Alpaca – Page 21 – Dutch Hollow Acres

May 5, 2009February 23, 2011

Alpaca: Fiber of the Presidents!

We’ve all seen portraits of Lincoln but did you ever wonder what that infamous black coat, vest and trousers were made out of? Why alpaca of course! How do we know? Lincoln was the first president to have a paparazzi following. Letters, articles, editorials were all written about him and what type of man he was and of course what style he wore. Mention of his coat has been found in numerous readings and here are just a few:

“Portrait life of Lincoln”

“Lincoln became one of the first Republicans. The oratory of this strange, serious man seemed to inspire the hopes of the people. They looked upon him in bewilderment as they saw this giant of the woods, in a black alpaca coat, with his sleeves rolled up, hammering away at the institution which he believed to be unjust.”

“Old ABE” With Alpaca Coat and Grip-Sack”

“While we were sitting in the hotel office after supper, Mr. Lincoln entered, carrying an old carpet-bag in his hand, and wearing a weather-beaten silk hat – too large, apparently, for his head, – a long, loosely fitting frock-coat, of black alpaca, and vest and trousers of the same material.”

“Lincoln and the Tools of War”

“While Robert went in to invite Stanton along, Lincoln entertained the others with some of his stories. Noticing a torn pocket in his black alpaca coat, he mended it with a pin taken from his waste coat. “It seems to me,” he said smiling, “that this does not look quite right for the Chief Magistrate of this mighty Republic.”

On your next visit to our Nation’s Capital, make sure to stop by the Lincoln Memorial and admire Lincoln and his alpaca coat.

May 5, 2009February 25, 2010

Munge, Mange and Mites

One morning I noticed a crust on one of my female’s nose. It was pretty muddy so I figured it was caked on mud more than anything else. A couple of days later I looked at her nose again. Nope, it wasn’t mud but a really thick scab. Thinking maybe she got a cut I put anti bacterial ointment on it and turned her back out.

A day or 2 later I looked at her again. Now both sides of her nose had crusty scabs. Now I know it wasn’t a cut and was something else so I read up on skin problems in alpacas.

She ended up fitting the bill for Munge: Nasal Nyperkeratoxic Dermatitis and is common in alpacas under the age of 2. My girl Bella was just over 2 years. Causes for Munge aren’t really known nor are they sure which virus causes it.

What to look for:
Munge usually is found around the nose and mouth. The skin thickens up to a hard crust. The crust will split and either bleed or some puss will leak out.

Treatment:
Treatment is surprisingly simple and for my case very effective.
The Munge Cocktail as I prepared it:
                – 60cc DMSO
                – 10cc Ivermectin
                – 100ml Gentamicin Piglet – No prescription required when using this strength

WEAR GLOVES!!!! DMSO allows the Ivermec and Gentamicin to penetrate skin. So when you mix this solution up and any time you handle it wear gloves.

Shake up the concoction thoroughly before each application. I soak a cotton ball in it and squeeze out the access. Catch your alpaca and dab the cotton ball on the affected area. Repeat every other day.

On off days use M-T-G. Shake thoroughly before each use. Again I use gloves and a cotton ball and dab it on the affected area. M-T-G is an oil product with Zinc. It softens up the scabs, assists in any zinc deficiencies and promotes hair growth.

Alpaca with munge: 1 week of treatment

Same alpaca after 2 weeks of treatment. Scabs are gone and skin is pink
and clear. Hair has not yet started to regrow.

May 5, 2009February 25, 2010

Herding Alpacas

2 of my girls need to be medicated every other day. One for munge the other has dry skin. I’m 2 weeks into having to catch them and put stinky stuff on the infected parts and they’ve just about had enough of it. Today they were not about to come into the stall for breakfast knowing that I will end up locking them in.

I got out my alpaca poles and tried to herd them into the stall but that wasn’t going to work either. They were bound and determined NOT to be caught.

So, I ended up having to make a chute where I could slowly confine them and herd them into the stall. It worked so I opted to make it more permanent.

I used step in posts and 1.5” wide tape. Since this a perimeter fence it’s not electric nor did I opt to put the bottom 2 strands on. It’s just there so I can herd them into the stall easier.

May 4, 2009February 25, 2010

Alpaca Shearing

What to do with all that fiber?!

Alpaca owners market and brag about how wonderful alpacas are as a fiber animal but the question that everyone has trouble answering is what do you do with all that fiber? The answer is a complicated and can really only be answered by the individual.

Questions to ask yourself:
1. Why am I getting into alpacas? Investment and breeding of animals only? Or do I want to be involved with the fiber itself?
2. Do I have a sales background? Am I able to market and sell finished product?
3. Am I a spinner/knit/crochet/felt etc? Am I able to make my own end products?

Let’s say you’re interested only in breeding alpacas as an investment and have no desire to make a profit from the fiber. There are coops out there that you can send your fiber to. Some will pay you per pound others will send you dividends from profits made by the coop. I will have a list of email links at the end of this newsletter for your review. The truth is there are only a few hundred thousand alpacas in the USA and at this moment you cannot expect to shear the fiber and send it off to magic land for a profit. If our national herd reaches 4 million like in Peru this might be a different conversation. The good news is the coops are recently becoming profitable and there are many more companies out there with business models that will start paying for raw fiber within the next 3-5 years.

The majority of alpaca owners fall in to the next category. We shear the animals, send the raw fleece to a coop or mill and have it turned into end product. These end products are then sold by you at your farm store, craft fairs, online, etc. This model usually will be profitable enough to cover the cost of the animal’s care. Whoo hoo, breaking even! Never a bad thing but remember, marketing is involved. If you just throw up a website and expect people to find you through the intangible wonders of the internet you won’t be able to sell a thing.

Lastly there are those blessed folks who are able to make their own end product. Either you know how to spin and create yarn to sell or you’re able to make usable products that the average customer would enjoy. Because you’re your own manufacture typically your % return will be greater. However, remember to weigh this against the time it takes to make a product by hand. Remember, people will only pay for the item not your time to make it. If you truly enjoy making and selling products there’s nothing more fulfilling and the customers just love it. You may be also able to sell your services to other alpaca owners.

As promised here is a list of all the places I have found so far that will either pay for your fiber or turn it into sellable end product for you.

http://www.afcna.com/ – Pays dividends to share holders who submit fiber – sells end products at wholesale

http://www.neafp.com/ – Sells end products at wholesale and below wholesale for those who submit fiber

http://www.naafp.us/ – certified sorters make high end Skeins and Duvets

http://www.elderberrycreekalpacas.com/ – Currently sells blankets at wholesale but has business model to buy fiber in future years

http://quailrunfibermill.com/custom/expertise.aspx – Sells wholesale blankets of own fiber/fiber pool

http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~llama/ingrid/index.html – Turn your 2nd and 3rd cuttings into rugs for resale

http://bhmalpacas.com/ – Process your 2nd and 3rd into hats!

List of Fiber Mills – process your raw fiber into roving, bats, yarn, socks, duvets etc. You get your own alpaca fiber back from mills, they do not go into a pool.

http://www.georgiamountainfiber.com – mill not mentioned in above list, will blend with other fibers

http://www.zwool.com/ – mill not mentioned in above list – Will do blending and will make socks from your fiber.

May 4, 2009October 10, 2012