Island Alpaca Goes National!

Island Alpaca is proud to have featured on the cover of Alpacas Magazine a photo of and Island Alpaca taken by our Barn Manager, Ashleigh Plante. Congrats to Ashleigh for shooting such a wonderful image! Ashleigh's Photograph of an Island Alpaca was selected for the cover of Alpaca Owners Association Inc. 2015 Summer Issue of Alpacas a premiere national publication for alpaca enthusiasts of all kinds.

This past Saturday, Island Alpaca Co. was thrilled to be amongst many other creatures for the 7th Annual Animal Shelter of Martha's Vineyard, Celebration of Pets at the Harbor View Hotel.

Caila Drew Morin and David M. Hannon of Island Alpaca brought along their furry friends from the farm, Atticus Rex and Hugo, (AKA Hot Shot). They were joined by dozens of other pets and their owners, and the members of the ASMV distributed ribbons, bandanas, and biscuits to all the pets, describing some of the animals up for adoption.

Fun was had by all!

Alpaca Take Flight!!

Last week Island Alpaca visited the Katama Airfield where the Vineyard Montessori School hosted their annual fundraising event! We were so happy to join them! The alpacas, Atticus Rex and Holmes were very well received!

 

Many thanks too to Henry Danielson and Ashleigh Plante for helping to make this event possible, and to Deborah of the Vineyard Montessori School for welcoming us!

Island Alpaca sends many thanks to Cape Air and the staff at Bird's Eye View Magazine!!

An extra-special thank you to Michelle Haynes & Nancy Woods of Cape Air / Bird's Eye View and to one of our newest alpaca enthusiasts, Clementine who graces the  page! 

Island Alpaca is thrilled to be featured in Cape Air's Spring edition of their In-flight publication, Bird's Eye View. What a wonderful issue, not just for Island Alpaca, but for the island community.

Wonderful stories!  You can view the full publication here We are so excited to share it with you!

(Island Alpaca featured on Page 21 & 22)

 

Shear Joy!

Island Alpaca Eighth Annual Island Alpaca Shearing Day Event was once again a HUGE success!  
 
This past Saturday, April 26 marked the Island Alpaca's Annual Shearing Day Event which was well attended, once again with the good fortune of a terrific, sunny day!  Islanders and off-island visitors alike came to watch and explore the full process of harvesting the fleece from the herd and witness the start of the fleece to fiber transition, shearing 70 alpaca for the farms annual harvest. The weight of the fleece for Island Alpaca Co. alpacas harvest is soon to be determined. 

Each alpaca fleece is bagged and separated by individual alpaca name. Half of the harvest, will be transported to Fall River, MA where Island Alpaca fleeces are washed and sorted, and used for making hats, gloves, scarves and socks and boot/shoe insoles. The other half of the harvest, the prime blanket section of the fleece,  is transported to Southern New Hampshire where they will be processed into yarn for sale at their gift shop on island and online, and for knitters who make products for the local farmers markets and gift shop. 


The alpaca were thrilled with the work to remove their winter coat.  The expert team: Matt Best from New Hampshire, and his assistant Nate Trojanski from Connecticut. The shearers and the crew of helping hands, were hard at work for nearly 8 hours, working efficiently averaging less than seven minutes per animal. Assisting were Island Alpaca volunteers, friends, family members and staff:  Simone Brewer,  Nicola Blake, Susan Currier, Barbara Dutton, Alexander Figueroa, Andrea Figaratto, David Hannon, Ethan Howard, Riley Kadis, Rizwan Malik, Andrew Mclean, Jake Martin, Ashleigh Plante, Charlie and Luise Ronchetti and Phoenix Russell.


Island Alpaca Shearing Day Raffle winners were Allana and Mike Kelly of Newton, MA winning one of our newest alpaca throws, and Staci MacDonald of North Attleboro, an Island Alpaca gift certificate, congratulations!
Shearing Fun Facts: Alpacas are shorn just once a year in the Spring. Each alpaca produces between 2 to 12 pounds of fiber depending on age, genetics, environment and nutrition. Island Alpaca shear the alpaca stretched out on a thick, padded mat on the ground. tying the front legs together and the back legs together.  This method allows the shearer to work faster and get a more even cut, it is less stressful for the alpaca this way. Shearing time varies greatly by the expertise of the shearer, but generally 10 minutes per animal is standard. Alpacas are shorn with the same clippers that are used for sheep.  Blades have to be sharpened and oiled often.  Because alpacas don't have natural lanolin oils like sheep, the clippers need to be oiled more frequently. 

Many thanks to The Martha's Vineyard Times; Angela Prout, reporter and Michael Cummo, photographer for writing such a great piece "A Good Hair Day" about our Shearing Day and featuring us on the Calendar Section cover...  We all loved it--what fabulous photos!! Please find a link to their story here!
Visit hope you can visit us soon to see the new coifs on the paca! In our farm store at 1 Head of the Pond Road, in Oak Bluffs you will see the end result of this great process. Find beautiful roving, yarns, and locally produced garments from these wonderful animals that graze in their pastures! We are open every day from 10 am to 4 pm, rain or shine. (10 to 5 after May 22, 2015). 508-693-5554, or visit our site, www.islandalpaca.com.

8th Annual Shearing Day - Calendar View

8th Annual Shearing Day - Calendar View

We wanted to introduce you to one special alpaca named "Orion" who lived in Vermont.

Please read his story here.

Due to the overwhelming response of Orion's fans, Island Alpaca and Wing & A Prayer Farm created "Orion's Fund" for those people who are looking to take positive action in response to the death of a sweet alpaca that brought so much joy to so many. In his honor, you can help to keep the Alpaca Neonatal Birthing Clinic alive!

     With the help of cria's that have passed, such as "Orion" (shown above with his fan club, and his mom "Olivia",  seen on the right) we conduct an educational Alpaca Neonatal Clinic to help others learn how to diagnose and solve any problems that may arise during pregancy, birth along with general neonatal care.
     The bodies of the cria that have passed, even though their lives were short, are able to contribute so much to the lives of the cria's of the future. These cria's who have died, did not died in vein, their lives still live on, and with so much meaning. They will live on through the lives of their fellow living cria so that we can better help them to live healthy, happy, long lives.

If you would like to make a contribution to the "Orion Fund", please visit our webpage here!