Beautiful animals for the whole family to enjoy!
Update (6-9-25) We worked long and hard to put together this family of 5 female alpaca's. Came from Dr. Anthony Stachowski alpaca's in Ohio. Brought to us from Harrison livestock of KY. Marc safely drove 6 hours to bring us these girls.
Be patient as the new alpaca's need time to acclimate to their new home here on the farm. They are a bit shy, scared and very sensitive, yet curious animals. BE KIND AT ALL TIMES!
Our current animals are located across the parking lot in the white fence area where you can pet and feed them through the fence. ONLY FEED THEM OUR APPROVED ALPACA PELLET, SOLD INSIDE. We have 3 female mini goats and 6 female alpaca's.
Our Alpaca's are: Rosetta, Doris, Jeanne, Whitney, Pollyanna & Oprah. Alpacas are charming and valuable members of the Camelid family. Alpacas are prized for their luxurious and costly fiber, which is harvested by shearing once a year. We will be selling our Alpaca fiber and dryer balls at the cashier area along with stuffed animals. The Alpaca gestation period is 11 months. The baby is called a Cria. Alpacas are a herd animal and are native to the Andes Mountains of South America where they are used for their fiber and their meat. Alpacas are very gentle, clean animals and make wonderful pets.
Our goats are Norwegian Dwarf mini goats. They all have names and are very friendly. Goats are hard to keep cause like kids they get into everything. Baby goats are called kids. People love goats. They are known to calm people. Some goats emit a high-pitched wale when something simply isn’t right. Each kid is very unique vocally, it’s one of the ways their mother can identify them when they’re born.
One of the great built-in survival mechanisms a goat has is its keen night vision, which is all thanks to its rectangular pupils. They can scout their surroundings from 320 to 340 degrees in one glance. Humans can only do 160 to 210 degrees. They are mountain animals and have stellar coordination that enables them to reach outrageous feats involving heights-they’ve even been known to climb trees. Wait till you see them in their playground area.
Just like cattle, goats eat plant-based food and need four stomachs to be able to break it down, they’re ruminants. Humans only have one stomach. Goats have been tamed by humans for ages-they’ve been herd animals for about 10,000 years, originating in Southwest Asia. A large group of goats is called a herd.
Be sure to take your photos of our animals in their pasture with their red barn. Then post them to your Facebook or whatever social media you like, it’s fun and beautiful. Tag White Fence Farm on Instagram: @whitefencefarmiL
One of the first in the alpaca business, Ohioan
now a leader in the field.
Mantua, Ohio _Anthony Stachowski has struck
gold with what he calls a "huggable investment."
Stachowski, 52, who retired from his
veterinarian practice this year, was one of the
first people to own alpaca's in this country. When
150 Chilean alpaca's were first imported to
North America in 1984, Stachowski bought 50.
Stachowski w a s raised on a n Arabian horse
farm just across the street from Stachowski
Alpacas on route 44 in Mantua, Ohio. He
practiced veterinarian medicine, mostly horse
care, for 22 years.
Stachowski said he grew up around animals
and owned a few llamas, a cousin to the alpaca,
before he bought the Chileans. "When the
opportunity arose, I jumped at the chance to
bring something wonderfully unique here," said
Stachowski.
Before 1984, it was illegal to import alpacas
into the United States mostly because of the fear
of foot-and-mouth disease. There were only 15
in the United States prior to '84, and they were
all in zoos. "The problem was we just hadn't
discovered them yet," said Stachowski. "These
are animals that had been raised by Indians of
South America for 3,000 years. Only the
strongest survive, so they are a very pure and
healthy animal. They are not wild animals. They
were designed and domesticated for clothing."
It wasn't until 1993 that the Peruvian
government allowed alpacas to be imported to
North America. Prior to that date, a Peru native
could spend 10 years in prison for selling an
alpaca outside the country. Approximately 700
Peruvian alpacas were brought in and are now
the most sought-after. Stachowski owns the
largest pure Peruvian stock in North America.
Chilean alpacas are the most numerous in
the United States. There is also a small number
of Bolivian alpacas. Stachowski said Bolivian
alpacas are believed to be in between the
Chileans and Peruvians in quality. "We now also
have what is known as the American alpaca,
which is essentially a mix of the others," said
Stachowski.
Stachowski was instrumental in writing the
registry for these animals. He insists Alpaca
Registry Inc. (ARI) is one of the purest registries
in the industry. To register an animal you have to
have DNA and blood testing done on both of the
parents and the cria ( a baby alpaca), said
Stachowski. "You don't have to rely on anyone's
word because you have scientific proof that
baby belongs to those parents. It would be easy
to pass a baby llama as a baby alpaca to
someone who doesn't know how to tell the
difference." An alpaca is two to three times
smaller than a llama. Alpacas can weigh up to
160 lbs whereas a llama can weigh 350 lbs.
Their cashmere-like fleece is wavy, similar to
many of the sheep breeds. The Suri's fleece has
no crimp and hangs almost like long, thin
dreadlocks.
The animals are shorn annually or
biannually, and the fleece is sent to Alpaca fiber
Cooperative of North America (AFCNA).
Producers may be paid anywhere from $1 to $6
an ounce for the fleece. One animal gives about
6 Ibs. The fleece is then sent to Peru where it is
spun into garments and blankets or made into
teddy bears and sold back to the producer at
wholesale. "Producers control their own destiny,"
said Stachowski. "We don't let Wal-Mart get into
our business." Stachowski says both the
Huacaya and the Suri fiber is popular amounst
spinners. The fleece is luxurious and strong. It is
easily dyed and is found in 27 colors. Huacayas
make up about 90 % of the U.S. alpaca
population.
Stachowski gives many reasons, other than
the high fiber prices, why he has been able to
stay in the alpaca business. He says the
markets aren't saturated with alpaca therefore
producers are able to keep prices up. There are
about 25,000 alpacas registered in North
America and the registry was closed to imports
in 1998. "These animals are not potbellied pigs
or ostriches. They are not a trend or a fad," said
Stachowski. "I have been doing this for 21 years,
and there will still be a strong market in 10
years." The alpaca's gestation period is 1 months,
allowing her to bear only one cria a year. There
have been no multiple births recorded. Artificial
insemination and embryo transfers have yet to
be successful in alpacas, which also keeps their
numbers down.
Stachowski says most of the money he
makes with alpacas comes from selling breeding
stock. A male can sell anywhere from $1500 to
$20,000. Females start at $8000 and go up to
about $30,000. In fact, a white, male Peruvian
sold for $226,000 in Ohio in 2020.
Alpacas have a 12-to - 20 year lifespan,
and Stachowski says every two years you get a
50% return on your investment. "The market is
so strong that I could buy a pair today for
$20,000 and in two years sell their offspring for
$20,000," said Stachowski. The overhead is low,
too, Stachowski said. You can raise 8 to 10
alpacas on one acre. They need no special diet,
fencing or housing, (depending on the climate
you live in). They mostly graze and eat hay, with
the occasional supplement of a pelleted "ration
balancer," which supplies the vitamins and trace
minerals for bone development and healthy cria.
Stachowski keeps about 600 alpacas on less
than 200 acres of land. He also has 24 llamas. "
They are the perfect animal for the small farmer
with a little bit of money. Or the farmer who
wants to sell a lot of his sheep and buy a couple
of alpacas, " said Stachowski. He sells alpacas
all over the country and ships animals to other
countries as well. "I sell to people who are just
starting out or those who want to upgrade their
animals."
As a vet, ne tound alpacas cost less per
head for vet care than any other livestock. He
also says because they are so hardy, they don't
cost him any time away from his veterinary
practice.
Alpacas are induced ovulaters - once they
are bred, they ovulate. This adds convenience
for the breeder. "You don't have to watch them
come into heat or calculate when they are going
to ovulate. The animals work around your
schedule. You don't work around theirs." said
Stachowski. With so little care needed,
Stachowski employs only three other people to
tend to the animals and housing. There are also
two secretaries who work in Stachowski Alpaca
office. Stachowski spends time away from the
farm a shows and conferences. His animals
have won many blue ribbons at state, national
and international shows.
"These Sui and Huacaya Peruvians on my
farm are the top 20 percent of alpacas in the
United States, " said Stachowski. He is a judge
for the Alpaca Llama show association and a
member for the Alpaca Owners and Breeders
Association, ARI and AFCNA. He recently led a
tour of the Altiplano, or high plains region, in
Peru and was a judge for the International
Alpaca Festival Show and Conference.
According to Stachowski, alpacas are
definitely a niche market - a niche market with
profit potential like no other. "After 20 years, the
prices at their highest ever. The market gets
stronger every year," said Stachowski. "You
don't have to work 14 hours a day like a normal
farmer. What other farmer do you know who
could retire from a veterinarian practice to be
with his animals?
Their barn door is always open, unless there are really cold temperatures. In this instance, they will be inside their heated barn to keep them nice and warm! On hot days they may stay in their barn under their fan, as would you. Most other times, you are welcome to feed, pet, and view the animals through the fence while the restaurant or carryout is open.
At our main restaurant in Romeoville, IL. They reside in the Red Barn at the end of the parking lot. Their door is normally open so they will be in the fenced-in pastures in front of the barn.
Yes! Petting and viewing the animals through the fence is always free.
When permitted. There is feed we provide for the farm animals. You can buy it through dispensers in front of the fence for $0.25 or inside the restaurant when it is open, also for $0.25. Please only feed the animals the food we provide, as they will get sick if they are given any other food (including corn fritters!).
White Fence Farm Main Restaurant
1376 Joliet Rd, Romeoville IL