If you’re in the Southern Ontario region of Canada, you might have come across the Old Mill Alpacas sign on Highway 401 (about 1.5 hours from Toronto). Or you may have seen people sharing about this alpaca farm on social media. Curious in visiting but haven’t had the chance yet? Here’s everything you need to know before visiting, including my personal experience volunteering at the farm.
How Old Mill Alpacas Started
From Hong Kong to England, and finally settling in Canada – Amy, the owner of Old Mill Alpacas is living out her dream of taking care of animals. Here’s how it started:
At 6 years old, her son taught her how to knit. It was a hobby she enjoyed where she eventually met a knitter who used yarn that didn’t feel like anything she’s used. “What is this you’re knitting with? It feels so good!” Amy was surprised and the lady answered: alpaca! “If I’m going to spend so much effort trying to make one thing, I might as well knit with something really nice” – and that’s how Amy’s alpaca journey started.
She found out that there were alpacas in Ontario and soon met her first alpaca, Kismet, where she fell head-over-heels in love. Amy found a farm that would provide boarding for alpacas and purchased her first 6 alpacas. Since she was living in Toronto at the time, it wasn’t possible to house the alpacas herself. Within that year, Amy acquired a total of 23 alpacas. Not long after, she was told that boarding her alpacas at the farm wasn’t free anymore. Since she had to pay about what Toronto renters would pay per month to board her alpacas, she decided it was better economically to get her own land.
Amy purchased the Old Mill Alpacas location in Colborne at the end of 2009, early 2010 with all the infrastructure already built. She bought more alpacas from Saskatchewan, and also started breeding the alpacas herself. Now about 12 years in and 86 alpacas later (with lots of fibres to sort through), Old Mill Alpacas is a beloved destination in the Colborne area where people from all over love to visit.
My First Quick Visit At Old Mill Alpacas
I first came across the Old Mill Alpacas in Colborne, Ontario July of 2021. I had emailed them asking to book a tour two weeks prior but didn’t receive a response so I thought I’d just drop by as it was on our way to a few destinations we had planned to visit in Prince Edward County.
When we got there, we found out it was already fully booked and that my email got missed. But Amy the owner, was nice enough to let us take a quick peek around and see the male alpacas and her beautiful Great Pyranees dogs.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Amy and learning about her alpaca farm during our short visit. But I could tell immediately that she really loves her alpacas. And even through the hardships of the pandemic with no government support, she put them first and made sure they were fed and cared for the past year. Even without heating in her own house during the winter, and really down in her savings, she made sure her alpacas ate.
Amy had mentioned that she has some volunteers currently helping, but is definitely in need of more helping hands. Especially with taking care of the alpacas as well as admin work and other tasks. Although I’m not much of a farm girl, her story really touched me and I decided to use a volunteer day that may day job so kindly provides me, to help out.
How The Pandemic Affected Old Mill Alpacas
As we all know, the pandemic wasn’t kind to small business owners – or farmers. During the pandemic, there was a limit as to how many visitors there can be at a given time. And there was a point where everything had shut down completely for weeks with no end in sight. Like it was with most businesses, sales went down so income went down.
The government gave the absolute minimum (one time grant for small business support), to no help. Even though Amy was going through paperwork with the mayor and her bookkeeper and qualified for everything, the government said no. Her application was in review for 5 months!
The MP who agreed Old Mill Alpacas is integral to the recovery plan for the county used to be a lawyer and also looked through Amy’s paperwork and all her applications looked promising. But there was still no answer from the Canada Revenue Agency.
During the last year of the pandemic, Amy had to use her savings and start selling some things online to generate income in order to support the farm and her beloved animals.
My Volunteer Experience At Old Mill Alpacas
The Priority Of Every Day
I had kept in touch with Amy since the first time we met and a few weeks later, I was back to fulfill my promise in volunteering for a day. When I arrived, the day started with taking care of the alpacas right off the bat. At Old Mill Alpacas, the number one priority are the animals. That means, they’ll need a clean living space (free of poop), fresh food, and clean water. Any other farm work will come secondary.
Other Farm Duties
After doing that, we received a large delivery of hay which was split between the boys’ and girls’ pens. The male and female alpacas are housed in different locations on the farm as they need to be kept separate otherwise they’ll start getting rowdy and make lots of baby alpacas.
From the main building where the male alpacas stay to where the female alpacas are, it’s a bit of a walk across a small river and through a mini forest. And there a lot of different plants growing. We were told to pull out certain toxic plants such as nightshade as they are poisonous to the alpacas.
Alpaca Fibres
While the other volunteers were helping with farm work, I was helping Amy sort the alpaca fibres in her shop above the main building. Alpacas at the farm are usually sheared between May to July of every year and there were lots to go through! Each alpaca produces about a garbage bag full of fleece/fibres and we have to manually sort through it all. When Amy first started, it took her about 3 weeks. Eventually, she learned a more efficient way of doing things and now it only takes her 3 hours. It’s still a long time, but there is no machinery that can do this.
There are a few different grades of fibre that you can get from an alpaca, and that’s why the sorting is necessary. It ranges from $5-$60 CAD per pound so you want to make sure you’re picking apart the best fibres for knitting, and the not so good grade for things such as dryer balls. After sorting the fibres, it gets sent out to be processed into yarn, socks, scarves, clothing, and other items.
“After taking care of the animals and the business, sorting fleece is meditative and it calms me.” – Amy, Old Mill Alpacas
Future Plans For Old Mill Alpacas
Not only is Amy a great carer for her animals, she is also ambitious and has big plans for her alpaca farm. Amy is planning to close the farm (including the front gates) to the public and open it up 2 days a month starting in August as a safe place for abused women and children so they can enjoy nature, the alpacas, and really feel a sense of relief without having to look behind their backs every two seconds. This will allow the women and children to have an anxiety and stress-free day.
She will be providing local food, games and more for them to enjoy and really help her community out and give back to help lift their spirits. The day is intended to also create interest for young people with the surroundings and what’s already there and help fulfill their sense of curiosity. “If you want to feel good, make others feel good”, Amy says. “It’s a big thing to be able to see the difference it can make in other people’s lives”.
If You Plan To Visit The Old Mill Alpacas Farm
The farm is mostly open all year round and doesn’t close on holidays. After New Year’s, there is usually about 10 days off, where the farm is closed to the public. But even then a lot of locals would call and ask if they can visit. If there’s staff available and can provide tours, accommodations can possibly be made. But please also take into consideration that farmers need a break too (don’t worry, alpacas are still cared for 24/7)!
So Which Tour Should You Choose?
- The Farm Tours are good for young children as you’re able to interact with the alpacas up close and feed them apples provided by the farm. It is $20 per adult $10 per child.
- For the Alpaca Treks, you only hold the leash and walk them through the property. It is $20 per person and if you’re under 10, you are not permitted to walk an alpaca alone and must be accompanied by an adult.
- If you want a combined tour of the farm and an alpaca trek, it’ll be $35 per person.
If you want to ensure you can secure an Alpaca Trek, a Farm Tour, or both, make sure you book an appointment at oldmillalpacas@outlook.com or text 905 269 4402. They are booking tours on the hour, every hour from 11-3 PM. If you can go during the weekday, that is your best bet in securing your spot! Plus, who knows, you may be able to get all the alpacas’ attention then.
Important: Keep in mind that you should not feed the alpacas unless Amy or the workers there say it’s okay! This means, do not bring your own treats for the alpacas – the farm will provide them for you. Tragedies has happened before including one of Amy’s prized alpaca, Lamborghini, who got fed frozen vegetables by a visitor and did not wake up the next day! We do not want this to happen.
Volunteer Opportunities At Old Mill Alpacas
If you love alpacas and the farm life and want to give a helping hand, volunteers are much needed and always welcome!
I had a great experience learning about the alpaca farm life, seeing these cute animals up close, meeting a great team of volunteers, and getting to know a really nice and sweet owner – Amy.
There is a current roster of 7-8 volunteers to rotate through and a trustworthy and responsible crew is very important. Things that Old Mill Alpacas need help with include:
- Taking care of the alpacas – animal welfare comes first!
- Admin work – answer emails, help with bookings, keep up with social media and the website.
You can reach out to oldmillalpacas@outlook.com or text 905 269 4402.
*However, if you want to volunteer and are still in school, Amy will make sure that in order to work at the farm, your grades need to be in good standing and will keep in contact with parents to make sure you’re doing well. Working at the farm is fun, but your education is important.
Read more for other destination ideas and travel tips.