Ava's ALPACAS

By Curt Hodges POCAHONTAS -- Tom and Becky Baker have taken on a new endeavor, selling their home place and buying 55 acres on which they plan to build a new residence and several barns, outbuildings and fences. They bought six alpacas and plan to breed and raise the furry animals. Baker said she became interested in the animal, a relative of the llama and a distant relative of the camel, several years ago. The alpaca is native to the Andes Mountains in Chile, Bolivia and Peru in South America. Its fur or coat is highly sought for fine fabrics, Baker said. The fiber is non-allergenic and lanolin-free and is used in some of the most expensive fabric for many kinds of clothing, as well as hosiery, she explained. The Bakers have been quite busy as they become acquainted with their alpacas, which includes one cria, as the young are known. Two of the females are bred, and soon there will be two new little ones. The Bakers have taken their animals to competition and recently to a communal shearing at Springdale where the older animals were separated from their furry coats by some shearers from New Zealand. At this time the Bakers' animals are being boarded out in Springdale while their barn and fencing is being completed. At a recent state alpaca show, also held at Springdale, there were more than 190 animals. One of the Bakers' males, Freedom, was in a class of 14 yearling male white alpaca. He was judged third place. "That is huge," Becky said. After her alpaca placed third, Baker good-naturedly waved her ribbon under his nose. She said competition is stiff at the shows and winning third place resulted in an offer for Freedom to go to a breeding farm outside Dallas for the winter to be a stud in their breeding lineup. That was at no cost to the Bakers, and they are to get a portion of the breeding fee. One ranch even offered to take Freedom to national judging. Baker explained that part of the judging includes the quality of the animal's coat. She also noted that alpacas' coats come in a variety of colors and shades, about 22 or 23 in all. "Tom and I both had the greatest time," she said. "When I won, I cried!" The winning and the accolades not only pleased them, but confirmed that they had done a good job selecting the animals with which to start their ranch. Alpaca saga While they got into alpacas partly for the money, Baker said nothing they have done yet has brought any financial reward, but they are planning for the future. It has been about a 10-year saga getting to the point where they are now. At that time they still lived on Baker's home farm at Alicia, having since moved near Pocahontas after he retired from farming and stints in the state Legislature. In the meantime Becky Baker tried to learn all she could about alpacas. She believes they may be the first in Northeast Arkansas to own alpacas, but she's not certain -- "I know we are among the first, at least," Becky Baker said. When she first became interested in the animals, there were few if any in Arkansas. Now, Baker said there are dozen or so ranches that are raising alpacas. The animals are docile and are easy to take care of, she said. Eight to 10 alpacas can get along on a single acre. "They are extraordinarily communal," Baker said. "If you go to the vet with one, you have to take a second to keep it company." She said an alpaca left alone will "go fetal and die. Even though they are a communal animal, alpacas don't require human touching and petting to get along." "They are curious and will follow you around," she said. "Alpacas (like llamas) will spit, but it is usually at each other and seldom do they single out humans for targets." Since starting their new endeavor, the Bakers have met alpaca aficionados from Arkansas and several states, including Wisconsin, Colorado, Oklahoma and Texas. "We really enjoy animals" and the people they have met are fascinating, Becky Baker said. "We're just starting out, and we will see where this goes." curth@jonesborosun.com

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