Because other animals share our land, and they aren't necessarily friendly to alpacas and cats, we purchased Biff, an Akbash Dog, to be our Livestock Guardian Dog.  LGDs, as they are known, are breeds of dogs that historically have guarded sheep and goats.  They have low predatory instincts and the ability to bond with the livestock they guard.  Biff is great at his job, barking at anything he thinks is threatening and patrolling our land at night.  For more information on these types of dogs, go to www.lgd.org .

Many alpaca farms find that some type of fowl helps with bug control. We didn't want any noisy Guinea fowl, or loud and sometimes mean Geese, so resisted getting birds for awhile. But after seeing how the black flies and other bugs bothered our alpacas, we found the perfect breed of Ducks! We adopted three Muscovy Ducks, named Peter, Paul and Mary, who proceeded to produce many, many offspring.  They became too much, so we sold the flock and kept two males to help with the bugs.  Both had been born here and are beautifull black and white in coloring.  Although we miss the ducklings around, it is certainly a lot cleaner in the barn and yard with only two ducks!  Gimpy and Loner Duck live happily around the farm.