Our business officially started in February of 2008 when we went to pick up our first alpaca cria. They were a perfect addition to our little ranch. Why did we decide to get alpacas? We had small children and wanted an animal that they could help with and one that they could see grow old. We also wanted to be able to produce our own fibre which we could knit and felt to create amazing products. Al
pacas need to be sheared (fibre removed with clippers) every spring, so off to a shearing school Jamie went. He learned how to get the fibre safely and efficiently off the animals. He also learned to sort the fibre and how to lay it on frames to remove the dirt and any “second cuts” that make the fibre “itchy” after processing into yarn. All his newfound knowledge was shared with the family to create a wonderful shearing team. In 2009 we added 5 more alpacas to our herd. Male and female alpacas can not be housed together and at the time we did not have the facilities to keep them separate so we only bought males. We were interested in fibre and not breeding. Every May we sheared our boys and got them ready for the hot summer months. We soon noticed other small herd alpaca owners were having trouble finding someone to come out to shear their animals. Therefore, we started custom alpaca shearing. We would drive all over southern Manitoba shearing alpacas at various hobby farms. With our processed fibre we love to create new items. We knit scarves, mittens, toques, ect. We felt fibre and create boot liners. We use the batts to make duvets. Recently we sent our fibre to a mill in Alberta and they made us wonderful socks. In the last few years, we wanted to diversify our farm. We now make custom wood burnt signs and various metal works. Last June we purchased our first beehive and last fall we harvested our first honey crop. Our bee colonies live by an alfalfa field and we had wonderful creamy honey. Another by-product of bees is wax. With this wax we are processing beeswax food wraps, a plastic wrap substitute. These wraps create a healthier, more sustainable way to store food. We are also making a variety of candles with our wax. Nothing smells more amazing than beeswax candles.
13 years after getting our first alpacas, Vermillion River Ranch, is always evolving. We have horses, dogs, cats and cattle. It consists of Knitted alpaca products, bootliners, quilted duvets, wood burnt signs, metal works and custom alpaca shearing. Honey, candles, and beeswax food wraps. I teach private and group dog obedience. Our daughters, Jessica, Grace and Gabrielle are a huge inspiration and help with everything including social media, honey extraction and feeding critters. Gail Hockridge is our silent partner and pro-knitter. Jamie and I are truly blessed to have such a great team.
