On a quiet winters evening, a gentle and unusual chatter can be heard on the prairie just a short drive southeast of Flandreau.
Its not a sound most would recognize as few in the region are host to the noisemakers.
But its a comforting sound for the Haugen family Sadie and Jeremy Haugen, along with their four young children, Justin (15), Tillie (13), Piper (12) and Ian (7).
The cooing and other interesting banter tells them that their small herd of alpacas are safe and sound, and enjoying another crisp and cold night on the prairie.
The Haugens, even to their own surprise, have been raising alpacas on their rural acreage for the past 12 years.
I was on bed rest with our first child (now 15) and watching way too much tv, said Sadie.
No matter what I watched, I kept seeing this commercial for the alpaca owner and breeders association and about the joys of owning alpacas. I started having dreams where I would look out the window and see our herd of alpacas and I felt really content and happy. Then I would wake up and think it was the dumbest thing ever. There was no way we would ever own alpacas. Jeremy and I are both city kids, we know nothing about raising animals.
The dreams didnt stop, neither did the commercials. And Sadies attempts to convince her husband that having alpacas was a bad idea well, they failed miserably, said Jeremy.
The two were soon learning what they could about the animals and preparing their property to have maybe a few of the domesticated animals. They werent sure they were ready.
Then their church called.
A new interim pastor was looking forward to moving to the area and living at the parsonage, but he had pygmy goats and alpacas and he needed a place to board them.
Would the Haugens consider, the church board asked.
Twelve years later, they wouldnt change a thing.
God works in mysterious ways, I guess, said Sadie.
For those wondering what it is about alpacas that the Haugens fell in love with, Jeremy said that they are easy to care for, fun to watch, and easy to love.
Theyre adorable, Tillie agreed.
They really like it when it gets cold outside. If its not windy, said Sadie, theyll lie out and be covered with frost in the morning, so much so that they look like giant frosted shredded wheat. Their fiber is super thick so they stay warm even when its crazy cold as long as they can get out of the wind.
Piper added, When they do let you pet them, theyre really cuddly.
It feels peaceful to be around them, the family said.
Theyre also very curious but at the same time, afraid of everything.
What they are not afraid of is their family. It is obvious there is a lot of love shared between the Haugens and their little alpaca herd, located on the great plains of South Dakota.
That love, by the way, is something they hope to soon share more of, in the form of yarn spun from the herds fleece.
The alpacas are sheared once a year in the spring on a farm near Jasper, MN.
We had a bunch made into yarn and roving last year, said Sadie.
We have white, brown, black, and some thats a mix of white/brown and ends up looking kind of pinkish. They are all just the natural colors of the animals. Were starting a shop on Etsy, but it isnt up and running yet. We could hook people up if theyre interested in getting any for projects. Alpaca fiber is warm like wool, but soft like cashmere.
Some additional fun facts about alpacas:
Alpacas live at high altitude in the South American Andes
99% of the worlds alpacas still live in South America
Around 6000 years ago the Andean people started to domesticate alpacas
There are two kinds of alpaca, the Huacaya and the Suri
Suri have very long-fibred fleeces and Huacaya have a shorter crimped fleece
Alpacas, which are highly sociable, gentle and curious, are the smallest members of the camel family, on average 3 feet high at the shoulder and 4-7 feet long
Alpacas can be trained fairly easily
Alpacas are herd animals and dont like to be alone. When their own kind arent around they like to live with llamas, goats and sheep
Alpaca fur incredibly soft and does not retain water. In fact, its the second strongest animal fibre after mohair
Alpacas never spit at or bite humans unless theyve been abused
Alpacas make a gentle mmmmmmmmm humming noise when happy
When theres danger they scream, and they make an odd hooting sound when theyre excited
The members of an alpaca herd will all use the same area to poop rather than it be random. This helps prevent disease from spreading.
Alpacas breed once a year naturally, and give birth to just one baby
The gestation period for alpacas is 242 to 345 days.
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