At last count, there were more than 200 Alpaca farms registered in New York state, as raising the ever-popular animal has become a hobby for many farmers.
Bruno Mars and Olaf are two male alpacas at Alpacaville, known as the boys, and part of the Camelid family that also includes camels and llamas.
Separated from the boys are a handful of female alpacas, each with their own unique personality.
What You Need To Know
- Alpaca farms are becoming more popular across New York state
- They are in the same family as llamas and camels
- Alpaca fiber is known for creating soft and warm clothing
"I would say they have a lot of personality," Alpacaville co-owner Shauna Anderson said. "They run about 150-200 pounds. They are not a pack animal. They're worthless as pack animals, but they've got really nice fiber."
Anderson says their fiber is some of the warmest around, as they do some of their own shearing on the farm where they also sell they yarn and several other items at their store on the grounds. Some items they make, others are fair trades from countries native to the animal.
"Alpaca farms are all about feeling the softness and the warmth of the different items that we have," Anderson said. "It really is a labor of love for us. We're not going to make millions of dollars here but we certainly have a lot of people who tell us how much it meant to them."
When not on the farm, Anderson takes the show on the road, along with her husband, to outdoor festivals, where customers and fellow alpaca enthusiasts like Jill Conroy add to her collection of hats and gloves.
"Just the way that they move around effortlessly and that we can get their product without hurting them," said Conroy.
"We are able with our retail to pay for our hay, and our alfalfa and our grain and our vet bills for the entire year," said Anderson.
The Andersons have had alpacas on their farm for about ten years.
"This is something we could do together. It was part of our retirement planning," Anderson said. "They don't need a lot of room. They're actually very easy to take care of. We've just enjoyed them and enjoyed sharing the farm."
A couple of fun facts about alpacas - they don't have any teeth on their upper jaw, only the lower one, so they do not bite. They live to be about 15 to 20 years old, and are easy to train.