Farm Animals

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 Update (6-9-25) We worked long and hard to put together this family of 4 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 a female mini goat and 4 female alpaca's.

Our Alpaca's are: Doris, Jeanne, Whitney & Pollyanna. 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 little brown goat is a Norwegian Dwarf mini goat. Brownie is brown (and no she is not pregnant, just fat)  she is 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.  

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 was 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?