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Heartland Farm RR 1, Box 37, Pawnee Rock, KS 67567 620-923-4585 or 620-786-0865 Fax: 620-792-1746 |
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Alpacas! Alpacas have added a great ambience to our Farm, which has existed since November 1987 as a place to visit and make a retreat, or just relax! Visitors who come now usually head first to the barn to check out the alpacas! We started with a foundation herd of just three alpacas in November, 2003: Marshfellow, Sarendipity, and Miss Daisy. Now we have a herd of thirteen! The first three alpacas came to Heartland Farm to add a new dimension to our ministry. Their gentle, humming ways, beauty, wonderful fleece and inquisitive nature have “added value” to our farm! They are being raised for their wool and for their organic compost, as well as for show and breeding. We spin their fleece, sell roving and yarn, and knitted and crocheted garments. Since we started with the alpacas in late 2003, we have had seven crias born here. Each birth is a great and wonderful experience for us! The story of the most recent birth on September 28, 2007 is told below.
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A few Alpaca Facts from the Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association ¨ Alpacas are members of the camelid (or camel) family. They are mild-tempered, gregarious animals with an inquisitive nature and a penchant for bringing great delight to their owners. ¨ There are two different breed-types: the huacaya (wah-Kl’-ya) and suri (surrey). Although both types of alpacas are physiologically nearly identical, one main physical difference is clearly identifiable: the fleece. Huacaya fleece has a degree of “waviness,” or “crimp” thus giving huacayas a fluffy, “teddy bear-like” appearance. Suris, on the other hand, have no crimp in their fleeces, so their fiber clings to itself, forming beautiful “pencil locks” that hang down from the body in gentle, silky cascades. ¨ Alpacas require only modest amounts of food (approximately 1 to 2 percent of their body weight in hay per day), plus free access to fresh water and free-choice minerals. Some owners also supplement their animals’ diet with additional grains and crumbles, based on specific nutritional needs and preferences. ¨ Alpacas stand approximately 36 inches tall at the withers (the area where the neck and spine come together) and weigh between 100 and 200 pounds. ¨ Indigenous to South America, the alpaca is raised for its soft fleece. This fleece is sheared once a year, yielding roughly five to ten pounds. After only minimal preparation, it is ready to be spun into yarn (for knitting, crocheting, and weaving) or used to make felt (for creating hats, cloth, or moccasins). |
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National Alpaca Day at Heartland Farm
By Sr Elaine Osborne OP
Heartland Farm was one of many locations state- and nationwide to host an open house for National Alpaca Day on September 29th. For our Heartland Farm the day was doubly special because on September 28th the newest alpaca was born! Happily the little cria was a female of 15.6 pounds, healthy, and alert. She was born during the night when no one was in attendance, but that did not dampen the exuberance of the Farm’s welcoming of her the next morning! National Alpaca Day in Kansas was a windy, dust-blowing day, but it seemed not to bother the 150-200 visitors who came to the Farm. Members of the Farm community proudly showed off the new one-day-old baby who was surprisingly steady on her spindly legs. The little brown baby was seemingly not frightened or nervous as she followed her mother Trissie around, nursed, sat down for a rest, or got up to let visitors touch her soft fleece. Other alpacas in the herd, which now numbers 13, were also eager to visit the people – especially the ones with food pellets in their hands! The Farm community encouraged visitors to submit names for the new cria; her name was to begin with “D” for the fourth year of the herd (those born in the previous three years have names beginning with A, B, or C, respectively). It wasn’t long before “Dinah” was chosen as the baby’s name. Other attractions on National Alpaca Day at the Farm included the cookies for the visitors made in the Farm’s solar oven and products for sale made from alpaca yarn. Visitors could tour the straw bale buildings on the Farm complex and watch the spinning of yarn from alpaca fleece. But most of all, the Farm and the visitors will remember this National Alpaca Day because of Dinah’s serendipitous arrival. |
