Flora & Sundancer

   Alpacas are quiet, gentle and curious animals, slightly smaller than their camelid cousin, the llama. Indigenous to the Andes of South America, these herd animals graze on pasture grass or hay. Fleece colors range from white and light fawn to brown, mahogany, rose gray, silver, and black, and many shades in between.

newly at home

   Having never owned lifestock before, we carefully considered the implications of becoming involved in the alpaca business. We looked beyond the doe-eyes and the cute babies to the business model and the daily tasks, and agreed that the 'alpaca lifestyle' appealed to us on multiple levels.

   Our two-year search for farm property has been rewarded! We have purchased our farm in Eugene, Oregon, just 35 miles from Mike's birthplace. We have readied the1900-era barn and pens, and now the aplacas are arriving. See more photos and notes on our blog.

   Alpacas are fleece animals — that is the end product of our ranching business. Aragon Alpacas breeds toward fineness of dark-colored fleece. And since Nature has a way of surprising us, it can take several breeding steps to arrive at our goal. We make the wisest choices possible, and then wait one year (gestation is 11.5 months) to see the outcome, and then another couple of years before that offspring matures and produces.

Herdsire: Peruvian E Galileo
Grand Color Champion

  Breeding considerations match the attributes of a female with higher qualities in a male, always reaching upward. Physical conformation, fleece characteristics, color genetics, and temperament of each parent enter into the decision.

   Shearing season approaches, and bags full of fleece will once again need to be skirted for shows and sorted for sending to the mill. Raw fiber is desired by hand-spinners or it may be sent to a mini-mill for machine-processing into rovings or yarn. Small mills are often run by other alpaca ranch owners, so the fiber is in skilled hands. There is also a fiber co-op in North America to promote this home-grown resource.

   The alpaca industry is so new in the United States that we are continually learning and sharing information, linking together in our literal grass-roots network. Visit a ranch near you and meet alpacas for yourself!

  For a continuing source of information on raising alpacas for sales and fleece production, listen to our podcast, Alpaca Alley. Upcoming topics include alpaca health and nutrition, finding a veterinarian, herd managment tips, networking with other ranches, guardian animals, and much more.

Drake's Arabesque d'Aragon

"Alpacas offer an outstanding choice as a livestock investment. They have long been known as the aristocrat of all farm animals. But most of all, alpacas are easy keepers, they have a charismatic manner, do very well on small acreage and produce a luxury product which is in high demand." ~ Alpaca Owners & Breeders Association ~