Information about suris
The SURI alpaca is rare which makes owning suris an excellent investment opportunity. The more common alpaca, the huacaya, has fleece that is soft, fluffy and has natural crimp, which makes is a naturally elastic fibre. Huacaya yarns are well suited for knitted goods. In contrast, suri fleece lacks crimp, but has incredible lustre, similar to silk, and suri yarns are well suited for woven goods and fabrics. Fashion designers, such as Armani, use suri alpaca in men’s and women’s suits.
A premium SURI fleece is so lustrous, it glistens in the sunlight and feels cool to the touch.
Suri fleece on the midside of an animal
Note how it drapes
In contrast, a premium HUACAYA fleece is so soft, it feels warm and
inviting to the touch.
Left - huacaya from outside Right - huacaya opened up
Note that the huacaya appears fluffy from the outside; this is
because there is definite crimp in the fibres
As an alpaca farmer, enjoying your animals is a must. We have
raised both huacayas and suris (both are marvellous creatures).
But, for me, suris are simply more captivating and every morning I
drink a cup of coffee in the pasture and watch my animals. There is
nothing as enchanting as watching a suri in full fleece run in the
pasture, with shining locks flowing in the breeze!
Thor on Day 1, getting kisses Thor on Day 30, frolicking in the
field
Suri alpacas have a luxurious fleece
that falls from the midline of the body, much like
dreadlocks.
Suri alpacas are known for their
fineness and lustre. The fleece structure itself LACKS crimp so
that the fleece hangs down the sides of the body. As a result, some
think that suris are skinnier than huacayas, but this is an
illusion. Immediately after shearing they look exactly the
same.
Suri fleece structure can vary from wavy locks to pencil thin
draping locks.
The important traits are absence of crimp and
presence of lustre.
On a dusty animal, lustre may to hard to see, so it is always a
good idea to open the fleece up and look near the skin.
Why raise suri alpacas?
Breeding Stock
High quality suri alpacas can be bred to sell the offspring. The
best animals (those with good pedigrees, solid conformation and
fine, lustrous fleeces) can fetch high prices. We feel that
emphasis should be placed on ensuring that animals are “homozygous”
suris. A “homozygous” suri male will always have suri offspring
(even when mated to a huacaya female), so stud pedigree is
extremely important if one wants to breed only suris. (Of note is
the fact that, historically, Andean suris were white. However, many
of the original imported suris appear to have been huacaya X suri
crosses, driven by the desire for coloured suris in the North
American market.)
Suri Fleece, Rovings, Yarns
There are many niche markets for suri fleece. For instance, there
are doll enthusiasts who will purchase small quantities of suri
fleece (with high lustre and long staple length) in order to use
the fibre for doll hair. The higher the quality, the greater the
price that can be charged. There are also a lot of hand spinners
who delight in spinning suri alpaca and will actively seek it out.
We have one lady who visits each year before shearing time to say
which fleeces she wishes to buy! Many hand knitters also love to
knit with fine suri yarns to make delicate shawls, etc. If you can
market your fleece, rovings and yarns, it is possible to pay the
vet bills and hay bills ... so that you can continue to raise your
animals! There are also a number of fibre cooperatives springing up
across the country that are worth exploring.
Luxury End Products
One large advantage suri has over other luxury natural fibres (such
as cashmere and even huacaya) is the longer staple length, which
means items made from suri will not pill as easily. Suri also has
an unusually high tensile strength, which does not diminish with
increased fineness, thus making it suitable for industrial
processing. As previously mentioned, luxury woven goods are an
obvious end product for your suri fleece. Processing suri fibre
into woven textiles and then into tailored goods, allows for a high
return for investment.
The following is a link to a video on YouTube about Suri Alpacas.
The video was produced by the Suri Network, to which our farm
belongs.
Discover Suri Alpacas
This is an introductory video on Suri Alpacas.
Discover the fascinating world of Suris.