One of the things I love about traveling is finding places that are not touristy. Yesterday’s find was a complete non-touristy gem! We toured the Fox Wire Alpaca Farm in Toano, Virginia, which is approximately 15 miles from Williamsburg. The farm is owned by John Ballentine and Laura Hineman.
We drove down a mile long winding road and as soon as we arrived a wagon pulled by a tractor was waiting for us and our group. We got down, said our hellos and proceeded to climb into the wagon. When I looked back to see that my son Aiden was behind me, I noticed he was still back at our truck about to grab his trusty glove and baseball. When I asked him what the heck he was doing, he proceeded to tell me that he was “bored”. Owner John, who was our tour guide, easily convinced him to “help” him with the tour and turned a sulky teen into a chatty kid who gladly participated and felt important the rest of the day.
The farm is located on a beautiful 200+ acre property which is actually a peninsula. That was the first thing the kids learned about. Instead of looking at a peninsula on a map, they actually visited one and were shown the water surrounding the area.
The entrepreneur in me was really digging the news that owning Alpacas is great for tax planning. Apparently, anything that touches them is tax deductible. The owner even offers Alpaca Investment Portfolios (AIPs)
One of the neat things we learned was how they grow all of their own feed for all of the animals using hydroponics. They are very proud of this fact as well as the fact that they work very hard to minimize their environmental footprint. They do this by composting all manure and reusing it in their farm.
Raising alpacas is an interesting venture. They are used to very cold weather, so they need to be kept cool during the Virginia summers. They are also not a walk-in-the-park to breed. The male has an orgle or special song that he sings and if the female doesn’t particularly enjoy his mating call, she will spit at him. I’m thinking us human females should emulate this behavior.
Another complication is the fact that alpacas are “induced ovulators†which means the act of intercourse or presence of alpaca semen can make them ovulate. They don’t have a regular ovulation cycle that can be counted on. Lastly, gestation is a full year, so those alpaca babies are cooked for a long time.
The kids ranging in ages from 5 to 17 all learned about the reproductive cycle of Alpacas and about raising them all petting them and interacting with them.
They also learned about raising chickens to lay eggs and what makes organic, free range chicken eggs better. Heck, I had no idea that you can tell the difference by the yolks and egg whites. The egg whites should not be runny like the ones from store bought eggs. I must confess that when I went home I decided to make an omelette strictly for the purpose of checking out the eggs. They were runny; no bueno.
After we visited with the alpacas and chicks, we had fun with some goats and fed the horses. This nature and animal lover was in absolute heaven. Even the teenybopper was having a great time. Who doesn’t love petting horses?
There were also four adorable donkeys that we got to hang out with. One of them was such a sweet thing that she kept wanting to crawl into everyone’s laps. John was trying to train her to be around people without trying to crawl into their laps.
The last thing we saw on our tour were two very alert and interested guard llamas. Yes, you read that correctly. I feel as ridiculous even writing the words “guard llamas”.
The neighboring land has visiting hunters who have hunting dogs that can do some gnarly damage. That coupled with many natural predators has led the owners to buy two trained llamas who guard the farm animals. One of them has two killed coyotes to his credit, so these are some seriously badass llamas.
So the kiddos and parents learned a lot about running a farm, geography, conservation, and a wealth of things that we don’t encounter in our suburban and urban daily lives.
I couldn’t recommend this place enough, so if you visit Williamsburg, Virginia, definitely check them out. You will be very happy you toured the farm.
Noticias Newswire 
35 Responses
Trained guard llamas. That is so interesting. My husband is a professional dog trainer, and one of his main jobs is to train guard dogs for people and businesses. I wonder if it’s easy to train a llama. It could be a whole new business opportunity!
Fabiola it sounded so ridiculous and funny, but they were alert and on-point at all times. It was funny to watch.
Really enjoyed this post! I love the wholesomeness of nature and farm life. Beautiful video and landscape.
the little Alpaca looks so cute. I think we have an Alpaca Farm not far from our house.
what a fun post – I especially love the shot of the baby alpaca!
Awww they are so cute, what a fun trip!
What a fun post! llamas looks so cute.
Hahaha, amazing post. Farm life has always captivated me. I enjoyed the read.
xo
I use to live in VA. I wish I would have known about places like this. It is a wonderful place and would have been a great trip.
Those llamas are so cute!!
They are so adorable lol. This is such a unique experience.
xoxo
Isaly Holland
That’s awesome! Alpacas are adorable. They’re fun to watch and observe, especially if you’re a kid. I’m sure taking the kids here is worth it!
Omg this looks like a dream come true!!! We have spent some time with llamas but this would be incredible, especially an entire farm. They’re so cute and you must’ve enjoyed every minute! Definitely agree that the best part of travel is the non touristy stuff and moments like these!
An alpaca farm? I’m sure that was a cool and different experience! lol
It was awesome Jess. I love visiting farms. I visited an amazing lavender farm in Oregon last summer. The scent was incredible.
Awesome post you have here. Thanks for sharing.
Oh my gosh how fun! I think alpacas are SOOOO cute.
Thanks Robin, they were a blast too. Tons of personality.
This would be a blast! My daughter would so love it. She’s a huge fan of all animals.
Amber, search for a farm tour in your area, you’re bound to find something within a decent drive and take her! It’s a fun outing and usually free or very reasonable.
Alpacas are so cute. I looked into raising them about a decade ago. Seemed it wasn’t as much ‘fun’ as I thought it would be. But they are so cute.
What an interesting fact about raising Alpacas and the difference of chicken eggs by its yolks and egg whites. Thanks for this.
alpacas looks so freaking cute! i haven’t seen this animal before in real life. it is also a very nice idea to always wander around that are not touristy coz thats where the memories and unexpected things happen that you won’t forget
What a fantastic place to visit! Alpacas are such intriguing animals, and how lovely was it of the farmer to involve your teenage son in the tour! So thoughtful!
These little cuties! I’d definitely attend this kind of tour to know more about these animals 🙂
I love farm animals! they are so cute! <3
OMG, that baby alpaca! <3 This looks like so much fun! I will definitely visit if I am in Virginia
My Aunt has a Alpaca farm! These sounds like a great place and I love the picture of the baby! 🙂
My grandchildren would love a trip to this Alpaca farm. The only hindrance I see is that we live sooooooooo far from Virginia. I will have to check if there are any similar farms in our area. I also have a college friend who moved to Williamsburg a few years ago. I’ll ask if she’s been to that farm.
The baby alpaca looks so cute , love to have one but I know I can’t.
You seems to enjoy your tour in the farm and thanks for sharing it.
What a fun post. The little Imams is adorable!!
I love non-touristy places as they are the most fun and sounds like you guys learned loads and had fun.
That must have been an amazing experience! Alpacas look more like stuffed animals than anything. It’s really fantastic to hear of such self sufficient and green ventures.
We travel a lot and I do love places that are not touristy and unique which makes your trip special than the usual ones. Visiting a farm sounds pretty interesting and those Alpacas looks really cute!
This is pretty cool! I think I may have to add this to my expedition this year. I’m only a few hours away from Virginia.