Hermes Alpacas is located about 20 minutes from Richmond, VA. My husband, Dan & I have been raising alpacas for going on 6 years now. I have always loved animals and the day to day care is very simple yet rewarding and they make me smile if not outright laugh every day. The stories I could tell....anyway....there are so many different aspects to raising alpacas that anyone can find their niche. We want to help you find that niche

Our alpacas are BVD free and have very notable bloodlines, correct conformation with a focus on fleece fineness and soft handle. We have always believed that a fleece s soft handle and fineness are the most important aspects. There can be density and crimp, but if it is not fine with a soft handle, who wants it next to their skin? Our Victor and Hemingway lines provide not only the fineness and soft handle, but hold their microns in the low to mid 20's even as they age. If we lock in these traits, there will always be a high dollar market for our fleece. For example, we have a Victor daughter who is 13 years of age and her 2010 AFD 19.3 and CV was 23.1 and she has given me a cria every year! Through our breeding program, we can add additional desired traits as needed. Each cria born should have a genetic improvement and we are very pleased with our progress. With the purchase of any of our females, we offer free breedings to any of our wholly owned herdsires until a female cria is born. We want to assist in every way possible for your success.

We offer complete customer service to those who are already established and those who are just beginning. We can be of assistance with animal management, farm setup, agisting, financing and accounting. We want your visits and purchasing experience to be rewarding and enjoyable. Please do not hesitate in contacting us for we would be pleased to assist you in your search for your perfect alpaca! Just check out some of these bloodlines...Timoteo, Quetzal, Snowmass Don Juan, Hemingway, Victor, Ion, Bueno, Casanova, Accoyo Titan, Titan's Clash, Prince Phillip, Augusto, Royal Fawn. Dom Lucilio, Dracula, Mr. President, Black Magic, Chaccu, Guellermo and many more...

I will be happy to demonstrate how to trim hooves, check teeth, give oral medication, shots, take temperatures, weigh an alpaca, check eyes, catch, halter and lead an alpaca. I will also show ways to clean your barn and pasture and help you come up with a solution to dispose of manure and recommendations for parasite control. I will also help you establish a method for setting up records to record all vital health information on your alpacas. There are programs for this, however, if you do not want to go this route, a notebook can be set up for this. These services are free to anyone purchasing or boarding an alpaca.

If you have not purchased an alpaca from us but want to learn, please call for an appointment. I will come to you for $35 per hour or you can come to me for $25 per hour.

The most important thing that I can offer is my knowledge in the day to day caring for your alpacas. It is imperative that you know each one. Alpacas are very stoic animals and do not show their illnesses very readily. Therefore, it is important to study each animal to get to know what their personality and habits are like. I can teach you some signs to watch for and some quick steps to assess the situation.

Hermes Alpacas offers free boarding for 60 days with any purchase of an adult alpaca so that you can make any final arrangements for their new home. If a cria is purchased, we will board for free until the cria is at least 6 months of age.

We also offer full boarding at the cost of $4.00 per day per animal. This includes all grain, hay and vitamins (e-Blend), hoof trimming, monthly shots and routine care. There will also be a monthly report of treatment given your animal. All animals with the exception of crias under the age of 60 days must be insured.

We will also accomodate small farms on shearing days. Animals must be transported to and from our farm on the day of shearing. Our next shearing date is in early April and you must have reserved your animals 60 days prior to the actual shearing date.

Hermes Alpacas offers drive-by breedings. We have separate holding pens where the male and female can get acquainted and spit testing can be done to ascertain the readiness of the female. We ask that the appointment be made based on the female being spit tested prior to coming. This will help in saving you money and time. If spit testing cannot be done prior to appointment, we will try a breeding if she is ready and if she is not, we can establish another time or possibly board her until we obtain a good breeding.

All drive-by breedings are 50% downpayment at the time of breeding and the balance is due within 45 days of breeding. At this point, it should be known whether the breeding has taken whether you choose to do spit testing or an ultrasound. If the breeding was not successful, no additional payment is due until the female is rebred and has a positive testing.

Females that are purchased from Hermes Alpacas that return for breedings will be boarded for free up to 60 days. If there is a breeding fee, it is due and payable in full at the time the female is dropped off. Hermes Alpacas will ultrasound between 30 and 45 days after a breeding when the female has a positive spit test. We will also obtain a picture if possible of the pregnancy at no cost to you.

Hermes Alpacas stands behind all of our proven herdsires. Should the pregnancy slip, or the cria die in-utero or within 48 hours of birth, Hermes Alpacas will offer another breeding and will continue to work with you until there is a successful breeding with a viable cria. Should there be a loss of a pregnancy twice, it is required to have the female checked out by a veterinarian knowledgeable about alpacas. Should the herdsire impregnate the female, however the female is unable to carry to term, you can choose to breed to another female at no additional cost.

We offer several ways to assist you with your purchase of an animal.

There are discounts on purchases of multiple animals, breedings and discounts for cash sales.

Hermes Alpacas offers creative financing! This means that together we can come up with a payment plan that suits your financial situation.

We also offer outside financing through Colonial Farm Credit.