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Alpacas in Wales
Tycroes Alpacas, Llangeitho, West Wales
Mother & cria at Ty Croes Alpacas enjoying the shade
Young male alpacas for sale and quality male alpacas at stud, pregnant females occasionally available
The Tycroes herd of Alpacas live in a lovely unspoilt corner of west Wales near Tregaron. Alpacas are a member of the camelids (camelidae) which includes camels, llama, guanaco, alpaca & vicuna, the latter being the undomesticated form of alpaca. They are extremely gentle animals, and unlike their larger cousins (llamas & camels) rarely spit and are not at all agressive. Alpacas make excellent pets and get on well with all other domestic and farm animals, being very friendly & curious. Many people keep a small herd of male alpacas as pets and for their annual crop of very fine fibre. Be warned... some of the large Alpaca breeders in the UK today started off with a couple of pet males... alpacas are addictive! (Note that they are herd animals and therefore should not be kept alone.)
Alpaca Fibre
Alpacas are sheared (shorn?) once a year in the summer and produce a crop of excellent fine fibre which is suitable for hand-spinning and weaving to make shawls, pashminas etc and can be knitted into luxurious socks, sweaters and other quality garments.
Alpaca fibre (more like hair than wool and completely lanolin-free) is much sought after due to the fineness and density of the fleece and is extremely durable, second only in strength to silk and available in many natural shades and colours. The special hollow structure of the alpaca fibre makes it an extremely efficient thermal insulator (it has to be, since Alpacas in the high Andes live more than 4000m above sea level where night temperatures can drop to minus 20 degrees Celsius!)
Many people who are allergic to sheeps wool do not have the same reaction to Alpaca fibre, possibly due to the absence of lanolin in the fleece. Due to its hypoallergenic qualities with no lanolin content, alpaca is ideal for babies and those with sensitive skins. It is a natural, breathable, antibacterial fibre - no wonder it's so popular for socks!
At Ty Croes Alpacas in Wales we sometimes have alpaca fibre products for sale (socks, shawls, pashminas etc); at the moment we have some of our 2006 clip available as raw fibre at £10 per kilo - please get in touch if you would like to buy some for spinning or weaving.