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Welcome to Twisted Lock Alpacas, where we are dedicated to breeding and showing only the highest-quality alpacas!
Announcements
Twisted Lock Alpacas is proud to once again be a Platinum Sponsor of AlpacaFest West, the premier alpaca show and event in Southern California, which takes place November 10th and 11th at the Industry Hills Expo Center. We'll also be donating breedings to two of our champion herdsires, Tehuelche and Silvestre, to the Herdsire Auction in support of the show.
We're happy to report that we did well at our last show, the Monterey Pronk. Only two of our boys were shown, and they each garnered blue ribbons! We also handled several alpacas of absentee owners, and picked up two more first-place ribbons, a third place, and a Reserve Championship! In addition, we donated breedings to two of our champion herdsires, Breitling and Silvestre, with the proceeds earmarked for scholarships in the camelid veterinary program at UC Davis.
Twisted Lock Alpacas is now in the embroidery business! Need shirts, hats or other garments embroidered with your ranch logo, company artwork, or beautiful alpaca graphics? Call us...we can make it happen for you.
We are proud to announce that we have opened a sister ranch in Marion, NC - Twisted Lock Alpacas East! Twisted Lock East is owned and operated by Cathy's Dad, Allen Lowery. He also responds to Al, Dale, or just "hey, you with the face!" Initially, our joint focus for Twisted Lock East will be on quality, blue ribbon winning suri alpacas. Twisted Lock East will also be the east coast home and center of operations for our 2005 All American Futurity Color Champion huacaya herdsire, Patagonia's Tehuelche, 2002 Futurity Color Champion suri herdsire, Silvestre, and multiple color champion huacaya, Breitling.
We've made it our mission to spread the word about the wonderfully positive impact raising these beautiful creatures has made upon our lives. We constantly strive to research and absorb as much information as possible, and, in turn, to disseminate as much information to others as we are able. Education is fundamental to a thriving alpaca industry. All visitors to our ranch receive a free copy of our 32-page educational guide, 'Alpaca Business - A Guide to Early Success'. This booklet is based on our research and experiences beginning with our first alpaca ranch visit, through our incredibly successful first year in business, and on to successfully breeding and showing our "Blue Ribbon Alpacas".
The idea for Twisted Lock Alpacas began as a joke. My wife Cathy and I were sitting in front of the TV one evening - me surfing the internet on my ever-present laptop, and Cathy watching her game shows or soaps or something - when we saw a commercial for ilovealpacas.com. Very sarcastically, I said "That's right, Cat, we'll get rich and have a wonderful lifestyle - we'll raise alpacas". Never for a moment did I think we might seriously entertain the thought. Just for fun, I Googled alpacas. A little while later, I told Cathy that the whole concept actually sounded pretty interesting, and that I'd like to go see an alpaca face-to-face (you know - just for fun!).
The next day, we dropped in on a local alpaca ranch (ok, by local I mean an hour away). And when I say 'dropped in', I mean dropped in unannounced. I later found that this is bad - to show up without an appointment. While it is easy to get the impression from the TV commercials that the typical alpaca ranch is a medium-sized (or larger) commercial operation - one on which, at any time, you could expect to see substantial interaction with the animals - in reality, most alpaca ranches are relatively small. In fact, the average herd size of a typical alpaca ranch (in the U.S., at least) is somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 or 12 animals. As such, you'll find that most alpaca breeders may be busy with other things. They may have full or part time jobs, either on or off the ranch. If it's a weekend, they may be spending quality time with family, or they may be working with the animals on a task that is best accomplished uninterrupted - halter training, veterinary visits, breeding, etc. Most breeders welcome visitors, as long as they're scheduled. So please, be considerate and understanding. Call first. But I digress.
As I was saying, Cathy and I visited a local ranch. We were (okay, I was) immediately hooked. The next week, we visited another, then another. I spent many, many hours over the next few weeks researching the husbandry and business aspects of alpaca ownership. There's a lot of information out there, but much of it is 'candy-coated', in my opinion. I found it difficult to get beyond the whole 'alpaca lifestyle' type of information - to find out not only what alpaca breeding is really like, but what the alpaca business is like, as well. It is this information I will attempt to pass on to you, the prospective alpaca owner/breeder/investor, within this site.
Suffice it to say, after examining the similarities and differences between alpaca breeding and a Ponzi or pyramid scheme, I concluded that they are not the same, and alpacas can make an excellent investment/venture - provided one is willing to work (and work and work and work) diligently to achieve success. Alpaca breeding is not for the faint of heart, and not for the squeamish. But if you are a true animal lover, love to learn, have the financial resources, and don't mind a little hard work, I can think of few ventures you are likely to find more exciting or fulfilling.
Five weeks after our initial ranch visit, we bought our first 4 alpacas. We haven't looked back.
Twisted Lock Alpacas is currently home to 59 alpacas - 25 Suris and 34 Huacayas.
Twisted Lock Alpacas is a proud member of the I Love Alpacas marketing breeders co-op. All members of I Love Alpacas must proactively hold to the highest standards of customer service, support and ethics to maintain membership in the I love alpacas co-op.
Twisted Lock Alpacas is located in beautiful Shadow Hills, California - just 3 miles from Burbank's Bob Hope Airport. Please feel free to call us for directions and an appointment for a ranch visit.
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