Shirley Lanouette’s calm voice resonated over the silence at her Old Fall River Road property as she checked on each of her livestock.

"Good morning, Mandy," she said, sipping her coffee. "Erin, are you ever going to have that baby?"

Lanouette starts her days around 9:30 each morning, and will spend a couple hours to feed each of the animals at Hill Crest Alpacas, including 22 Guinea keets — or babies to the turkey-like bird called Guinea Fowl— and 28 alpacas.

"It's an hour in the morning for chore work. The rest of it is just socializing," she said.

Lanouette bought her first three alpacas in 2006, and approximately 12 acres — which has since been split with her daughter Kelly Michalski — to house them a year later. The purchase wasn’t a huge leap for Lanouette. The Dartmouth native had grown up around ducks, pigs, chicken, and a horse.

Lanouette explained that she had lived near the Helfand property on Chase Road, and used to help bring the cows into the barn. "I figured if I could herd in cows, I could certainly herd in alpacas. Cows are a little bit bigger."

Lanouette’s alpacas each get hay in the morning and a half cup of grain in the evening, although Erin and a few others also get a serving of morning grain. Alpacas are mainly foragers, explained Lanouette. They mow hay with their one set of teeth, and pull leaves from hanging branches.

"They like something they can put in their mouth and just gum," laughed Lanouette, explaining that the animals break down food against a hard palate on the top of their mouth. "To chew course hay... they don't like it."

The pens house three-sided shelters — as alpaca wander in and out in all weather due to fleece that keeps them warm and dry — and an upright street broom. The rollers are recycled from street cleaning vehicles, and alpacas take turns brushing up against them.

"They're used like scratching posts," explained Lanouette, who picks up the brooms after the town throws them out.

After working more than 30 years as a retail manager, alpacas became part of Lanouette’s retirement plan, but the introduction to the Peruvian livestock followed tragedy.

Lanouette worked more than 40 hours a week, and was on call 24/7, she said, so family time with her children and husband Roger was minimal. Following a car accident, Lanouette lost her 20-year-old son Keith.

"I was devastated, but I was pretty angry at the company," said Lanouette. "I just existed for a couple years [after that]. The loss of a child never goes away."

Roger and Lanouette started visiting alpaca farms, and it was a welcomed distraction. "The more I visited alpacas, the more I felt they were something I could do once I retired without much trouble. They helped me heal," she said.

On the farm, Lanouette has a physical reminder of her son: two-year-old, ribbon-winning Tiki.

The young male is the alpha in a pen with two other young males — Fenway and Ike — but what makes Tiki special is that he was born on Keith's birthday, following a difficult birth.

Alpacas normally have an easy birth, explained Lanouette. It's hard to tell that they're pregnant because they show no symptoms except for a larger middle. Even that sign can blend in with their fleece, said Lanouette. Labor can take 10-45 minutes, and there's no blood, she added. Babies — called cria — are up and walking around within 45 minutes.

"They're all legs," said Lanouette about the cria. "But you don't really need to assist [with a birth]. They're self-sustaining animals," she said, adding that babies just sort of slip out.

Tiki’s leg got caught on the pelvis however, and Lanouette had to assist his mother Tanya with the birth. The cria survived. Lanouette named him, following a farm-wide tradition of naming babies with the same first letter as their mothers' names. Curiosity led Lanouette to later look up the meaning of "Tiki."

"Someone that seeks the thereafter," she said smiling. "That was my son saying 'I'm still here, Mom.'"

Lanouette’s also has a special connection with Tanya, making the alpaca her favorite. Tanya was the first born on the farm, and is currently the smallest and oldest alpaca in the herd. "She's the mother of the farm," said Lanouette.

In her spare time, Lanouette knits. "Sewing, knitting... it's the biggest portion of what I do with the alpacas."

Lanouette sheers the animals in March and April, so they're as close to the skin as possible in the hot, summer months. She then sends the fleece to a co-op in Fall River, the New England Alpaca Fiber Pool, which processes the fibers and transforms them into saleable goods, including yarn, rugs, and coats. Lanouette described the fleece products available as hypoallergenic, water-resistant, fire retardant, and thermal regulating... meaning you won't sweat. Lanouette sells some of those products — as well as ones she's made herself — in the shop on her property.

The storefront was open on September 24 and 25 for National Alpaca Farm Days, a free, nation-wide event that invites the public to visit alpaca farms, meet alpacas, and learn more about the animals and fibers. Lanouette’s event also had demonstrations, facepainting, raffles, and games.

“Being the weekend that the [New England] Patriots were off, it made Sunday more like a family day,” said Lanouette, explaining the high turnout.

Lanouette's shop will also open in time for holiday shopping, the second week of October, 11 a.m.- 3 p.m.