Visiting Green Gable Alpacas in the Tyne Valley, PEI

Did you know that alpacas don’t like to be touched? Which is just cruel of nature since they’re the most adorkable creatures and I just wanted to pet their fluffy heads or throw my arms around their wooly bodies. While alpacas are pack animals they have a healthy respect for personal space and close contact stresses them out. They like their pack close, but not too close. No wonder I like them so much.

This is just one of the interesting pieces of alpaca trivia that I learned during my visit to Green Gable Alpacas in the Tyne Valley of PEI. For years, I’ve had an affinity for alpacas. Not only do they produce super soft, warm fiber but they’re just the goofiest looking creatures. So when I found out that I could tour an alpaca farm in PEI and get to see some of the beauties up close I jumped at the chance.

For over 10 years Green Gable Alpacas have been breeding and selling alpacas and offering behind the scenes tours of their farm. The tour costs $12.50 for adults and you can expect to spend about 45 minutes meeting and learning about the alpacas and Griswald, the resident guard llama. You’ll even get a chance to feed Gris his favourite snack of apples.

Tip: wear farm appropriate shoes. You’ll get to walk through the alpaca enclosure with the animals so it’s not the place for heels.

I visited Green Gable Alpacas in late August and I just about melted from the cuteness of the baby alpacas who hadn’t had their first shear yet. Alpacas are typically sheared once a year in the summer so we saw the adult crew when they were at their most emo-kid looking with skinny necks and fluffy heads and “legwarmers”.

On my tour I learned that alpacas don’t have top teeth or hooves – they have padded feet with two big nails. So their kicks aren’t very effective and they can’t bite you. Their only defense is to spit at you to give them a chance to run away. I feel like this would be similar to my own defensive moves.

Don’t worry about the spitting thing though. Alpacas rarely spit at humans. If you’re hit with a camelid loogie it’s likely because you got into the crossfire of two alpacas that are annoyed with each other.

Alpaca are herd animals and for their emotional well being they need to live with several other alpacas. Not the least reason for this is that the pack sleeps in shifts so that there’s always one awake to keep an eye and ear out for predators. When your only defense is to spit and run you need to be alert at all times. This is one reason why, should you ever consider getting an alpaca for a pet, you need to get multiple – otherwise, they’d never get a good night’s sleep.

Like any animal, things aren’t always sunshine and rainbows and sometimes they want to pick a fight. They’re a bit like frat boys and sorority girls when this happens. When the boys fight they’ll slam their necks together and try to bite each other’s testicles. Meanwhile, when the girls have a spat, they spit at each other for a few minutes and then walk away.

At the end of the tour I got to meet and chat with Janet, the owner of the farm, who walked me through the process of turning alpaca fleece into something that can be knit into a multitude of products. You can even pick up a skein or two of alpaca yarn spun from her own and  other small, family-owned Canadian alpaca farms, which makes a great souvenir if you’re a knitter (or know one).

If you’re looking for a fun and educational family outing and love supporting local businesses, or if you just can’t get enough of alpacas, this is a perfect fit and a great afternoon activity in the Tyne Valley area of PEI.