Alpacas vs. Llamas

So let me catch you up on our alpaca adventures: We have visited four alpaca farms to date and have met some really amazing people along the way. Every one has been so kind and generous with their time and experience. Each visit has been unique, allowing us to build on previous knowledge we've gained. You are already familiar with Bully Hollow Alpacas, this was our first farm visit. The following weekend we visited Highland Alpacas in Grove City, PA, which is an alpaca farm on a much larger scale (100+ alpacas!). Where our previous weekend's visit to Bully Hollow gave us a great introduction to the alpaca world, our visit with Highland allowed us to get an idea of the business aspects of raising a herd of alpacas. And let me tell you, these two ladies know their stuff! I spent a couple days afterward with my head still processing all their wonderful information. Not to mention that their farm is AMAZING! That's really been one of the most beneficial things about all of our different farm visits is seeing where/how people started, how far they've come, and all the various set-ups for the farms. The general information is the same, but everyone tweaks it to make it work for them. There's no "set-in-stone" way to do things. I like that.

This past Saturday we visited two farms, and we found that the second farm put a whole new twist on what we thought we knew and were looking for. Let me explain why. The first farm was Lippencott Alpacas in Waynesburg, PA, home to 20+ alpacas. After taking some time to talk to and get to know the owners of the farm, we headed out to get our feet wet (literally...it was pouring) and get some hands on experience with the alpacas. Perfect! Another visit that was completely new from the rest. We helped give vaccines, dewormer, and even clip some toenails. Up until now we hadn't really worked with any of the animals. It was a new experience and well worth the visit. A bit after noon we traveled to Temple Ridge Llamas. Yes you read that right; I said llamas. Llamas and alpacas are both related. Alpacas are smaller than llamas and for the most part have a fiber that is more sought after. So here's were the 'twist' came in. We couldn't get over how friendly and inquisitive the llamas were. Sure, we've met some inquisitive alpacas, but they always seem to want to keep you at arms length. Not so with the llamas. They came right up to us, stuck their noses right up to ours, gave us a couple sniffs, and decided we were okay. I couldn't keep my hands off of them! "Why" you might ask, were we visiting a llama farm? The answer is simple, llamas make good guard animals for your alpacas (sheep and other animals too). We met the owner of the farm last weekend at the fiber festival and he invited us to meet his herd. So we came, and I'm so glad we did. What does this mean for us now? I think we want both, and at the very least we want a guard llama. We were absolutely smitten by their personalities. You can also shear them for fiber as well. But guarding and fiber are not the only uses for the llama. They are great pack animals and companions, can be trained to drive (pull) a cart, and are very smart.

I dreamt about llamas that night....