Life is such a beautiful thing, if you allow it. The need to experience it to its fullest potential is something I chase on a daily bases. If I’m not researching my next adventure, I’m on an adventure. You’ll see through my blog posts I adore airbnb’s, waterfalls and hiking. What you haven’t seen yet, unless you follow me on Instagram is, I LOVE animals. Just like people, they come in all shapes, sizes and colour. Beautiful and unique in their own special way. When I first heard of Alpaca Farms, I had to know more. I also wanted to know if these gentle creatures were treated well. Now, I’ve only been to two locations so, I was hesitant on speaking of the topic but, I think we all have information to share and this is my viewpoint. Hopefully, you learn and get inspired to book your very own alpaca tour.
Harmony Meadows Alpaca Farm
Harmony Meadows Alpaca Farm is located in Southern Ontario, within Fergus, one of the largest communities in Centre Wellington, a township within Wellington County. Driving to the small farm, one will see Wind Farms along the way homing numerous windmills. Make sure to stay alert as there are tractors that pop in on the road and a sign for Harmony Meadows, leading you to your destination. You may park on the driveway near the storefront to the left and than, will be welcomed by either Richard or Kristi for a pre-scheduled tour.
Once greeted, you will head on to the back of the home towards the barn and the land about 30 alpacas live on. These adorable creatures are timid and shy on this farm but, you can still pick up on their personalities. They are also separated by gender to eliminate unplanned procreation. This made sense to me but, the division goes a little further than, that. The farmers will analyze the texture of each animals fibers, overall health, temperament and then, decide which ones are suitable to mate. This is important because Hembras (female) are pregnant for eleven to twelve months and the farmer wants everyone to make it out healthy. Along the way, my partner and I learned of the chickens on the farm which, just showed up one day and haven’t left. They provide fresh eggs and assistance with fly control. Chickens will eat the flies larvae therefore, controlling the amount of flies they have on the farm. Once we entered the Machos (male) pasture, there was a noticeable change in temperament. They don’t like being touched but, will come closer to you out of curiousity. We even saw a couple of them argue over a section of hay. It was hilarious to watch and not once did I feel unsafe. The farm also has one Llama which acts as the guardian for these alpacas. So, if any danger were to approach the Llama would make a lot of noise to alert the farmers or stomp on their pray to save his alpaca friends.
Only an hour long tour but, it was captivating and informative. My partner and I ended up at the gift shop at the end of the tour. We bought the comfiest of socks and three dryer balls made from the wool of these gentle creatures. The dryer balls were interesting to me because you could add essential oils to the wool ball therefore, adding a scent to the clothing and the wool acts as an additional drying tool to absorb moisture. This is a great way to eliminate drier sheets and gives you a little more control on what your clothing will smell like.
S.A.M.Y.’S Alpaca Farm & Fibre Studio
This family owned business is located north of Strathroy in South Western Ontario, Canada. Much like the farm I just mentioned, you will also see Wind Farms along the way and signage pointing you in the right direction. This one was a little harder to book especially, if you are looking for a weekend. I opted for a weekday as I didn’t want to give up the chance to see what the hype was all about.
So thankful, I had the chance to experience S.A.M.Y.’s for myself as I will forever be comparing it to this excursion. From start to finish I was laughing at these amazingly, friendly animals. At the beginning of the tour you will be handed a cup of seeds for the female alpacas to feed on. Again, the females and males were separated in order to control procreation. Once, my girlfriend and I entered the empty pasture we were confused as to what was to happen next. The guide than, started to shake her pale of feed and all of a sudden they were running towards us. Ever see an alpaca run? I guarantee you laughter at the mere sight of it.
The girls were not shy and didn’t care who we were. The main focus was to empty our cups of its contents as quickly as possible. They would nose dive into the cups and make these funny little noises of pure content. Once a cup was empty all her alpaca friends needed to come see if it were true, as if they didn’t trust each other. During feeding time we were encouraged to touch their coats and get a feel for the texture. My tour was in March and they typically get sheered at the end of May so, the fluff was real! What I also enjoyed was with each alpaca encounter, the guide would tell us her name. I found it impressive as the farm homes over fifty alpacas and each of them named. (Harmony Meadows alpacas were named as well) Most farmers will tag the animals ears with a number and that’s what they become. Some of the male alpacas on this farm were tagged from another farm but, once brought to S.A.M.Y.’s were given a name. This makes my heart smile!
Next stop, the males pasture and it was grand mixed in with two llamas, a goat and some free range chicken. The reason why this farm is so popular is because you are able to walk an alpaca off site. Only males are to be walked as they are the calmer, easier to guide, sex. In a different stable you are shown how to put the harness over his mussel and than, you walk him outdoors. Their landmark to look out for is a windmill and its evident they know this because the closer you get to it the quicker they would walk. At the windmill you are than, able to hand feed your alpaca. This added to the experience of the tour and its not hard to see why they are extremely popular. Depending on the size of the group, the tour can be from an hour to an hour and a half. The farm also has a shop full of their handmade products and workshops to educate one on either wet or needle felting. With arms wide open, they encourage the public to book alpaca training sessions to help the alpacas walk on a leash.
Shortly after our tour CBC News was to come in and do an article on the farm. Which is amazing exposure but, that just means you have to plan way ahead of time to get in to see these guys.
At both farms, these animals are treated well and live a long, happy life. They are not forced to do anything they don’t want to do and appear to be in great care. I highly recommend S.A.M.Y.’s Alpacas farm as it allows you to be closer to these unique, goofy looking animals. Hoping you learned something from this post and it inspired you for your next adventure. I hope to add to this list, if you know any good alpaca farms to visit in Ontario. Comment below!