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By Nancy H. Conter
ngonter@repub.com
WHATELY - The alpacas are getting more outgoing. "If you have food in your hand, they love you" said Cynthia Biernacki of Springfield. "The more you're with them, the friendlier they become", said Marion Beaudry, one of the owners of the North East Alpaca Farm on Christian Lane.
Marion, her husband Michael Beaudry, his brother, Howard Beaudry and Howard's wife Lisa, moved to the farm a little more than a year ago on 20 acres, fulfilling a dream they had all shared.
Yesterday, they were celebrating a year of success with a holiday farm tour at their farm. In the last year, there have been seven baby alpacas born, many blue ribbons at the alpaca shows, and the discovery that the father of one of their alpacas sold recently at auction for $600,000.
They've started a Web site www.northeastalpacas.com and put 11 of their own alpacas up for sale as well as taken on nine "boarder" animals.
Besides increasing their herd to 24, they've hosted film-makiners from the television channel Animal Planet, and Howard Beaudry will be on national television when the show airs on January 20.
Several of the farm's alpacas went on the show circuit where they are judged on their body style and on their fiber, the denser and crimpier the better. "See how it lifts in little bundles," Marion said, showing one alpacas fur. But unlike dog shows where animals are primped and made up before shown, alpacas are shown "right from the paddock," said Lisa Beaudry. "You can't touch them" Marion Beaudry said. "The only thing you can do is practice walking, standing still and showing their teeth so the judges can inspect them.
The dream of raising alpacas as a way of life appears to be coming true for the Beaudrys. "It's really coming to fruition. Look at them. They're all happy." Howard Beaudry said, point to more than a dozen alpaca mothers and their offspring contentedly munching on hay.
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