Llamas

 Our llama experience began with the purchase of a male for the protection of our sheep; we fell in love with his personality and were hooked. They are very gentle creatures as well as entertaining to watch. Llama fiber is classified as a specialty fiber mainly due to the small amount produced in comparison to sheep’s wool. They come in a wide variety of colors and patterns, like our sheep we breed for color. The wool of a llama is light and greaseless and is collected by shearing or brushing of the animal, ours are sheared once a year at the same time as our sheep.

Llamas are herd animals and are happier when they are not alone; they can become panicked and have been known to go over or through fences to be with other animals or their “person”. Llamas live 15 to 30 years with an average weight anywhere between 250 to 450 pounds. Crias (newborns) weigh 20 to 35 pounds when they are born, most of that being legs! They are related to the camel with the only real difference between the two is the lack of the characteristic humps of the camel.
        
At Willow Ridge Farm we combine 30% llama hair with 70% sheep’s wool providing us with a soft, lightweight and durable blend for hand spinners to create that special yarn for a wide variety of projects.

Angoras

 At Willow Ridge Farm we raise English Angora rabbits that provide us with some of the most luxurious wool. The English is one of 4 different Angora breeds and the smallest, with a weight between 5 to 8 pounds. They have very few guard hairs (course and thick) making them the softest of all breeds. Angora wool is “harvested” without hurting the bunny, usually obtained by shearing with scissors or by the plucking of the wool. An Angora’s coat “ripens” meaning new wool starts to grow under the old making it very easy to pull from the bunny. We harvest our wool 3 to 4 times a year depending on the bunny with some growing faster than others.

We have had as many as 60 of these cute and adorable creatures requiring many hours of combing and brushing. This is very much a high maintenance animal and should be owned by a serious person willing to invest the time and energy into keeping them groomed. Like our llamas we blend our Angora with sheep’s wool with the end result being extremely soft and warm, the wool of an Angora is 7 times warmer than sheep’s so to blend the two is a perfect combination.

Every spring and fall we have bunnies for sale, if you are interested in Angoras and would like more information or to purchase one,  contact us and we would be more than happy to help!