What is an alpaca meet & greet?
If you’ve never met an alpaca in person before…much less a dozen at once…
I bet you’re wondering what I mean by a Meet & Greet?
In simplest terms, it’s an opportunity to come face-to-face with my alpacas to experience their everyday antics while they enjoy a tasty snack right out of your hand.
Yes, you read that correctly.
You get to hand feed them!
So what does that look like? Here’s the run-down.
Who.
Because I want this experience to be one you’ll never forget — in a good way — I limit the number of guests for each visit. That means everyone in attendance regardless of age must have pre-purchased a ticket* to reserve their spot.
* Email order confirmations will serve as your ticket. I’ll have a list when you arrive so don’t feel you need to print this off.
What.
To wear — comfortable close-toe shoes & clothes you will feel comfortable wearing on a working farm. We will be in a pasture area that will have limited shade, so consider wearing a hat & sunscreen or anything else to keep yourself comfortable.
To bring — camera, questions and a sense of adventure.
Where.
Our farm is located at 5260 Stateline Road, Walla Walla. Most GPS and maps get visitors here without any issue, but guests often do not see our driveway until they pass it. So I’ll have sandwich board sign at the road so that you don’t miss us.
Stateline Road is a major agricultural thoroughfare. Please be mindful & considerate of our hardworking neighbors who are often moving between fields with large farm equipment to grow us all healthy food. Observe the posted 40mph speed limit and enjoy seeing cool equipment in use!
When.
Each Meet & Greet event will have a specified date and time, which will be printed on the website and your email order confirmation.
I want to give you my full attention while you’re here.
And since I work this farm mostly on my own, please do not arrive any earlier than 15 minutes prior to the scheduled time. The gate won’t be open any sooner as I’ll be making my last potty break & getting my greyhounds tucked in for their nap.
How.
Once everyone has arrived & checked-in, we’ll have a quick safety chat at the picnic table by the barn.
I’ll hand everyone a plastic cup of kibble — the alpacas favorite snack — and then we’ll go inside the barnyard enclosure to mingle with the alpacas and let them eat out of your hand.
The main rules for being inside the barnyard area—
No running.
Alpacas are prey animals and thus are naturally fearful. Running or moving quickly & unexpectedly triggers their flight reflex. It’s kind of hard to meet & greet if the alpacas are in flee-mode!
Although most kids and adults don’t immediately think to get in and start chasing them, sometimes young children get really excited at first. Keep an eye out and keep them close until everyone settles in.
No petting.
Ugh! I know, this is the hardest rule to have.
But you know what? It’s not my rule — it’s theirs.
This is partly because they’re prey animals, and partially because I only handle them when they’re in need of a hair cut, a nail trim or a bandaid. The rest of the time, they just get to be alpacas, roaming free within the fenced-in pastures. They’re not used to being handled, touched and pet. As a result, 99.5% of them prefer to keep it that way.
There is one alpaca who doesn’t mind a snuggle or two. Her name is Scout, and I cannot predict when or if she’ll allow it, but animal whisperers will usually manage to get her sweetened up. And once that happens, she’ll enjoy neck scritches and will be handing out great selfie opportunities to anyone interested.
I keep these meet & greets limited to an hour or less. They’ve just eaten a lot of their favorite treats and generally want to go out into the big pasture to ruminate (digest).
Anything beyond that, the alpacas start to get a little stir crazy…and prone to being cranky…
Do they spit?
Not usually. And if they do, they spit at each other. This usually happens when they’re being fed — and since you’ll be hand feeding them, you might see them get a little territorial with each other as they try to gobble the tasty vittles from your hands & cups.
Mostly they just give ‘warning spits’ - which are just air and sound. Proper spit…takes a moment to work up…if you know what I mean.
The best thing to do when alpacas start fussing at each other like this — back up. Giving them space to sort out their issues. In the 5+ years I’ve been doing these Meet & Greets, I haven’t had anyone get full-on spit on.
So what else makes for a great Meet & Greet experience?
Here are my pro tips.
Spread out. It’s easy to get bunched up when you have a handful of guests and a herd of hungry alpacas, especially right at first. The more space each person & alpaca has, the better the experience.
Be mindful of their hind quarters. Another reason to stay spread out is to avoid being bunched up and someone getting startled. They can kick, either intentionally when they feel threatened or by accident when they’re trying to bolt away. Fortunately they do not have hard hooves, but no one wants to be kicked either way. When in doubt, spread out.
Don’t corner them. They are a herd and will often times stick together to feel safe. Feeding and mingling often & unknowingly backs everyone into a corner. I’ll be inside with you trying to keep this from happening, so just try to be mindful.
Ask questions! There’s so much to learn about these cute creatures that are distant cousins to camels.
Go Camera free.
You are absolutely welcome to take as many pictures and videos as you want. And I hope you do.
But I challenge you to snap a few cool selfies to post on social media (please tag us!) or to share with family, and then put the phone away to really take in the experience.
I’ve found that pictures cannot ever really capture their soulful eyes, only your eyes can. Or how tenderly your kid offers an alpaca food. Or the sound of an unexpected flock of starlings when it flies overhead. Plus, it’s much easier to hold a cup of food with both hands than with one while trying to film with the other.
Just watching, observing and being present will make more of a memory than any photo can contain. Trust me on this.
