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Alpacas teach life on the farm

Kids who have the good fortune of growing up with

Capital Electric Cooperative is proud to feature (from left to right) Katie, Mary, Karla, Rachel, Chris and Doug. Katie poses with Kopper (brown) and Mary holds Vanessa; these two alpacas will have babies, or crias, this spring.

At their home northeast of Bismarck, Katie, Mary, Chris and Rachel Johanson take that commitment very seriously. Every morning before school, the kids take turns feeding “chow” to their six Huacaya alpacas.

When Capital Electric members Karla and Doug Johanson researched the alpaca industry a few years ago, they learned these gentle animals would make great pets for their children.

“I always thought llamas were interesting,” says Karla. She and Doug reminisced about driving past a llama billboard and joking about owning one someday. The joke turned serious after Karla read about alpacas, a smaller version of a llama, in a Country Home magazine. She and Doug decided to research the industry online and quickly fell in love with the teddy bear-like creatures.

Their seven acres soon became home to four very shy alpacas; two of which were pregnant. It didn’t take long for the Johanson children to tame them with kindness.

“They warm up to children faster because they are eye level,” confirms Doug.

Being eye level has its advantages—unless you get caught in the occasional spit fight. Just ask Mary, who once found herself stuck in between two hungry alpacas which were chewing, and spitting, silage.

“Alpacas have a pecking order, and sometimes they have spit matches when they get mad at each other. After about 10 minutes, the young guys blow out their lips and start drooling,” Doug says with a laugh.

While the spit fights can be a bit messy, he assures the alpacas are harmless—even when they get sheared.

Shearing is an annual event, along with giving vaccinations and trimming their teeth—all of which the Johansons learned to do themselves. Doug says shearing is an exciting process and each member of the family helps sort the herd, oil the shears and bag the fleece.

“You have to shear alpacas or the heat will kill them,” he says. “The hot weather and humidity is hard on them.”

Around Memorial Day weekend each year, the family heads to the shed and catches one animal at a time. They tie each alpaca’s feet together with soft rope and stretch them on a clean tarp, so they cannot move.

“Alpacas have funny-shaped bodies, and you can’t see them because their fleece is so dense. We have to shear right against their skin to get the best cut,” Doug says.

After the animals have been sheared this spring, the Johanson family will ship the fleece to a cooperative in Idaho. Doug and Karla can either request their fleece back as a product or sell it for profit.

“Changing our lifestyle to include alpacas has given us the opportunity to let our children experience what we had growing up—a sense of ‘life on the farm’ and all its rewards,” Karla says.

“And they’re fun!” Chris adds.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Alpacas are members of the camelid family. There are two different breed types: Huacaya and Suri. The Johanson family owns six Huacaya alpacas.
• After an 11-month gestation, crias (baby alpacas) weigh about 18 pounds at birth.
• Male alpacas make a noise similar to that of a squeaky wheel to alert their herds to possible danger; otherwise they make a low humming noise.
• Alpaca manure resembles beans which give off minimal odor. This “black gold” makes a wonderful fertilizer that the Johansons use in their garden.