POMARIA — When someone first walks onto a farm, they would usually expect to see cows, pigs and maybe even some chickens running around.
At Carolina Pride Pastures, located at 1416 SC 34, owners Alicia and Eric Holbrook are taking a different approach to traditional farming by operating their own alpaca farm.
The Holbrooks have been operating the farm since 2013. d Alicia Holbrook said that she blames her youngest daughter for getting her interested in alpaca farming.
“When she was about six weeks old and couldn’t sleep, I got up and watched National Geographic on Discovery Channel, and I don’t know if it was because lack of sleep or what, but the lady sold me on the idea,” said Holbrook.
Before diving into starting the farm, Holbrook and her husband did around two years of research on alpacas and how to properly raise them. Lots of Google and Youtube research as well as taking a trip to a farm in Virginia to participate in a class went into learning about the alpacas.
“This class made us actually get our hands on the animals. That was probably the most intimidating part, actually getting up next to them and understanding the difference in their behaviors and personalities. We also went to a farm in Spartanburg and spent a significant amount of time with them just asking questions and understanding the responsibilities that went into it,” said Holbrook.
Alicia and Eric first started off with five pregnant alpacas, which they welcomed in Nov. 2013 and as a result got four new crias, baby alpacas, on the farm in the Spring of 2014. There are two different types of alpacas, the Suri alpaca and the Huacaya alpaca, which are the breed of alpacas that Alicia and Eric own and raise. Alicia and Eric currently have 21 alpacas on the farm.
The alpacas will be sheered on April 14 and April 15 of this year and the process will take up to two days, due to the number of alpacas Alicia and Eric have to sheer.
“We use a harness and pulley system and it’s three of us that handle the animal. We stretch their legs in front and behind them and get them secure, because the one thing that I learned the first time we sheered them is that you try to get as close to the skin as possible, and the thing with alpacas is their veins sit very close to the skin as well,” said Holbrook.
They will then sheer their blanket, which goes from their ribs to around their back, and that will be their yarn. They then bag it up and tag it by the individual animal and the year, so that they can compare with the previous year to see whether their fiber production is getting worse or better and to see if the food they are being fed doing its job.
“The biggest thing that shocks most people is when we sheer their necks, because they see that big, fluffy neck and then when we go up the neck, those little necks turn into very skinny necks,” said Holbrook. “We sheer them all the way down to their ankles, and we try to get everything off of them, even on the tops of their heads.”
About once a month, the alpacas also receive a shot that prevents meningeal worm, which is transferred through the alpacas number one predator, whitetail deer. This worm can cause permanent paralysis and even death for the alpacas if ingested.
Carolina Pride Pastures also welcomes visits from schools, where kids can get up close and personal with the alpacas. The Holbrooks work along with Lever Farms, who help provide plant science lessons and then will make their way to the farm to learn about animal science.
The tour of the farm consists of two parts, including education stations and weather stations along with getting the opportunity to attempt to pet an alpaca to allow the kids to feel the fleece on the alpaca. Cost is five dollars per child and teachers and chaperones are free.
Next week, Carolina Pride Pastures will be welcoming a llama to the farm to show kids and even adults the physical differences between a llama and an alpaca.
Along with welcoming schools to the farm, Carolina Pride Pastures is also open to holding birthday parties and receptions.
“You would be amazed at how many people want a farm birthday party. We have the tables and chairs for them to set up for the party and they can interact with the animals if they want to,” said Holbrook. “One thing that has been eye-opening for me is just educating the public. That is a huge responsibility to all farmer, to just spend time with the general public so they understand where our food and our clothes come from. You would be amazed at how many people think I have to kill the animals to get their fleece off of them.”
Holbrook said that they are excited for the upcoming months with the impending arrival of seven live births this year as well as being one of the host sites for the Ag and Art Tour in June.
For more information about Carolina Pride Pastures, visit their website at www.cppastures.com or call 803-480-3750.