Alpacapalooza

Fox Island Alpacas headed for Puyallup fairgrounds

Susan Schell

of the Gateway

Sherry and Tim Miller’s Fox Island alpacas got a special visit from members of a 4-H club earlier this month. The 4-H club is currently involved with breeding and showing llamas, close cousins of the alpaca, but members expressed an interest in showing alpacas in the future. The visitors were mesmerized by the alpacas’ gentle, shy nature; their thick, soft fur and melodic “hum.”

Alpacas resemble llamas, but they’re smaller and much more timid. Their snouts are shorter and their facial expression looks like they’re holding a mouth full of water while trying to smile at the same time. This silly appearance seems to draw humans to them like a magnet.

“I love alpacas,” said 13-year-old Laura Peyton, who volunteers at the farm. “I love working with them.”

Peyton was instantly smitten with the creatures when she visited the farm on National Alpaca Day last September.

“She asked if she could come back and visit them, and I said, ‘Sure, come as much as you want,’ ” Miller said. “She’s been here every weekend since.”

Peyton had an affinity for working with the animals and quickly gained their trust. She is now able to halter them, take them for walks and weigh the babies.

“You have to introduce yourself to them or they get scared,” she said.

Three of the students visiting with the 4-H group were used to working with llamas, but they enjoyed the chance to see and touch alpacas at close range.

“I’ve seen them at the fair, but not so up-close,” Katelyn Croston said. “Alpacas are a lot smaller, and they’re really face shy.”

“They’re a lot different than llamas,” Ashley Hannah said. “Their personality and facial expression surprised me. Their fiber is a lot thicker and longer than a llama’s.”

Alpacas have a strong herding instinct and tend to move around together in clumps, avoiding human beings. The constant handling and interaction with Peyton and Miller has made the animals more docile than usual, which will be a big help when it’s show time.

Miller is preparing two of her alpacas for the “Alpacapalooza” April 4-6 at the Puyallup fairgrounds. Miller said the animals are judged by their teeth, the shape of their ears and their gait, but most importantly, the length and quality of their fiber.

Miller said the alpacas are categorized by color. The fir cannot be cleaned, even for shows, because washing will ruin it.

“You can brush the fiber out,” Miller said. “Sometimes they come into shows with straw all over them. But the judges don’t care about that. They look underneath the top layer of fleece and down into the fiber.”

Alpaca farming is a growing industry because the animals don’t require much land and don’t eat as much as most farm animals.

“They make awesome fertilizer, because all they eat is grass and grains,” Miller said. “Anyone that wants free fertilizer can come get it.”

Miller said Alpaca fiber is not considered mainstream yet.

“The industry is trying to top cashmere,” she said. “Alpaca fiber is four times warmer than wool. It’s softer than cashmere and doesn’t contain lanolin, so nobody’s allergic to it. One day, it’ll be in stores.”

Miller said that, although there are small farms across the states that manufacture the wool, the main plants are in South America, the alpacas’ native land. She hopes that, as the industry expands, there will be a large plant built in the states.

The Millers have nine females and two males at their farm. One of the males, L.J., is the team’s “mascot.” He’s named after Tim’s father, Leslie James, who was the reason behind the Millers’ venture into the alpaca business.

James lived in California and always wanted a farm. He was considering starting a goat farm, but the Millers wanted him to come to Washington.

“We bought the property on Fox Island and lured him here with the alpacas,” Miller said. “He loved animals, and he needed a reason to move here.”

James did indeed move to Washington, and he was able to realize his dream before he passed away.

“He was in awe every day he was here,” Miller said. “Those were the happiest days of his life.”