Alpaca farm event a huge hit with youngsters, adults alike | The Kingston Whig Standard
The laughter, shrieks of joy and looks of amazement were the only thing brighter than the sun on Saturday at Ruby’s Acres Alpaca Farm near Odessa.
Visitors to Pete and Joanne D’Amore’s third annual Fall Farm Market at their farm in Odessa came by the hundreds for the chance to get some up-close-and-personal time with the dozens of alpacas and other animals on the family farm just west of Kingston.
More than 30 vendors offering everything from food to handmade items, trinkets and free samples lined the property as guests, many of them children, followed handlers walking alpacas around the property.
Joanne D’Amore was all smiles as she talked about the farm’s main attraction, the alpacas.
“Lots of new babies,” she answered when asked about the noticeable increase in alpaca numbers. “We had eight last year, and they’re all still here. We started with two alpacas, and we have 43 now, and we had 11 babies this year.”
Joanne is more than happy to answer questions about the adorable animals that have become their passion.
“Sit on the bale with him,” she shouts to one of the handlers with an alpaca, suggesting he join the animal on a bale of hay for photo ops.
Alpacas are part of the camelid family, originating from South America. They come from the same family lineage as the camel, guanaco, llama and vincuna. They’re commonly mistaken for llamas, Joanne says.
“It’s all from the look, because they’re very similar,” she said. “A llama is much bigger than an alpaca, so it’s the size, and the ears. Llama ears are banana shaped whereas an alpaca ear is spear shaped.”
One common misconception about the alpaca is that they’ll spit at you unprovoked, which just isn’t the case, Joanne said.
“They will not spit at you unless they are provoked,” she said. “If it’s a provoked spit, often it’s from the guts and it stinks. It smells really, really bad.”
A young visitor to the shop picked up a small, soft hide and asked Joanne about it. The hide, she explained to her curious customer, belonged to a five-month-old alpaca that had had his eye injured and when they took it to the vet, the vet was going to remove its eye. Unfortunately, the animal died while under anesthetics.
“We decided to harvest his hide,” she answered honestly. “He died peacefully. Sometimes, that’s farming. Sometimes you lose some, and sometimes you gain some. You have to have a strong heart if you’re going to be a farmer.”
Satisfied, the boy snuggled the hide for another moment before wandering off with his mother.