Alpaca Joe and his baby with alpaca

One of the first people I met in the alpaca industry was Joe. He is the farm manager for Creekwater Alpacas, and he has his own alpaca herd that he calls Creekwater East. When we met him we knew a lot of people named Joe, so I always called him “Alpaca Joe” when I spoke of him. If he minds he’s never let on.

I bought my first alpacas from Creekwater ten years ago. Joe was my main source of knowledge and support. I was a young mom, eager to branch out into the alpaca world, and Joe had about 7 years experience with alpacas. I pestered him to death with alpaca questions, and Joe entertained me with farm stories…The baby doll sheep had snotty noses. The rooster saw his reflection in the truck window and attacked the truck, injuring himself and leaving a suspicious bloody trail behind him. Somebody brought Spot the cow back after 15 years, so they had to find Spot a friend so she wouldn’t be lonely. It was always something. Just like it is on my farm now. I craved that lifestyle so!

Joe was happy to answer all my questions. He returned my calls, and listened to me go on and on and on about alpaca stuff. He’s a good listener, and excellent with the alpacas. He shears them himself.  One time even took a flight to help get our alpacas shorn. He did this even though he doesn’t fly as a rule.

Our first alpacas lived at Joe’s farm for over a year while we moved and built a barn. The day that Joe delivered the alpacas to us, I remember asking him, “How can you just drop them off, leave them? Won’t you miss them?” His response was pragmatic and humorous (just like Joe). “You’d be surprised what you can say goodbye to for $20,000.” I have never forgotten those words. It put the livestock business into perspective for me.

Joe and my oldest daughter on the day Joe delivered our alpacas.

During the first couple of years of our alpaca business, Joe was the person I relied upon most for my alpaca knowledge. He was a rock, and a good friend. I can think of few people that I have as much affection for. I think of him as the younger brother I never had. When I told him I wanted to specialize in grey alpacas, he said, “Let me know how that works out for you. I hope you have better luck with it than I have.” Years later I laugh at this conversation and my naiveté. Grey is notoriously hard to get. My first 3 grey females bred to grey all had brown or black babies leading me to scrap that idea. It’s difficult to specialize in something you can’t create! – Joe knew this way before I did but he didn’t want to discourage me.

A few years ago our farms, Creekwater Alpacas and Fairhope Alpacas, were stalled next to each other at the National Alpaca Show. We had fun catching up and hanging out. At the time I had recently lost our farm manager Jeremy (he took a break to be an insurance adjustor for a brief period). I was telling Joe about my new employee. The new guy had lots of piercings, including a huge nose ring. Like a bull. It was freaky, and made the twins cry whenever they saw him. (This was following Hurricane Katrina and almost every able bodied man had moved to Mississippi and Louisiana to work construction because they were paying so much. This guy was the only one who answered my ad!) Joe laughed hard and predicted that it wouldn’t work out. Um, yeah.

Do Not Try This At Home! Professional alpaca baby on closed course

As I learned more about alpacas, I relied upon Joe less and my own experience more. Life with four kids got busy and we didn’t keep in touch as much… Recently I found Joe on Facebook. I was delighted to find that he and his wife have a precious little baby boy. What a lucky little guy to have Joe for a daddy! These pictures are of Joe’s little man. He says his son is the first baby he’s ever held. I suspect he’s a natural.

One of the best things about the alpaca business is the people you meet. Wonderful people love these animals, and lifelong friendships are created.

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