The overwhelming musky scent of the barn is the first noticeable trait at Bluebird Hills Farm. The second is the array of black, grey, and white Alpacas bundled together like a bunch of sardines in the tiny barn as Laurel Shouvlin, one of the owners and caretakers on the farm, talks to a group of students from Wittenberg University. At first glance, and at first smell, the appeal of an alpaca farm seems grim, but the more you learn about their desirable qualities, the easier it is to understand their appeal.
Tim and Laurel Shouvlin have had alpacas on their farm since 1997, and they now share their land with over 70 alpacas. Alpacas have been imported into the United States since the 1980s for breeding purposes, but to Laurel and the rest of the Shouvlin family, alpacas are more than just a “product.” To the Shouvlin family their alpacas are not only used for their fur, but they become friends, learning tools, and even ‘devious comedians’.
“I don’t have to worry about teaching my kids about sex education,” Shouvlin said, describing how mating season for the alpacas is a very literal lesson for her children on the ‘birds and the bees’. She laughed as she regaled of her sister had to have “that talk” with her nephew when he first saw two alpacas mating.
Less humorous however, is the main reason for the alpaca farm, their fur. Their fur is sheared once in the spring and once in the summer, not only for selling purposes, but to also keep the animals from overheating and ultimately death.
“If you did not shear alpacas they would die,” Shouvlin said.
The fiber in the fur encourages parasites, and alpacas are an animal that are bred and needed for their fur. Alpaca fur is turned into yarn which is then used for knitted and woven products.
While selling the fur makes a profit, the upkeep of a farm is very expensive, and the family only breaks even when selling the fur.
“As long as I’m breaking even, I’m happy,” Shouvlin said, the appeal of the farm was having livestock, not to make a profit.
The appeal of the livestock goes even farther than teaching sex education and shearing fur though, they’ve given Shouvlin a chance to experience a job as an “entrepremanure.” After the fur has been turned into yarn, it gives Shouvlin a chance to use her creativity while knitting, sewing, and judging alpacas in fairground competitions.
Alpacas, commonly known as herd animals, need at least one companion or more, and a group of three to four alpacas is ideal for the animals to feel stress free. However, when a female alpaca is pregnant she tends to shun away other male alpacas. An alpacas pregnancy lasts seven months, and birthing tends to happen in the spring and fall to avoid heat for the newborn babies.
“Never a dull moment at Bluebird Hills farm.”
