Imaginary Alpaca Ranch

Since May of 2015 Imaginary has moved to Millersville/Helena, Ohio and joined with Millersville Farm on 7.5 acres. We've transitioned from a large herd of 40 alpacas to 6 alpacas and 10 mixed Guernsey/Angus Cow/calves. We maintain a flock of chickens for fresh farm eggs and a large flock of pastured free ranging mixed Heritage (Narragansett/Royal Palm cross) Turkeys. We have an Apiary for pollination and Honey and tap Maple Trees each winter for Maple syrup. Our vegetable production is concentrated on Heirloom Tomatoes raised primarily for seed production and yes we sell Heirloom Tomato Seeds and Plants. 

 Imaginary maintains it's separate name simply for the fiber sales and recognition in marketing fiber and soap. Millersville Farm is everything else, Eggs, Honey, Syrup, Seeds, Plants, Fruit/Veggies, Turkey/Poults, Cow, Calves, Bulls, and we now sell live beef in 1/4, 1/2.

Millersville Farm was the site of 5 years of RocknRoll Harvest Festivals in the mid-1990's raising funds to fight the local lime plant from burning tires, which we won. So the farm has this special feel to it now of peace and sanctuary. Local animals often show up here as a place to eat and water and shelter. That's how we went from 2 lonely Narragansett Turkey Hens to 25 mixed Heritage Turkeys as the far country neighbors released 3 pairs of Turkeys in Feb 2020 and upon the commence of breeding season a month later, they showed up here and took up residence. We gave them nesting spaces and food/fresh water and they stayed. With permission of far neighbors. The neighbor's pig used to come by in the summer to hang out in the shade, steal the dog's food, and get fresh water at the well, but they finally figured out how to set up her pen to keep her home and happy after a few years of visits.

We do enjoy our quiet farm life so visitation is strictly by Appointment and we ask that anyone coming to shop are VACCINATED for Covid and please put your MASK on if you are not because we are both susceptible to Covid and at risk. We also ask that when you pull up into the drive, you stop at the no trespassing signs and HONK as sometimes the Farm Dog is running loose doing her job protecting the poultry. Thanks a lot folks!

In future posts I'll show you some of what we do here at Imaginary/Millersville Farms and Motherearth Studio. In the meantime enjoy these photos! 

Since November, I have been searching the local area for an existing barn and available pastures where I can relocate my herd of alpacas. At 30 some alpacas, it hasn't been affordable for a couple of years to board the alpacas at someone elses' alpaca farm. I have been sub-leasing fenced pastures and a barn for the last 3 years and it has been quite equitable, reimbursing for the property taxes and buying my own hay and grain and caring for them myself is the ideal situation if you can't own your own land.

Since hubby refuses to 'live in the country.' I'm kind of tied down to living in the city while leasing country space for the herd. But since November, I have been looking for a new location. The current landowner has decided not to continue the lease, maybe offer the land for sale or repurpose it, I don't know why. So here I am in quite a predicament with 30 alpacas and no home for them.

Alpacas require at the least a 3 sided, roofed shelter, access to fresh water, orchard grass hay here in the northeast, a daily ration of alpaca grain for 'some' of the minerals they need, pasture to graze in the summer will reduce costs. Fencing is to keep stray DOGS as well as coyotes away from the alpacas as much as it is to keep the alpacas in. They tend to try to get to where the grass is greener, or the boys or always trying to get to the girls, otherwise they don't usually challenge fencing. Commonly, a 5 foot high no climb fence is recommended, although I have seen 5 wire stretched fencing used inside the pastures for dividing it up.

If you know of a suitable property nearby Clyde, OH 43410 please contact me! Cheers, Bonnie

I want to share with you how I first got exposed to the alpaca farming opportunity. It all started innocently enough. I bought a ticket for our garden club's annual bus trip.

We stopped at several interesting places, usually including a place to buy plants like a greenhouse, a point of major interest, like one time we went to The Wilds in Zanesville, OH where they have African animals on acres and acres of reclaimed coal mining land, and of course a restaurant to feed us as it is an all day trip.

It is always a fun and happy outing, and it supported our garden club's activities for most of the year, so I always signed up and went.

I didn't really notice that one of the stops was going to be to an alpaca ranch in Mansfield, Ohio that did bus tours. They met our group and the tour started at the boy pasture. It was a SURI alpaca farm. They had the boys pastured on one side of the driveway and the girls pastured on the other. There were big long fenced paths for the alpaca to get from their pastures to the barns at the back of the house. There was even a nice little 'barn' for the craft/farm store where they sold their alpaca fiber, handmade alpaca related items, socks, teddy bears, sweaters, purses, gift cards, ornaments, etc.

So the boys looked at us across the fence and the owner told us about boy alpacas and some of their behaviors and why they were separated from the girls and which ones were their really nice famous ones. The boys played, "King of the Hill' for us, too. I asked if they made them into alpaca hide/pelt rugs, as I had purchased some double, queen, and round ones a couple years ago in California. The owner was a bit taken aback and explained that here in the US, they don't kill the alpaca as it costs too much to buy one. It takes a year to produce a baby alpaca and its fiber is very valuable. The rugs I had purchase had been imported from Peru where the animals may die in the harsh winters and they utilize all parts of the animal and nothing goes to waste.

Next we went across the drive to the girls pasture. They explained that our tour may be interrupted at any time because they had a girl that was due and had been acting like she was going to have her baby today! It was only a little into her speech that the birth started progressing with two little feet and a head protruding! So right there in front of us all, a dark baby alpaca was born! The owners and the dam made it look really easy! They didn't do much of anything, but had towels and iodine spray at hand to rub the baby down. We got to watch while all the other members of the herd came by to sniff it. Even the guard llama came over to sniff the new member of the herd that she was responsible for guarding and keeping safe! Eventually, our group was delighted by the owner carrying the new baby over to us for a brief pass along our line, just out of touch!!

After all that excitement, we had to hurry over to the rest of the barn and over to the farm store, picked up a few brochures and some goodies and climbed back aboard the bus for our next stop. Needless to say, I had two hours to peruse those brochures on the financial aspects of raising alpacas. I was very interested. Went home and researched online and began searching for farms near me that had farm stores and that would host your purchased alpacas. Because I live in town, livestock is not allowed on my property! So I needed a place that knew how to care for them and was willing to host the alpacas I wanted to purchase from other farms! That was in July of 2006. Now I have a herd of around 30! Come back tomorrow and learn more of my adventures with alpacas!