Alpacas With A Purpose

Thanks for visiting! We hope you find our website informative and entertaining. Take a minute to see what our alpacas are up to on our Barn Camera page.

We started raising alpacas in the late 1990's and have been helping others discover and learn about alpacas and the industry ever since. Stargazer Ranch consists of a herd of about 100 animals consisting of both Huacaya and Suri alpacas in all colors qualities and ages. We've adjusted to many changes in the industry which has experienced remarkable improvements in the quality of the alpacas originating from South America.

Ever since South America allowed exportations of alpacas about 20 years ago the attraction and interest to raise alpacas has continued to grow. The current economic conditions have brought the cost of becoming an alpaca owner to much more affordable levels and numbers of new alpaca owners is increasing as quickly as ever before. Trying to make sense of all the information on the internet isn't always easy. A frequent question we are asked by is "what do you do with them". The simple answer is we just feed and care for them. In return, they grow fiber (aka "fleece", "alpaca wool", etc). Then we market their fiber in various stages ranging from raw/unprocessed to yarns and finished goods. The industry or an alpaca business becomes a bit more complex when alpacas are being bred and raised to produce offspring for sale. The US alpaca industry could be compared to a raw diamond in the rough. It is being shaped by market conditions and breeders who have an understanding and vision of what is within reach. Not sure what "IT" is you want to do? Maybe we can be of some help. Combined with our boarded alpacas, we have over 100 alpacas at one location. We have examples of just about every facet of the industry.

Raising alpacas can provide a rich learning environment for a growing family as well as provide an income source for more enterprising pursuits. If you are unable to make any of our scheduled classes and seminars we'd be happy to meet with you to at least share some basic information to get you started in the right direction.
Click here for our class schedule

Sometimes it's nice to just sit and watch what the alpacas are up to. Be sure to tune into our barn cameras and sign up for our "Labor Alert" and receive an email notification when we think a dam is ready to deliver.
Click here to view our live barn cameras

It's all about the fiber! We love our alpacas and the fiber they produce. Except for a few of the fleeces we plan to show, our entire year of alpaca fiber production is for sale. A large percentage of our fleece production measures up to vicuña in fineness and is available to purchase at very reasonable prices.

Don't hesitate to arrange a visit or drop us a line. We like hearing from our website visitors and sharing experiences with other livestock breeders.

The statement, "Royal and Vicuna Fine Alpaca", is a reference to the grade of fineness of our alpaca fiber and premium yarns. We are referring to sub-20 & 18 micron alpaca fiber. Once our primary focus shifted from accumulating certain bloodlines and began focusing on developing a uniform herd we have reduced the average Median Fiber Diameter by more than 1 micron per year. Our last herd evaluation even surprised us. One third of our herd tested at less than 18MFD and our herd average is 21.97MFD. That includes all ages, colors and country of origin. Also, by tracking fleece weights, we have made significant increases in density as well.

Raising & Caring For Alpacas

Wondering Where to Start...or even if you should start? We've been where you are now and would be glad to share our insights. Today, with the ease of marketing on the internet a lot of advertising claims make it hard to distinguish one alpaca or breeding program from another or how best to care for your alpacas. The confusion is most noticeable when it comes to evaluating claims of who has the best quality bloodlines or genetics.

After more than a decade of raising alpacas we've learned a thing or two in how best to care, keep records and improving quality. Click here for more about Stargazer Ranch...