KINSMAN RAISING A PACK OF ALPACAS

An area couple started with a few animals and now have a herd of 12.
By REBECCA SLOAN
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
HEN KINSMAN TOWNSHIP resident Jacque Piper saw some alpacas at the 2002 Cleveland Home and Garden Show, she was hooked with just one look.
"I told my husband I really wanted to get some alpacas of our own," she said. "There was just something about them that I couldn't resist."
Although Jacque, a part-time librarian at Kinsman Library, and her husband, Dennis, an engineer at Delphi, didn't own any animals besides a dog and cat, it wasn't long before they'd transformed their 15-acre property on Kinsman Pymatuning Road into an alpaca haven.
"We bought three pregnant females in 2002 and put up a small barn and fenced in some pasture," Jacque said. "Now we have 12 alpacas, we're planning a larger pasture, and we just put up a new barn."
With its hemlock siding and green metal roof, the new two-story barn is quaint and rustic -- a welcome refuge for the small herd of alpacas that drifts timidly in and out of its roughhewn interior.
Jacque said she and her husband plan to convert half of the new barn into an alpaca store.
What will be sold
Merchandise will include socks, mittens, sweaters and other sundries made from alpaca fleece, which is warmer than wool and softer than cashmere.
"Some of the merchandise will be made from fleece taken from our own animals. Other merchandise will come from outside sources," Jacque explained.
Although the store won't officially open until November with hours by appointment only, the public is welcome to drop in for a sneak preview June 3 and 4 when Pine Brook will participate in the Tour de Alpacas -- an open house featuring three other Trumbull County alpaca farms.
Tour hours are 10 a.m. until 6 p.m., and Ross Alpaca Ranch in Hubbard and Sunburst Alpacas and Dream Spinner Farm Alpacas, both near Cortland, also are participating.
Dennis said many people are surprised to learn that there are many alpaca farms in the area and that Ohio is a leader in the alpaca industry.
"Ohio has more alpacas than any other state in the United States," he said, adding, "Geauga County has more alpacas than any other Ohio county, but the largest farm in the state is in Litchfield, which is near Medina."
Making a profit
Although alpaca fleece brings a handsome profit (Jacque said a 2-ounce skein sells for about $12 to $14), Dennis said the majority of the gain is in the breeding and sale of the animals.
"Baby alpacas sell for about $10,000 and up," he said. "The father of one of our alpacas recently sold for a record price of $600,000."
The color of an alpaca's thick, puffy coat greatly determines its value.
"Gray is a really popular color right now," Jacque said. "Especially the rosy grays."
Fleece density, uniformity and fineness also affect an animal's worth.
Alpacas are sheared once every spring, and although they respond to the shearing process with skittish resistance, newly shorn animals are much lighter and happier during the hot summer months.
"Alpacas tolerate winter much better than summer," Jacque said. "In summer we have to put fans up in the barn."
Handling the shearing
This year the Pipers hired two men from Peru to do their annual shearing.
Manuel Ramos and Victor Saca were both born and raised in Peru but have been staying at Stachowski Alpacas, a large alpaca ranch in Mantua.
When not occupied with jobs at the Stachowski farm, the pair travels throughout Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and sometimes Maine shearing alpacas.
"We will spend about five or six months in the United States shearing," Ramos said. "Then we'll return to Peru. We will be back again next year."
Saca, who speaks almost no English, counts 2006 as his first year in the United States, but Ramos, who speaks English fairly well, has been coming here every year for the past eight years.
"The [industry is growing here], and there is a need for people who specialize in alpacas, especially the shearing. I've always been around alpacas, so I [have experience]. In Peru, everyone has alpacas," he said.
Alpacas are native to the mountains of South America where, Ramos said in addition to being raised for their fleece, they serve as pack animals.
"I learned to shear when I was very young. I helped my parents with it," Ramos said.
Single with no family obligations back in Peru, Ramos said he is "free to be in the United States" for several months at a time.
"I enjoy my time here and look forward to coming each year," he said.
Ramos also specializes in alpaca dental and nail care and in show preparation.
Dividing it up
After Ramos and Saca have sheared the Pipers' small herd, the thick, heavy fleece is divided into piles and bagged.
Some will be sold on the Internet, some will be sent to a mill in Georgia where it will be spun into yarn, and some will go to the Alpaca Fiber Co-op of North America.
"The co-op turns the fleece into products that we can then purchase at a discounted rate," Jacque explained.
Jacque also will keep a small portion of fleece and spin it into yarn with her own hands.
"It's very soft and it's hypoallergenic, so it's gentle to the skin," Jacque said showing a pair of white mittens that were knitted from the fleece of one Pine Brook's alpacas.
Alpaca mannerisms also are very soft and gentle, and owners can't help but love their docile temperaments.
"One of my favorite things about them is the way they hum," Jacque said.
A few minutes later, one of the female alpacas makes a soothing noise that sounds very much like a woman humming.
"It's something they do when they are content," Jacque explained.
No importing allowed
Alpacas were introduced to the U.S. during the 1980s. Now importing alpacas is illegal, and all buying and selling is done within U.S. borders.
Jacque said all animals are DNA tested and implanted with microchips to safeguard against theft.
Alpacas live about 20 years and are easy to care for.
"They are very low-maintenance," Jacque said. "They don't require a lot of pasture and eat mostly hay, grain and grass."
As a special treat, the Pipers feed their alpacas graham crackers, and when the herd gathers round for an afternoon snack, Jacque speaks again about her fondness for the animals and for alpaca farming.
"We really enjoy it," she said. "They are just so cute. You just can't resist their cute faces."