Yes, they’re just as adorable as their photos

Roscoe alpaca farm offers tours and more

By Adriana Serafino | Manor Ink

Roscoe, NY – Did you ever want to see if an alpaca was as cute and adorable as the photos online? A quick trip over to Buck Brook Alpacas in Roscoe to meet alpacas in person will offer confirmation. You can even adopt your very own cute, crocheted alpaca doll at the gift shop on the farm. It’s also a great place to take the family for tours, yoga, special events and gem mining for kids.

Say the word “alpaca” and a person thinks of a uniquely fluffy, teddy-bear looking animal. Their growing popularity in the United States is due to the fact that alpacas are very friendly animals that produce really soft fleece which can be used for making various knitted things. Alpacas have been selectively bred from vicuñas, a similar animal native to the central Andes in South America. While Vicuñas have been around for at least 6,000 years, they are very rare and protected these days, as they were almost hunted to extinction for their fine wool.

A variety of products

When you visit the farm, the first thing you’ll encounter is the Buck Brook gift shop. There you will meet Kathy McElroy at the cash register, and if you have any questions, she will gladly answer them.

“The alpacas all have their own personalities. The little ones love to play and frolic,” McElroy said.

In the gift shop, you can purchase tickets for a public or private tour of the farm. You will also find amazing alpaca wool products including shirts, yarn, fluffy stuffed animals, knitted hats, scarves and blankets.

The McElroy family bought the property, originally a dairy farm of 38 acres, around thirteen years ago. The process of shearing the animals starts the second week of May, and takes about a team of 12 to 15 people to complete the process. Each alpaca takes about five to ten minutes to be sheared while sitting on a mat. The fiber is then graded and gets sorted by color and quality. A large percentage of the fiber goes into creating the socks, knit items, blankets and yarn that is sold right at the farm.

Each alpaca is an individual. “They all look very unique and different,” said farm owner Kara McElroy. Her family began the farm with just nine alpacas; that number has grown to 120 today.

More than alpacas

Manor Ink asked what other animals live at Buck Brook and learned that there are many rescues. They include barn cats, pot belly pig, ducks and a few rabbits.

Buck Brook Alpacas will be at the Spring Marketplace on Saturday, Mar. 9, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Liberty Mall, 15 Sullivan Ave. in Liberty.

If you are interested in learning more about alpacas and the farm, visit buckbrookalpacas.com.