Spring haircuts a public spectacle for Haldimand alpaca ranch

Farm welcomes hundreds of visitors despite downpour for fourth annual open house

Though they can occasionally be a little dramatic, shearing alpacas is a painless and ultimately necessary task, and once they get settled on the shearing table, and with the help of staff and volunteers, they usually calm down and enjoy their haircuts. - Luke Edwards photos

By Luke Edwards

Each spring Husky Alpaca Ranch welcomes visitors to share in a passion Taryn McArthur developed nearly 30 years ago.

The Haldimand farm hosted its fourth annual open house last month, inviting the public to watch as the 17 alpacas got their annual spring haircut and learn a bit about raising the animals and life on the farm in general. It’s a chance for McArthur to share two of her passions: farming and teaching people about farming.

“I’m all about agri-education, it is a passion of mine,” she said next to a table where the freshly shorn alpaca fibre was being sorted.

McArthur, who runs Husky Alpaca Ranch alongside her husband Rob, said she continues to see a large disconnect among the general public between the animals they see in the fields and the clothes they wear or food they eat.

The open house is a chance to bridge that gap.

“I like to think people are able to take something away from this,” she said.

McArthur grew up in Palmerston and had rabbits and chickens on their property. She also comes from a family that had dairy operations. The alpacas came later.

“My aunt fell in love with alpacas in the mid-90s, my mom bought her first alpaca in ‘03 and I bought my first in ‘04. And the rest is history,” she said.

Rob grew up in the Brantford area and his uncle had the Haldimand Road 9 property the couple now calls home. Rob and Taryn moved there in 2015, quickly getting it ready to become the new home of their alpaca herd.

They also have a few cattle, including two on the farm and two at a family member’s farm, as well as Siberian huskies.

The annual spring shearing is a key time for the McArthurs as it represents the main source of income from the animals. Once shorn, the fibre is sorted, skirted and classed and then is sent to one of three co-ops the McArthurs belong to.

“It doesn’t hurt them at all, it’s actually necessary for their health,” McArthur said of the shearing.

However, they can also produce meat, with the McArthurs selling alpaca jerky and pepperettes alongside alpaca socks and other clothing at a small shop at the end of their driveway.

“It really doesn’t taste like anything else,” McArthur said. It’s very lean, and despite what many think, she said it’s not at all gamey.

During the rest of the year, the McArthurs have to perform dental inspections a few times, since alpacas have bottom teeth that never stop growing and if they get out of whack it can cause issues.

“So if they don’t line up properly they can develop a hard time eating which leads to nutrition problems and health problems,” she said.

Alpacas also have soft feet with a hard toenail, like humans and dogs, so a few times a year they have to check and trim their toenails.

The animals eat mostly grass, though McArthur said they also give them a grain and mineral supplement since the grass that grows here is missing a few key nutrients the animals would find in their native South America.

On average they’ll live about 15 to 20 years, but like any animal it can be longer or shorter. McArthur said she’s seen some live into their mid 20s. There are two main breeds, suri and huacaya.

For more information, visit huskyalpacaranch.com.