On Saturday the alpacaspace.com crew (the wife and I) went over to Heritage Farms shearing day and what a day it was.
We have visited this farm before and were welcomed with kindness and treated like family as we were this time. Tim Sheets and his wife Beth are extremely nice. They love to share their passion for alpacas and enjoy talking about them. Beth was taking the kids to see the alpacas and teaching the children about alpacas. The kids seemed to enjoy listening to her and enjoyed petting the alpacas. Tim was helping out with the shearing and greeting the visitors.
The alpacas were getting their hair cuts today and allot of people came out to watch and learn. I have to admit I was impressed at how the shearing takes place. The tools used and the differences in the areas the fiber is sheared from. The back of the alpaca (saddle area of a horse) is known as the blanket. This is where the best fiber comes from and is used for yarn for creating items like sweaters, socks, scarves, and more. This fiber is considered prime fleece because it is the finest and has fewer or no guard hairs. For more information on fiber Tim has written a great ALpaca Fiber Article. They not only shear the alpacas they also trim toe nails and teeth if needed. Yep you read that right I said teeth. The alpacas don't have upper teeth they only have bottom teeth. Some alpacas teeth grow faster than others and since the diet of alpacas don't allow much grinding the teeth need to be trimmed. No worries though the alpacas don't feel a thing as the teeth don't have any feeling so this process does not hurt the alpaca and is needed to insure a healthy happy alpaca. The only thing is the alpaca may get mad at you for messing with its mouth and spit at you.
Special K Alpacas was on hand with their mobile alpaca shearing crew and tools. Which in itself is impressive. The process they use to shear the alpacas is quit simple. The table sits vertical and they walk an alpaca up to it and strap them in and then lay the table horizontal. This process is like you laying on a table. The legs are restrained as to ensure the alpacas safety and the crews safety. Once the shearing and trimming is complete they remove the restraints and simply put the table back vertical and the alpaca is standing again and can walk away. The shearing takes about 15 to 20 mins depending on the cooperation of the alpaca. I watched about 6 alpacas get sheared and every time the alpaca got off the table I was amazed at how skinny they look, it is site to see. Watching this was a learning experience anyone interested in alpacas should attend.
They also had a few seminars. Tim always explains everything in a way you could understand at any level of alpaca knowledge. One of the neatest things about the seminar we attended was that we were upstairs in a very beautiful old cabin. Tim talked about the history of alpacas and their fiber. He also talked about the industry and how it looked today. His seminars are always informative and enjoyable. He packs in a ton of information and does it without boring you. If you get a chance to attend one of his seminars do yourself a favor and go to it. You will be glad you did.
Also in the cabin they had spinners on hand to answer questions and give advice. I spoke to the ladies and I must say that spinning looks to be relaxing. As they pushed on the peddles to spin the wheel they were teaching others how to do it. It was really neat to learn that they were spinning fiber from the alpacas on the farm I was visiting. The wife and I or should I say the alpacaspace.com crew got to see not only the shearing process but we also got to see how the fiber was converted to yarn. They also had a shop set up in the cabin with finished products to buy. The blankets are soft, well everything made with alpaca fiber is soft. The wife found a grey scarf and had to have it.
Heritage Farm Suri Alpacas is a great place to visit and learn. The drive out is a great trip through the country and the family will enjoy it. You and your family may not have heard of alpacas before but I assure you once you start learning you will become captivated by these animals. My two year old daughter talks about alpacas all the time and absolutely loves them. It is really neat to have my two year old educate adults about an animal that has been around for thousands of years. And I enjoy seeing the excitement on her face when she sees one. If you cant make the drive to Heritage Farm then find a farm close to your house and visit them. You will be amazed how close an alpaca farm is to you. Be careful as you might want to take a couple alpacas home with you.
They were also collecting canned goods for the local food pantry. We felt that we should add this in the blog and ask our readers to follow in their act of generosity and contribute to your local food pantry today. Every bit helps.
We learned allot as we do every time when we talk with Tim and Beth. We absolutely enjoyed the visit to their farm. The hospitality and conversations will be remembered.
Tim and Beth thank you for sharing your knowledge and kindness with us.
We had a great time at the show and met allot of great and wonderful people. We took our two year old daughter with us and she loved seeing all the alpacas that were there and WOW there were allot there. In my best guess there had to be over 1500 alpacas in the show center. We did not think this was going to be this big as we have gone to a few shows and gatherings and I must say this was one top notch event.
As we walked around talking with a few people we have already met before the show, we made a few new friends. One of the farms we met for the first time was Triple Z Alpaca Farm. They are located in Decatur Indiana and the owners Anita and Mike Smith were just so nice and full of information. We talked to them close to over two hours. If there was anyone that treated us like family they did. That is what we love about "alpaca people" you get treated like family and that is exactly what it is an alpaca family. So if you ever get a chance or are driving through Decatur Indiana give em a call I am sure they would love to show you there alpacas.
We attended this show on Saturday and on Sunday. We met allot of new people and learned so very much from all the farms we got a chance to talk to. There were suri's and huacaya's and we learned allot about what made them different. It seemed as anyone you talked to there just loved to talk about alpacas. It was so refreshing to meet people like this. Even the vendors we talked to were extremely nice. The author of annabelle alpaca series of books was on hand and was signing copies of her books. My daughter had to have both of them and she signed them for her. The books she wrote are wonderful, my daughter has had me read them to her a half dozen times and keeps talking about the alpaca garden (get the book you will understand). Next to her was a company PacaGear, the designs they had were amazing. My wife at this point had to have some PacaGear. What they sell are alpaca shirts with cool witty alpaca sayings on them. They had hoodies, sweatshirts, t-shirts, and more. I ended up buying two shirts for the wife and one for my daughter. I think I will be buying more from there site as my wife just loves them. The gentleman that was selling the items was very nice and friendly. So if you are interested in some PacaGear check them out I am sure you will love what they have.
We met up with the farms we have talked to like Once Upon A Farm Alpacas and Heritage Farm Suri Alpacas and a few others. These people were helping out other farms show animals and helping out new people with questions. This is what we love about alpaca farms they help each other out. I cant say it enough it is like a big family.
If you are looking for more information about alpacas Join The Herd today at alpacaspace.com the only alpaca social network. Also be sure to find a farm near you and setup a tour. If you think there might not be a farm around you I promise you will be surprised at just how close one is. The family would love the outing and it is a great learning experience for everyone. Just be careful you just might fall in love with one.
I am sure that we will be attending the next Indiana Alpaca Invitational and hope you will too.
We are going to the Fort Wayne Show in the morning and we are very excited about being there. But the reason for this entry was not really about the show as much as it is about the blog feed. We have an account with feedburner and with this account you get access to allot of cool tools to help promote your blogs. For example the widget below is one of those nice little perks of having an account with feedburner. What is so cool about this little widget is you can put into just about any webpage including myspace and the links will work that is why we like it so much. Our feed we publish is a feed that includes every single blog post from alpacaspace.com so if you don't have time to sign up with feedburner or don't know how we have taken care of that for you.
Our mission is to promote the alpaca industry and help provide information to everyone looking for it. If you have a blog on alpacaspace.com you can promote your farm product or even farm visits. Every bit of information helps to promote the alpaca industry and further the understandings of people interested. Our membership includes a ton of features that will help promote and further anyones exposure on the internet just by simply doing something you enjoy. alpacaspace.com was built to add a fun interesting touch to the ever growing alpaca industry and we are trying to provide a outlet any farm or enthusiasts can enjoy. Join The Herd today and help build the community.
We have been working on some new features for our members to enjoy. We have just added a feature that will allow any member to use any myspace layout code that is available online. Thats right you can now use any layout you wish on your profile. It was a long process to add this feature but we feel it will add that extra bit for farms and alpaca enthusiasts to set themselves apart from everyone else. There are tons of layout generators online and you could even use your own pics to make that special one of a kind layout.
Since we are updating and working on this site all the time we were asked to allow all members to be able to have a blog and since we thought that it would add a bit of excitement we decided to give the feature of having a blog on alpacaspace.com to any member that is registered. Not only do the paying members get a blog but so do the non-paying members. We hope this added bit will help spread the word of alpacaspace.com and also allow more information and interaction on our site for others to enjoy.
We are currently working on some new features and ideas so be sure to check us out as we continue to update and try to create the best alpaca social network available online.
If you have any suggestions please feel free to contact us using this link and let us know what you think.
As always Join The Herd today and help us create the best alpaca community that not only supports the alpaca industry but is a fun place to visit and learn.
Here is a screen shot of the settings tab/Design My Profile link.
At the bottom of the Design My Profile link in the My Account link you will see this box:
You would simply paste the code found on any popular layout website into the CSS box and save. It is that simple!
So Join The Herd today and make your profile your own...
Alpacaspace.com has been trying to find new and great ways to help promote the alpaca industry. We have found a up and coming site that fits into what we are trying to do. This site is not just limited to alpacas or farms it can be used by anyone trying to promote themselves, ideas, or simply information.
The site is Qassia and it allows you to post intel (information about your topic) and by doing so you will get great back links to your site. Ok I am sure you are asking what are back links? Well the easiest way to understand back links is google loves em and the more you have the higher you rank on a search term and the higher you PR or page rank with google will be. Simply put the more you submit the more links to your site you will get. And this means more traffic and you didnt have to pay a dime to advertise.
While we are not pro's at the whole SEO (search engine optimization) thing we have seen our site jump up in google by using these types of services. If you cant afford to pay someone to take care of your site rankings but need a way to drive quality traffic to your site this is a great way to do so.
We have blogged in the past about a few of these services and think this site Qassia is going to help drive more traffic than any other. While they are sill new what the site does is what sets it apart from everyone else.
You have nothing to lose by trying out his service and have everything to gain by using it. Again it costs nothing and you have an opportunity to drive quality traffic to your site which can mean higher sales and greater keyword rankings in search engines.
The site is in beta but is offering a membership through invites so we would like to invite you and your friends to go to http://alpacaspace.qassia.com and try it out.
And as always be sure to Join The Herd here at alpacaspace.com and promote your love for alpacas today.
We are very excited that we are going to be able to attend the Indiana Alpaca Invitational in Fort Wayne. It is being held April 5-6 at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum and Expo Center. This is the first annual event that the IAI has had. It is also AOBA Certified.
We are going to the event to be able to learn and communicate with the breeders and see some of these wonderful alpacas on display. This is a great opportunity for anyone interested in alpacas to come and learn.
We will blog about the show and maybe even be able to interview a few farms. If you go to the show and see us walking around be sure to say hello. And of course be sure to Join The Herd at alpacaspace.com and let us know what you thought of the show.
For more information about this event go to the Indiana Alpaca Invitational website here.
After the show make sure you come back and read about how much fun we had.
Alpacaspace.com has been created to help promote the alpaca industry and offer information to anyone seeking it. This site offers allot of features found in other social network sites but is reserved for alpacas. Anyone can join and communicate with the registered farms and even have their own profile. As farms and service providers sign up the wealth of information found at alpacaspace.com will be endless. Not only does alpacaspace want to advertise the site they also want to help farmers, breeders, and service providers an opportunity to get the information they feel is necessary in order to inform others about the alpaca lifestyle. Alpacas have been featured in commercials, movies, and not to long ago on the view. The fiber these animals share with us is of the finest material on earth. The fiber is warm, naturally water repellent, and is even as soft as cassimere. Once you meet one of these animals you might just fall in love. They are docile and friendly and absolutely love children. Alpacas originated from Peru and have been used for centuries by Kings and royalty for their fiber. So way not take a look at alpaca made products or even visit a farm near you.
There are simply too many uses for alpaca fiber to list. Search around and you will find that it is absolutely amazing what this fiber can be used for.
If you are interested in information that pertains to alpacas and the fiber they share check out alpacaspace.com.
On march 25 the Chicago Tribune published a piece titled
It's probably time to buy a new pillow
In this article they describe how a pillow holds germs and mites.
Here is the link to the story we felt was interesting. Click Here
We thought we would look into this and went to the site in the news story. On the site they are selling pillows made with alpaca fiber. Here is one way they describe the use of alpaca fiber in the pillow. "Alpaca fiber's porous nature is naturally dry and clean which prevents dust mites and other allergens from settling in."
This company also offers a wide arrangement of products that are made with alpaca fiber. It is worth a look. The site is AllergyBuyersClub.com when you go there use the search term alpaca and you will find allot of great alpaca products.
It looks like I will be buying a few alpaca pillows after reading the effects pillows can have on you.
We also found the follwing to be of intrest and should help in understanding the usefulness of alpaca fiber......
Alpaca Fiber - Avoid Chemicals and Allergens Naturally
We are exposed to too many chemicals and allergens in todays society. Alpaca fiber is rapidly gaining in popularity because it is softer, warmer, and stronger than sheeps' wool, but did you know that it has natural properties that can help you avoid chemicals and allergens?
An alpaca is a gentle fiber animal. No animals are killed to harvest the luxurious alpaca fiber which is another reason people like alpaca wool. Below are five ways that an alpacas' fleece helps you avoid some harsh chemicals and other irritants.
1. Alpaca fiber comes in 22 natural colors. No need to use harsh dye products. The natural colors range from white and fawn to dark brown and black. Textile dye dermatitis is more frequent than people think. It's not often tested for in standard allergy screenings. Darker dye colors are more problematic. You can avoid this irritant by choosing natural colors made from alpaca wool.
2. Alpaca fiber only needs to be cleaned with mild detergent. No harsh chemicals need to be used to clean the raw wool. No need to take it to a dry cleaners where they use perchloroethylene. This is a neurotoxic chlorinated solvent that accumulates in the fat, is a possible endocrine disrupter, and probably carcinogenic. You can hand wash your alpaca wool in mild detergent and steer clear of harsher chemicals.
3. Alpaca fiber repells water naturally. What a great natural property! Not only do you stay dryer, but your alpaca garment will be mold and mildew resistant. Mold and mildew can trigger an allergic reaction and asthma, irritation of tissues, infections, and toxic effects from mycotoxins (chemicals that molds produce). Having mold and mildew resistant alpaca can help you dodge these problems.
4. Did you know that alpaca fiber is naturally fire retardant? No need for those toxic fire proofing chemicals in alpaca wool like you find in synthetic fibers. Avoid having these harsh chemicals next to your skin by wearing alpaca wool.
5. Alpaca fiber is nonallergenic. Alpaca wool naturally fights dust mites. Dust mites are the cause of most asthmas, nasal allergies, and some eczemas. Owning alpaca can help cut down on dust mites.
Bypass the problems caused by harsh chemicals and allergens by wearing alpaca products or using raw alpaca fiber to make your own felt or spin your own yarn to make garments. Less chemical and allergen exposure will make you healthier. Try alpaca for a natural solution to todays irritants.
Read more about alpaca fiber. Debby McCandless has raised alpacas for seven years.
We have been submiting alpacaspace.com links to search engines and found one to be of a special use. It is for blogs, we have submitted the main blog page so any blog that is updated here will be in the top spots on the search engines. If you have an alpaca related blog we would suggest submitting a link to them, here is the site Blogs Directory
We also found another blog directory That we feel is useful and would suggest submitting your blog there also. Remember our member blogs have already been submitted to these directories.
Here is another directory of intrest
And another
As you can see we are trying to not only create links for alpacaspace.com but hopefully we are helping others promote their alpaca related sites.
We also have been testing alpacaspace.com and how everything works. We are getting ready to ad a few more features that will help in the posting of classifieds and events. We are also getting ready to set up the member profiles to be able to use any myspace code that is available. So you can custom your profile and make it all your own.
We understand this is going to be a long process but are here to finish out the trip and hopfully succed in what we are trying to do and that is create an alpaca social network that is as much informational as it is fun.
The alpacas were getting their hair cuts today and allot of people came out to watch and learn. I have to admit I was impressed at how the shearing takes place. The tools used and the differences in the areas the fiber is sheared from. The back of the alpaca (saddle area of a horse) is known as the blanket. This is where the best fiber comes from and is used for yarn for creating items like sweaters, socks, scarves, and more. This fiber is considered prime fleece because it is the finest and has fewer or no guard hairs. For more information on fiber Tim has written a great 
We attended this show on Saturday and on Sunday. We met allot of new people and learned so very much from all the farms we got a chance to talk to. There were suri's and huacaya's and we learned allot about what made them different. It seemed as anyone you talked to there just loved to talk about alpacas. It was so refreshing to meet people like this. Even the vendors we talked to were extremely nice. The author of 
