Our Goals:
To breed for high quality alpaca fleece while
maintaining healthy alpacas.
To educate the public on the role of fiber producing animals in our economy
and provide opportunities for our community to experience alpacas. To
market our alpacas in a manner that ensures anyone that acquires one
of our alpacas is a qualified owner. To donate a portion of the farm
proceeds to charitable organizations.
We support the goals of the Alpaca
Owners and Breeders Association and believe that we
must play an active role in the national and regional
alpaca groups that support the alpaca industry.
To Achieve
Our Goals:
Here at Abenaki Acres we breed for the highest
quality alpacas with a focus on creating an array of
colors. We believe our work as breeders is never done,
and as each cria season comes and goes we look to what
can be done better. We breed our alpacas for the highest
quality fleece, temperament and impeccable conformation.
Have a look at our alpaca sales list page to see for yourself! This effort
must also ensure that the health of each animal is considered and maintained
for the quality of life of the alpaca as they age and bear cria. We also
focus on the diversity of bloodlines to draw the best aspects into our
alpaca breeding program.
We continually invite various groups to our farm to learn about alpacas,
their heritage and the related heritage of our farm history. This educational
effort continues to grow as we learn more about the gracious and elegant
alpaca. Boy scout troops, high school classes, special educational groups,
are among the groups that have visited our farm. We also make ourselves
available to other community organizations when they need a speaker for
their programs
We have joined Heifer International’s Village Builder program to contribute
to their programs in South America that involve alpacas. Visit the Heifer
International site www.heifer.org to see more information on this
excellent program that helps families and villages throughout the USA
and the world. We are Farm Members of AOBA, MAPACA, NEOABA, Empire, NJAC
and other regional groups that support the alpaca industry. See our Resource
Page for the full list of our affiliations. |
Our Facility and Alpaca Care Program
Our alpacas graze on almost twenty acres of lush
pasture divided into multiple sections for easy rotation.
Most of the pastures roll down the substantial hill that
runs through our property behind the barn and house.
Alpacas are native to the Alto Plano in the Andes Mountains
of South America and therefore love having the opportunity
to run, play, rest and graze in hilly areas. We believe
these hills provide an excellent source of behavioral
enrichment for our alpacas. The view from the house of
them on the hillside gives us great pleasure. The psychological
health of our alpacas is of the utmost importance to
us. Our facility was designed from scratch with the animal
as the focus. The custom built, two story barn is centralized
so that each alpaca can be observed at any point during
feeding or medical procedures. We built the barn on the
top of our hill in order to provide an ample breeze during
the hot summer months. During the winter, it can easily
be closed into an cozy place to sleep.
Our pens were put in place with flexibility
in mind and can be reconfigured to accommodate anywhere
from seven separate groups of alpacas to two, very
large groups to anything in-between! Automatic waterers,
an ample supply of hay (and occasional alfalfa!), free
choice minerals and twice daily feed supplements make
up our nutritional program. We also practice quarantine
policies for any animals that are new to our farm.
Even the bio-security welcome mats are part of our
herd health program. We weigh each animal at least
monthly, examine and clean up the “poop” piles daily,
disinfect the barn monthly,and use a computerized data
base to keep detailed records on the health and well-being
of each alpaca recording everything from changes in
behavior to routine health procedures. This aids us
in having a comprehensive understanding of each individual
alpaca’s norms. It also allows us to convey a comprehensive
history of an alpaca to their new owners.
Our “tack room” is the nerve center of the daily activity on the farm;
chore lists, alpaca information, and a comprehensive supply of maintenance
tools and medical supplies for our herd. You will also see the extensive
number of erasable white boards throughout the barn that allow us to
record observations instantly for later recording into each alpaca’s
history.
Training and
Temperament
We love each of our alpacas dearly and view
them as individuals. The herd management philosophy,
organization of the pens, pastures and training work
is geared to the well being of each alpaca. Abenaki
Acres Farm is committed to maintaining a well-trained
alpaca herd. We employ a number of training techniques
focusing specifically on the Cameldynamics - Marty
McGee Method. We have worked with many species of animals
throughout our lives and feel that establishing trust
and security is of the utmost importance when it comes
to having happy, healthy companions! To that end, we
view each day as an opportunity to reinforce a common
language with our alpacas. With a rotating training
schedule, we ensure that each animal
on our farm receives focused, personal attention at least once each week.
This might mean a walk down the driveway, work in a small training pen
or simply a quiet moment of trust. This sort of interaction builds confidence
in both the handler and the alpaca. Training is the art of building a
language with our alpacas so as to be able to communicate with them.
We think it is the most important part of our job as caretakers of these
beautiful creatures.
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About Alpacas:
Alpacas are ruminant animals that are prized
throughout the world for their very soft, fine fleece
that can be made into high-end products. Alpacas are
part of the Camelid family which includes camels, llamas,
guanacos, alpacas and vicunas in descending order of
size. To give you an idea of the size of alpacas, they
are often described as the “smaller cousin of the llama”
- they grow to be about three feet at the shoulder, weighing
an average of 140lbs. Many people find that alpacas are
just small enough to be handled with ease as the average
alpaca can look you right in the eye!
There are two different varieties of alpacas. These are defined primarily
by differences in their fleece. The more common type of alpaca is known
as Huacaya. Huacaya fleece has quite a bit of volume to it, standing
out from the body similar to the way a poodle’s coverage looks. The other
type of alpaca is called Suri. Suri alpacas have fleece that grows down
from their bodies and twists into locks that move in a way that is reminiscent
of a fringe. Alpacas also come in sixteen different colors and endless
types of patterns. The average lifespan of an alpaca is twenty years.
Females begin breeding at sixteen to eighteen months of age and continue
to produce until about fifteen years of age! The average female produces
about 12 cria in her lifespan. Males can begin breeding at 24 months
but often begin around at 36 months of age. Spitting is a camelid trait
that alpacas practice, but mostly at each other. On the rare occasion
a person gets a “hit” it is usually because she or he is in the crossfire
between two animals having a disagreement. The most
common spitting incidents range from disputes over food or a female letting
a male know that they are not interested in breeding.
The facilities that support alpacas
take many forms – governed by budget, space and existing
facilities. At a minimum a three sided shelter, a source
of clean fresh water, and room to forage and exercise.
Abenaki Acres is happy to discuss farm set up, supplies,
and other aspects of raising alpacas. Every new owner
that receives extensive support in this area from Abenaki
Acres Farm. All alpaca owners learn a new vocabulary;
orgling, cria, dams, herdsires, kush, are just some
of the words that will become part of your every day
conversation around alpacas.
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The
Legacy of Abenaki Acres
Our farm is named in tribute to part of our family history
that traces back to the Abenaki Indians of North America. The
word “Abenaki” translates to easterners or people of the dawn.
The Abenaki Indians were located mostly in what is now Southeastern
Canada, Maine, New Hampshire and the Lake Champlain areas of
the Northeastern United States.
You may have noticed that some of our animals have unfamiliar sounding names.
We have decided that all alpacas born to Abenaki Acres will posses names pulled
from the traditional language of the Abenaki people. For example, Sokoki (so
ko KEE) means “one who is apart” in Abenaki. We chose this as the name for
our first cria who was born in 2004 at another farm where he and his Dam were
boarding at the time. Alnanbal (al nah BAH) means “man” and is the name given
to our second cria born.
The Legacy of Abby
Another part of our reason for naming the farm Abenaki
has to do with a chocolate Labrador we adopted in the early
1990’s who we chose to name Abenaki. We were deeply saddened
when Abby, as we called her, died suddenly in 2001. In her
honor, we have decided to always have a chocolate lab on the
farm named Abenaki. In 2004 we acquired “Abby2” – she is a
wonderful tribute to the original Abenaki and she brings positive,
curious energy with her wherever she goes. You might notice
that there is a lab somewhere on every page of this website.
This represents the constant presence of the original Abby.
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