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AlpacaNation Q&A with Kitchell Kriations
Edward & Marjean Bender
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4817 Kitchell Way, Fort Collins, CO 80524
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970-484-0736
AlpacaNation: Tell us about yourself...
Kitchell Kriations: We both grew up on farms in North Dakota and wanted to return to that kind of life style. Ed still works full time as a family practice physician and Marjean has retired from her job working for a small animal veterinarian to take care of the alpacas.
AlpacaNation: How long have you been in the alpaca business?
Kitchell Kriations: We started visiting alpaca farms in the Spring of 1999 and bought our first alpaca in the summer of 1999, adding two more in the fall. We agisted for a year while preparing the barn, fence, pasture, etc. We got them on our place in October of 2000.
AlpacaNation: How did you decide on your farm name? Is there a special meaning behind the name?
Kitchell Kriations: Kitchell is the name of the street we live on, so we decided to change "criations" to "Kriations" to go with that.
AlpacaNation: What sets your farm and herd apart from others in the industry?
Kitchell Kriations: We feel that what sets us apart from others in the alpaca industry are two things: very nice, friendly animals--other breeders comment that we sure must spend a lot of time with our animals as it shows, and secondly, non-stop, continuous support to anybody who buys alpacas from us or to anybody that has alpaca questions.
AlpacaNation: What unique challenges do you face as a small, mid-size, or larger breeder?
Kitchell Kriations: One of the challenges is having the advertising dollars to compete with the big farms. Plus not having a lot of animals for sale in any given year to attract people to our farm. We have to make sure that quality reigns over quantity!
AlpacaNation: What advice would you give to those just getting started in the industry?
Kitchell Kriations: We tell them to visit as many alpaca breeders as they can! Raising alpacas is a continuous learning experience, and the the more people you talk with, the more you will learn. Also, for you first experience owning alpacas, you want not only quality animals, but also "nice" animals: before you decide on buying an alpaca, halter it, lead it, trim it's nails, etc. to see how the alpaca reacts.
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