As the farm owners, we, Fred and Cindy Chandanais, began preparing our alpaca ranch in the summer of 2005. We are a small, family friendly alpaca farm, and we’d love to introduce you to our amazing alpacas! Our first introduction to the alpaca was a television commercial we saw in 2005, shortly after we purchased land in Colorado. We thought that raising alpacas might be something we could do afte
r we both retire and move out west. We began doing some online research and found that not only are alpacas adorable animals, but there are tax advantages to raising them as well. This idea stayed in the back of our minds until we overheard one of Cindy’s cousins, Donna Rutkowski, talking about her alpacas at a family reunion that summer. We grew more interested as we talked with Donna and her husband, Ed, to learn about the animals and how they became involved with alpacas. A week later we visited their farm, Alpaca Fantasy World, and we were sold. We attended our first educational seminar in September 2005. We visited a number of farms over the next several weekends and decided that we didn’t want to wait until we retired to begin this endeavor. Fred began cutting down trees, we visited some more farms and asked a lot of questions, and we attended our first alpaca show as spectators. Throughout the winter of 2005-2006 we continued to clear land for pastures and a barn. In March 2006, we attended an educational seminar at Song Hill Alpaca Farm, and we purchased our first alpacas. We agisted (boarded) our animals at Alpaca Fantasy World while we built our barn and completed our pastures. Fourteen months later, in June 2007, we were ready to bring our herd home! Our foundation herd of 2 pregnant female huacaya alpacas has grown to 10 animals, one of our original moms (Dixieland Jazz), 2 male offspring born in 2006 (Dobby and Casper), 2007's 2 female crias (Bella and Maya), 4 additional female crias (Faline, Mystique, Shadow, and Angel) and another male cria (Durango). The mission of Cushing Ranch Alpacas, Inc. is to promote the alpaca industry by breeding to produce high quality alpacas and alpaca fiber. We strive to be a reputable farm through honest dealings with others who are involved in the alpaca business, those interested in becoming involved in the industry, and those interested in merely learning more about these lovable animals. Come visit our gift shop and find the perfect holiday gifts for everyone on your list. We have a large selection of hats, gloves, mittens, scarves, socks, sweaters, blankets, and more. During the holiday season, our hours tend to be fairly set, but feel free to call or message us before coming to be sure that we are open. We also have additional hours by appointment.
