Alpacas Are Amazing!

Many people enjoyed getting “up close and personal” with a herd of alpacas Saturday at the grand opening of Rosa Luna Fields at East Goss School Road in Pekin.

The alpacas are owned by Lisa Thomas. When not tending to the herd, Thomas teaches fifth grade at East Washington Middle School.

Free alpaca feed was offered to visitors, and everyone seemed to be delighted with the opportunity to feed, pet and interact with the animals. The alpacas were friendly, gentle and very interested in their human visitors.

Visitors also enjoyed refreshments, games, free raffles, and the opportunity to purchase a wide variety of items made from alpaca fleece or “fiber.” There was also a lot of information on honey production and bottles and jars of honey for sale that had been produced on site.

Thomas currently has a herd of eight alpacas, doubling her herd over the past three years. All animals used in a breeding program are registered. Females carry their babies for 344 days, and the newborns usually weigh 13 to 17 pounds at birth.

Alpacas are prized for their luxurious natural fiber. The fiber is extremely soft and warm and is much easier to clean than wool. It is very durable and can be easily dyed to create colorful textile items.

The animals are sheared once a year. The fiber is usually about six inches in length for males and three-to-four inches in length for females. Thomas explained that females produce shorter fiber, because most of their nutrition is diverted to the development of their young rather than on fiber growth.

For more information you may want to visit the website of Rosa Luna Fields at www.RosaLunaFields.com or the Indiana Alpaca Association at www.indianaalpaca.org.