Photo by Troy Harvey
Special to The Star

People line the fence to get a glimpse of Athena and her baby.

Photo by Troy Harvey
Special to The Star

Holly Du Bois, left, and Karen Du Bois watch as the Suri alpaca gives birth at Windy Hill Ranch.

With her own little one on her hip, Edith Farraj crouched down to get a better view of a 2-hour-old, snow-white alpaca, whose own mother, Athena, eyed her visitors closely.

For the Woodland Hills woman, the opportunity for her and her children, Giselle, 15 months, and Gabriel, 3, to get close to the smaller, more docile cousin of the llama was an opportunity to relive her time in her native Peru, where alpacas roam free and their silky fibers are common in clothing.

"It's just nostalgic," Farraj said. "I'm mesmerized by the natural maternal instinct."

Alpacas are far less common in the United States, where clothes made with their fibers are considered luxury items. In an effort to introduce folks to the animal and the business, ranch owner Cindy Harris opened the doors to her 25-acre Windy Hill ranch in Somis for a two-day open house.

"It's been awesome," Harris said Sunday about the turnout. "I'm ecstatic."

Harris said about 500 people visited the ranch Saturday. On Sunday hundreds more roamed around the ranch checking out the furry creatures with names like Chocolate Truffles and Rhumba Princess.

Harris and other alpaca ranchers touted the benefits of alpaca fibers, which are silky if they come from the Suri alpaca or woolly if they are shorn from Huacaya alpacas.

"It's superior to sheep wool," Harris said. "It's smoother; it's softer and lighter. ... It's as soft as cashmere and more durable."

Alpaca ranching is a growth industry, Harris said, and at the open house, a certified public accountant was on hand to talk with visitors about getting into the business. The docile, shy animals, which are prone to spit when provoked, were also for sale, with prices ranging from $9,000 to $16,000.

In a barnlike building, where the accountant set up shop, vendors sold blankets and clothes made of alpaca fibers, next to a spinning wheel operated by Christopher Robin Acosta of Los Angeles. Acosta coaxed Sandy Martin, of Simi Valley, to try her hand at spinning for the first time in 12 years.

"Grandma's got to get her wheel out," Martin said to her 12-year-old granddaughter, Annica Martin, of Newbury Park, after successfully turning fluffy gray fiber into yarn. "I've got to get back into it."

As she clutched a brown teddy bear made from alpaca fur, Annica said, "They were cute."