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Sutter's Mill Llama Ranch is located in the historic
El Dorado County gold country of the Sierra Nevada foothills east of Sacramento,
California. Along with Sandy and Bill Chickering and their son Matthew, Sutter's Mill is
home to seventeen cats, fifteen chickens, five emus, four doves, two dogs, Wilbur the Pig, and one of the finest llama
herds in the West.
While our ranch property is only five acres in size,
every square foot is in use. Our pastures are fenced, cross-fenced, and linked
together around our house and barns by a series of gates and catch pens. We maintain
three herds: one for our females and their babies, a second for our adult males, and a
third for our yearling males which is situated between the two adult herds. Our
neighbors have opened their fences to us, so our llamas have a total of seventeen acres
for roaming and grazing.
Each of our llamas has access to shelter from summer
heat and winter rain. Fresh water and good quality grass hay are regularly available.
Veterinary services are provided by Dr. David Turoff, DVM.
People sometimes ask why we go to all of the effort
required to maintain a large llama herd. That's easy . . .
It's for the critters!
California's first llamas may have arrived at this historic site back in 1853 . . . .
What Do You Do With Llamas?
That's the first question people ask - or maybe right after the "don't they
spit?" question. Our friends Deloris
& Jack Gardner from Texas have a page on their web site that we like a lot!
Llama Owner Information
Here's a basic Llama Owner Information Guide.
Whether you are a new llama owner, an old ranch hand, or just llama-curious, check out
these basic llama facts from
Wikipedea.
The
International Lama Registry is the authoritative source for llama and
alpaca registration. The llamas of Sutter's Mill are all registered with
the ILR.
For information about the competitive world of show
llamas, visit the web site of the
Alpaca and Llama Show Association (ALSA).
The LlamaWeb is a good information
resource for anyone interested in owning or caring for llamas.
Llamas-information.com
offers interesting
llama information and stories, and a comprehensive link directory to other llama (and
llama-related) sites.
Behavior and training clinics for llamas and
alpacas (and the humans they own) the Gentle Spirit way. Gentle Spirit Training
Here's a great listing of llama owner resources courtesy of Rainbow Ridge Llama Ranch.
The Latest News From Sutter's Mill
June 2005 Early Summer
Photos
May 2005 The Arena
Restoration Project
March 2000 Llamas To The Rescue
August 1999 The Winter Hay Is Here
April 1999 We'll Always Remember Dixie Belle
March 1999 Its Llama Baby Season!!
Hey Pig!! You're part of the family!
Camels,
Zonkies and an Orangutan - Our exotic neighbors.
We've posted a collection of photos so that our friends and family can see what we're
up to "out at the farm".
In 1997 Sandy arranged her special "Nose-N-Toes" collection of gifts and treasures especially for
Llama People. Some were imported, others were local - all were unique!
Nose-N-Toes still offers an array of interesting llama inspired gift items,
including a number of stuffed plush llamas which have become the encouragement
for Stuffed Ark.com, our lifelike
stuffed animal web store.
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