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Why don't we list a lot of packages?
Everyone is looking for something a little different, and we want to cater to your needs, not ours. See a couple of animals that catch your eye? I'm certain we can reach a package price that will make everyone happy. The more you buy, the better the price, so mix and match to your heart's content!
Bag End is a small, family run farm specializing in high quality, dark colored suri alpacas. We began our alpaca journey in 2005, when Jill was offered a job halter training by a local suri breeder. It was love at first sight, and after two years of training and showing other people’s animals, we were ready to purchase our own.
We moved to rural Maine in the summer of 2007. Jill runs the farm full time, while her husband Bruce is faculty at nearby Colby College. Teenage son Fox helps with chores and enjoys showing the animals. We began with two bred females and two gelded males; we have since grown to nearly three dozen select suris, actively seeking out the best to buy and breed to. Our goal is to breed dark brown and black suris with non-tipping, non-fading fleeces that are fine, dense and lustrous with a slick handle. We also believe in breeding for healthy, easy to handle animals with excellent conformation. We are active show participants, bringing our animals to several top competitions a year, and every cria we have bred has been a ribbon winner.
We also believe in utilizing our animals' fiber, which we sell both raw and processed. After all, the luxurious, silky suri locks are what we breed these animals for! Our emphasis is first on uniformity, and secondly on micron. While we also hope to breed dense animals, we'd rather have less excellent fiber than a lot of mediocre. We test our animals' fleeces in their first through third shearings, and every other year through their ninth. Lingering fineness is another goal we're pursuing.
We know that we are a small farm, and we’re happy to trade quantity for quality, and the ability to know all of our animals, and our customers, as individuals. For a new breeder, support after a sale is as important as the animal you buy. We will work with you to make sure you purchase the right animal for your needs, and to ensure that all goes well after you bring your animal home. You can rest assured knowing that you will have our committed, personal attention, before, during and after a purchase.
Please visit our new website, http://www.bagendsuris.com, for a wealth of information for owners new and old. Satisfying her inner research scientist, Jill has been actively writing a selection of well researched papers on parasite and health issues, which can be found both here on OpenHerd and our website.
We are members of AOBA, ARI, AFCNA, NEAOBA, MAPACA, The Suri Network, Naturally Suri, and the Maine Alpaca Association, of which Jill has been a Board member. Jill is also a member of the joint AOBA/ARI Education Committee. Bag End is also a mentor farm in the Alpaca Center of New England, providing educational opportunities to owners, breeders and enthusiasts throughout the region - http://www.alpacacenterone.com