By Pat Lawrence
Ann Amash and her alpacas. |
Ann Amash adopted a warm and fuzzy lifestyle after she retired from
teaching a few years ago. Her new labor of love is raising alpacas,
gentle aristocrats of the camel and llama family. Alpacas produce
a cashmere-like fleece, a soft, luxurious natural fiber that is warmer,
lighter and stronger than wool. There are two types of alpacas - the
Huacaya and the Suri. Ann and her husband Charles, raise the Suri.
She says, “The Huacaya have fluffy fur like a big teddy bear.
Suri are draped with what looks like tight dreadlocks that flow when
they run.”
Alpacas were first imported to the US in 1984, but 99 percent of
the world's three million alpacas remain in Peru, Bolivia, and Chile.
Ann says the 46,000 American alpacas reflect just the beginning of
a financially rewarding, personally exciting new industry.
Alpaca ranching has introduced Ann to new friends and hundreds of
experiences she never imagined. “I sheared two females all by
myself this year!” Alpaca are sheared once a year, and produce
5-10 pounds of fiber. Like many breeders, Ann is integrating the new
venture into many areas of her life. “I joined a spinning group
and learned how to spin the fiber. Alpaca fiber comes in 22 colors,
it’s durable and it doesn’t itch. It’s not processed
the same way wool is.” She says most alpaca textile processing
is done in Peru, though a handful of US mills are experimenting, employing
former textile workers to make sweaters of alpaca fiber or alpaca
mixed with silk.
Ohio leads the nation in number of alpacas. Ann and Charlie lived
in southeast Ohio for almost 30 years. “When we visited our
daughter in northeast Ohio, ‘Alpaca Country’, we were
fascinated by the alpacas. After our sons bought a farm in Marietta,
we kept thinking about it and, finally just asked them, ‘Why
don’t we raise alpacas on your farm?’ So, we sold our
house in Cambridge and moved to Marietta.” They got their first
animals in July of 2002, with two more in September. The first baby,
called a cria, arrived in May.
Ann says her new lifestyle is centered around the gentle animals,
“although they take very little care.“ They’re intelligent.
They eat grass and chew cud. They don’t bite or butt; they’re
easy to handle. They’re neat.” The animals are fed once
a day and well watered, but, “They get a snack every time we
go to the barn. They like that.”
Alpacas live about 20 years and usually have one cria after a gestation
of 330-362 days. They weigh about 150 pounds.
Ann was surprised to discover alpacas communicate by humming. “They
have a happy hum, a distressed hum. They’re great hummers!”
She says alpacas do spit, like llamas and camels, when disturbed or
protecting young but that’s about all the harm they can do without
horns, hooves or even front teeth. Their soft, padded feet don’t
even damage grass. Ann says, “Fencing is their only defense
against predators. They don’t mind the fence and don’t
try to get out.”
Ann encourages others to enter the business for fun and profit since
the alpaca association estimates 400,000 alpacas would be required
to support an alpaca mill industry. Animals are bought and sold at
auctions, over the Internet and by fellow ranchers. “The going
rate for a young female is $20,000. Young studs sell for $7,500- $25,000.
Some breeders start with several breeding age females and one male.
Others start with a breeding pair. We’re in it as a business.
It will take 3 years before we have enough animals to sell.”
Ann says one acre of land can support 6-8 alpacas so even a small
herd can provide income plus the rewards and tax benefits of a small-scale
farm. There are some large alpaca ranches but most herds have 8-10
animals.
Ranchers may supplement their income by boarding other people’s
alpacas, as Ann has, or with stud fees. Alpacas breed the old fashioned
way; no existing method of artificial insemination has been successful.
An alpaca registry ensures accurate records and documents bloodlines.
Virtually every US alpaca is registered. The registry is closed to
further importation to protect the national herd. Ann says raising
alpacas isn’t a way to get rich quick. “But they are so
sweet, it’s a way to be richly rewarded for a long time.”
Contact Ann Amash at 740-374-9716 or anietta@charter.net.
