FORWARD TWP — The 38 alpacas owned by Carole and Joe Rost at Asgard Acres Alpaca Farm were a huge hit Saturday with all who visited as part of the 2018 Butler County Farm Tour.

The friendly pack animals that resemble Dr. Seuss characters were not the least bit spooked by the hundreds of people who invaded their space.

Many of the alpacas walked among the guests in and around the barn where they are kept, allowing children and adults alike to pet and feed them.

“I think they're really cute,” said Shannon Koehler, 7, of Franklin Township. “I like how they point their ears up when they're a little shy.”

While the Koehler family was undecided on which, if any, of the other farms they would visit on the tour, they were glad their first top was Asgard Acres.

“We wanted to see the alpacas because the are really soft and we enjoy them,” Shannon said.

Carole Rost smiled and accommodated the tour participants' requests to feed, pet or take pictures with the alpacas.

“I'm a retired teacher and I always love teaching people about the alpacas,” said Rost, who worked for about a week to get her 30-acre farm in shape for the tour.

Saturday marked Rost's second tour, and she hoped the alpacas would behave themselves as they interacted with the visitors.

“If you get kicked, you get a free pair of (alpaca wool) socks!” Rost said.

Drew Kirchner and her friend Lydia Miklos of Cranberry Township also enjoyed the fuzzy-headed animals.

“There's so many of them, and we can feed them and pet them and walk around with them,” a delighted Drew said.

Lydia has a long-standing love of the lama-like creatures.

“I'm trying to convince my aunt to get one because she has a horse, and she's getting rid of it,” Lydia said. “They're my favorite animal.”

Carol Pan of Pittsburgh made the trip north to participate. She and a friend also planned to visit the Speckled Hen Chocolate Company in Saxonburg, which was another stop.

“Thanks to Butler County for putting on this wonderful farm tour and the farms for hosting it,” Pan said as she snapped a selfie with a chocolate brown alpaca. “It's wonderful to showcase the different farms to the public.”

She stroked an alpaca that sauntered over to check her out.

“They're really soft, cute, friendly animals,” Pan said.

In another barn on the Rosts' farm, two women demonstrated the carding and spinning of alpaca wool, which came from the animals on the farm in May, when they were shorn.

The women used foot pedals to run the spinning wheels that spun the alpaca fur into yarn.

Celina and Rusty Karnes of Butler Township brought their daughters Rylee, 6, and Sydney, 5, to learn about the origin of some of the products they use and enjoy every day.

“I find it interesting to see how things were done and made at local farms,” Celina said. “It's a good learning experience for the kids.”

Rusty, whose birthday was on the day of the tour, agreed.

“They can learn from the past traditions, especially now that there's so much technology,” he said.

Another room in the same barn saw children placing tufts of colorfully dyed alpaca fur onto washcloth-sized pieces of brown felt made from alpaca fur.

Susan Chapin of Slippery Rock then put the decorated felt through a needle-felting machine, which secured the pattern onto the felt.

Chapin said some children put random pieces of wool onto the felt while older children made beach scenes, hearts and other patterns.

For $5, the children could take their unique artwork home.

“No two of them are alike,” Chapin said.

Asgard Acres also had snacks and lunch items on the family's large front porch as well as a small trampoline where the youngest visitors could burn off some energy.

The other locations on the tour were Jones Turkey Farm and the Thiele Farm in Cabot, Har-Lo Farms in Jefferson Township and the Speckled Hen chocolate shop on Route 228.

The annual tour is organized by the county Tourism and Convention Bureau.