The history of the
Integrity Llama Farm
We've been farmers for
over 30 years. We started raising cattle in Saskatchewan right after
we were married. After moving to a small acreage, we added pigs, sheep,
chickens and finally horses. We always seemed to have some type of
animal on the acreage.
It was after a trip to Agribition in Regina in 1993 that we began
to think of a gentler, easier way to handle animals, might be in order.
We looked at llamas and Alpacas. We researched, travelled to many
farms, and learned about both Llamas and Alpacas. We especially loved
Suri Alpacas, but they were being sold in pairs and we just didn't
like that option.
We decided to buy the best lamas we could afford and to learn all
we could about the breed. We wanted to breed and show our llamas,
so we started out by learning what a perfect llama looked like.
After a lengthy trip to Alberta to research llamas, we bought our
first female in April 1995. She was a beauty, giving us kisses and
coming when we called her name. Her name was Carlisa, but we called
her Carly. We were thrilled!
We had made a decision to cash in our RRSPs to purchase our llamas
and only a few months later, we bought over $100,000.00 worth of females
at Auction. We came home with our 5 llamas and couldn't sleep for
the first month we were so excited.
Although we had raised most domestic animals, we didn't have a clue
how to care for or how to handle llamas. We called the vet and day
when one of our females came into the barn with green coming out of
her mouth and her bottom lip drooping. We hadn't yet learned about
"spit".
But we were very fortunate. We lived nearby several llama farms and
we were included in their seminars and clinics. We attended conferences
and meetings and read everything we could get our hands on related
to llamas. We learned a great deal and we became well known within
the Industry.
A year later, a neighbour's barn burned and so we took in both her
and her 27 llamas. That move changed a lot for us. We had our first
llama baby, with the help of an experienced breeder. We learned about
breeding and weight problems and came to understand what we liked
and didn't like about handling and caring for llamas.
When we moved from Saskatchewan to Saturna Island, we owned 17 llamas
and thought we were experienced breeders. Now 5 years later, we live
with 70 of these fabulous critters. Our lives have never been the
same and we are grateful for the lifestyle the llamas have given us.
Our farm is called INTEGRITY LLAMA FARM because we wanted to set our
standard of excellence with integrity. Integrity plays a key role
in our business, it affects every aspect of who we are and what we
do. It's the principle on which we base our actions, relationships
and goals.
Our
Commitment To You:
We do the right thing in the right way in any given situation. We
act ethically and professionally in all of our activities and relationships.
We avoid any action or relationship that might conflict with our responsibilities.
We started our herd with the best llamas we could find and continue
to add more of what we value with each breeding. We're excited about
the llamas we're producing and hope you will be too.
Please feel free to contact us with
questions about any of our llamas, fibre goods or other services.
We're really looking forward to meeting more people with similar interests.
Part of the joy of llamas has been the wonderful people we meet.
We've added lots of interactive links
to this, our second website. Try out our discussion board, view our
photos and get involved in the news and articles. We welcome your
comments and hope you'll enjoy your time with us.
Visits to our home and farm are welcomed. Please contact
us!