas enjoy a nice, healthy menu which consists of apples, celery, carrots, hay, graham crackers, and special alpaca grain. They only have lower teeth.

Their wonderfully soft fiber is used to make clothing and comes in all colors. The baby fiber is the best to use.

The friendly folks at Alpha Omega Alpacas say they can have up to 10 alpacas per acre. The female alpaca can be bred as young as 18 months old and then they are pregnant for almost a year. When they give birth, they have one baby, called a 'crai.' The female can have up to 15 babies in her lifetime. The male starts breeding at 2 years old. They try weaning the babies after 6 months. And then the mom can be re-bred just two weeks after giving birth! WOW!

If you do visit Alpha Omega Alpacas, be sure to keep your eyes open for their guard llama, Mariah. You can not miss her. She weighs 300 pounds and keeps a close eye on all of her alpaca!

Try to visit Alpha Omega Alpacas either May 17th for their open house or May 19th for their shearing. However, they would love hearing from you anytime and love showing their alpacas to the public year round!

pictures and information courtesy: Alpha Omega Alpacas