MONDAY, JULY 23, 2001
Seneca County has alpaca breeder
By Jefferson Wolfe
Staff Writer
After seeing alpacas about three years ago at the Seneca County Fair, Amy Lutz Castellanos has returned to the fair with four of her own.
She is the first registered alpaca breeder in Seneca County.
"Most people, I'll say, 'I'm getting into the alpaca industry,' and they say, "What?" she said.
Castellanos had been running a school in Columbia, the International School of Bogota. She went back and forth, alternately living in Bogota and in Seneca County.
After 23 years in the education field, developing, constructing and directing the bilingual school, Castellanos said she was looking for lower stress and a chance to get back to her roots.
So, she decided to stay in Seneca County and raise alpacas.
An alpaca looks like a llama, but is about half the size. They are very curious, but docile, Castellanos said. While llamas are known for spitting, alpacas don't do that as much.
"They're not real big spitters," she said. "They will spit if the female is pregnant and a male approaches them."
They are easy to take care of, Castellanos said. They eat about 1 1/2 cups of grain a day and whatever grass they decide looks tasty.
Castellanos has four alpacas now, and she will be breeding them in October.
She bought the animals from Alpaca Jack's alpaca farm in Findlay. Tiffinites pass the farm on the way to Findlay on US 224. It was here Castellanos got to know and love alpacas.
Castillanos' four alpacas lived at Alpaca Jack's farm before she brought them a few weeks ago to her home on CR 11 near Bettsville.
Castellanos lives on 36 acres, which will be broken down into sections of 1-2 acres, where she can house her own alpacas and other people's.
"I want to get to the point where I have 20 breeding females," she said.
What are alpacas good for besides making more alpacas? Their fleece is used in high-quality fabric like angora.
There are two types of alpacas -- those with fluffy fleece, the huacayas; and those with longer more-stringy fleece, the suris.
Castellanos has two of each.
They are used for meat in some places, but not in the U.S., Castellanos said.
"They make wonderful, wonderful pets," she added.