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More About Alpacas
What is an Alpaca?
Along with Llamas, Guanacos, and Vicuñas, Alpacas are a member of the South American Camelid family. Aside from the Vicuña, Alpacas boast the rarest and finest fiber of all the camelids.

These passive animals have been domesticated for thousands of years and are prized for their luxurious fiber.

The Alpaca, with its alert attentive face and pucker, will melt your heart. Their delightful personalities match their exquisite fiber.

At Honey Lane Farms many visitors want to meet these captivating creatures face to face. The Alpaca will approach quietly, like a hum, and the rest is history.

Two Types of Alpaca

Huacaya
Cute and cuddly in appearance, the Huacaya's fleece is distinguished by the presence of crimp, making it ideal for spinning into yarns. In general, the more crimp present, the finer the fiber.

Our Honey Lane Farms alpaca are only huacaya, each selected for its qualities of fiber fineness, length, strength, color, handle, crimp and consistency. Huyaca alpaca fiber is up to eight times warmer than wool.


Suri
The Suri Alpaca can be easily distinguished by its unique fiber which hangs from the body in long distinctive locks. These graceful locks may take on a twisted or flat form of various sizes and gives the Suri an elegant appearance.

Suri fiber with its lack of crimp is noted for its slick, slippery hand, softness and brilliant luster. This fiber is generally undesirable for hand knitting as garments knit with it will tend to grow. Suri fleeces need blending with other fibers to achieve desired levels of strength and resilience for use in top quality yarn. Many less expensive yarns on the general market will be a blend of Suri alpaca. At Honey Lane Farms we produce yarn using only 100% Huacaya alpaca fiber.

In 1984, the first importation of Huacayas Alpacas from Chile and Bolivia into the United States took place. It was not until 1991 that the first Suris arrived and not until 1993 that the first Peruvian stock became available.

The North American herds of Alpaca consist mainly of Huacayas. According to the Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association, the world Alpaca population is approximately 98% Huacaya and 2%Suri. In the United States there are around 20,000 Huacayas and 3,500 Suris.


Alpaca History
The majority of Alpaca ranches in South America are located in the high altitude regions of Peru, Bolivia and Chile. Despite the fact that conditions on the Altiplano are often harsh, the Alpaca has thrived as a domesticated animal for some 6,000 years.

Alpacas and Llamas played an important role in Inca culture. Together, they produced food, fuel and clothing. The fine fleece of the Alpaca was reserved for the exclusive use of Inca royalty.

Spanish conquistadors did not recognize the value of Alpacas and, as a consequence, these animals were almost completely annihilated in order to make room for the Merino sheep that were brought by the conquerors.

The survival of the Alpaca can be credited to its importance to the Indian people and its ability to adapt, as the Spaniards pushed them from prime grasslands to increasingly higher altitudes.




To Contact Us:
mpuckett@rockisland.com
 Marjorie Puckett
360-378-1895
289 Honey Lane
Friday Harbor, WA 98250