Our Journey Our Story…..

You ask how in the world we ended up becoming an Alpaca farm?  My husband, Jack would say that it is my fault!  Jack was a “city boy” while I was raised on a farm and had experience with farm work and livestock.  When I left my childhood farm over twenty five years ago, I swore I had my fill of farm life and would never even entertain the idea of farm life again!  However, after living several years in the suburbs, moving in and out of state, both of us longed for a place with some acreage away from the hustle and bustle of suburbia.  After a couple of years of searching, we found our dream just outside of Lebanon, Ohio with almost 5 acres including an old farmhouse, barn and outbuildings.  We had often discussed the possibility of someday purchasing some livestock as a hobby; however, we couldn’t get excited about this notion until we made this discovery of Alpacas. 

We were first introduced to these gentle creatures while visiting family in Wheeling, W.Va. in the fall of 2004. We attended a small country fair where there were small farm animal exhibits.  Growing up on a farm myself, we had the usual cows, goats, pigs, chickens, ducks, geese, etc., so this was not a novelty for me.  However, I noticed in a pen these creatures that looked like llamas but much smaller, which heightened my curiosity.  I found these animals to be so graceful looking and was taken by their lively personalities.  Soon I started a conversation with the breeder at the booth talking with him for over an hour as he shared with me his love of these animals.

 In the meantime, my family had proceeded to walk through the rest of the barn and my husband came back looking for me only to find I had not moved and was still in deep conversation with the alpaca owner as I couldn’t get enough information!  At that point my husband knew that he was going to get an earful once I ended my delightful visit learning about the Alpacas. 

Upon our return home to Lebanon, Ohio, I spent hours researching on the internet about Alpacas.  To break up the internet research, we were taking farm tours around the Southwestern Ohio area, visiting other Alpaca breeders and learning of two breeds, the Huacaya and the Suri.  I soon found that I was really attracted to the Suri breed, loving the luster and silky feel of their fiber as well as their majestic appearance.  We also found that the network of people we met in this business were incredibly helpful and friendly.

Soon thereafter a visit to an Alpaca farm in Northern Ohio is where I met the beautiful Suri alpaca.  Since Jack was not with me on my initial visit, the next day I had to bring him out to meet our new-found friends and we spent another few hours with them.  Over the next several weeks we communicated via email and phone as Jack and I had many questions. They were always available to give us answers and before we knew it we were planning our trip back to their farm to pick out our Alpacas!

 Our foundation herd at that time consisted of an award-winning Jr. Herdsire and three maiden females.  The farm was boarding our animals on their farm while we were working on getting our farm ready.  We were in constant communication with them and they were eager to give us updates on our herd.  In the meantime, Jack and I joined various Alpaca organizations and attended meetings as well as shows to further educate ourselves about this rewarding business and to network with fellow Alpaca Breeders.

 Now, nearly five years later, we have grown to 17 Alpacas!  We are in love with this lifestyle and have met many great people on our journey.  One of the many rewards is after waiting nearly 12 months for a new alpaca baby (cria), we see it with its mother thriving and running in our pasture.  We have learned so much in a short amount of time but we have never regretted becoming Alpaca caretakers.  We love sharing our experiences and helping answer questions from others who are thinking about this lifestyle.