The First Year (1997 -1998)

by Lisa Shimeld

* Starting our alpaca ranch has been an adventure! We have had the good fortune to meet many kind and helpful people along the way. We became aware of alpacas when we saw an AOBA, (Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association) ad in Sunset Magazine. We searched the Internet and were overwhelmed by the quantity and variety of material that was available. The more that we read, the more interested we became. After obtaining a list of breeders in California from AOBA we called Knute Johnson and Penny Maines at Lone Juniper Ranch and were invited to visit. A few days after Christmas we arrived in Gorman and saw our first huacaya alpacas. It was love at first sight!

* Knute and Penny were extremely friendly. They welcomed us into their home like old friends. Their alpacas and llamas were beautiful, well trained, and sociable. They patiently answered our questions and encouraged us to visit as many breeders as we possible before deciding on our first purchase. They also suggested that we join AOBA so that we could take advantage of the many services that they offer including a lending library. During our travels we had the good fortune to meet Joan Speirs of El Ranchito, Pat Peddicord and Kerry Trento of Suri-Al Paca, Felicia Schoenewald of Aussie Girl Alpacas, and had the pleasure of speaking to many other kind people in and outside of California. Jayna Miller of Rancho Llamamia was, and continues to be, friendly and more than generous with her support.

* Finally, we met Pam and John Jackson of Chualar Canyon Ranch. They invited us to spend the weekend at their beautiful ranch and while there we reached an agreement to purchase three wonderful huacaya alpacas and a gorgeous llama gelding. The alpacas included Amanda, a black and white pregnant female, Lucy, her light coffee female cria (born September 1996), and Bing, an intact male (born January 1996) and our future herdsire. The llama gelding we purchased is Clem. He is a large guy (about 400 lbs) who serves to guard our other kids. Our first cria is due in December and we can't wait!

* With our animals due to arrive home in about two months we had tons to do to get ready. Our first order of business was fencing and shade. We decided on 5' chain link fencing with a strand of electric wire on top and a second strand about 2' down from the top. The decision to use chain link was made to keep our dogs from entering the pastures unsupervised. The hot wire on the top was added to discourage predators (dogs, most likely) from climbing the fence, and the lower wire to keep the camelids from rubbing against the fence (they like to scratch). We even dug about 18" below the chain link and added a wire apron to discourage dogs or other potential predators from digging under the fence.

* For shade, we built an overhang against an existing building in one pasture, and a 16' by 16' shelter in another. We are planning to add additional shade shelters in the other pastures as time, and our budget allow. We also hope to have a 2 or 3 stall barn built by the end of 1997.

* The installation of water lines for irrigation and automatic waterers was next. We decided on 3 gallon capacity automatic waterers with floatation devices, backed up with 10 gallon plastic containers for just in case of a water outage. Two catch pens were built to help separate the animals at feeding time and to make haltering easier until the animals have had more training. Our veterinarian appreciated them when he came by to visit our new herd. A general cleanup of the property took a whole lot longer than we ever anticipated but we were ready for the animals when they arrived.

* The animals arrived on a hot, sunny day in May and all went without a hitch. They settled in without missing a beat and act as if they have lived here forever. Our lives, however, will never be the same! We couldn't be happier. It's lots of fun watching the animals interact with each other, and we get a kick out of seeing them look in the back door or one of the windows.

* We have lots to learn and look forward to doing so. As members of AOBA we have access to numerous resources. The national AOBA conference takes place in June and we will be there. Workshops and seminars on a variety of topics are offered, and we were fortunate enough to get enrolled in the highly acclaimed neonatal clinic taught by Dr. Larue Johnson.

* We would love to talk to you about our new ranch and our experiences. We encourage those of you that are considering the purchase of alpacas for pets or for an investment to contact us or another breeder so that you can meet these enchanting creatures in person.

Last Modified: July 15, 2005, 5:10 pm