Stanley Alpaca Farm In South Carolina Makes For A Fun Family Day Trip
By AnneMarie|Published January 18, 2023
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AnneMarie
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South Carolina has been home for AnneMarie since 2001. Her favorite part of the state is Lake Jocassee. An App State alumna, it's always the mountains; the lake bonus makes it heavenly. When not writing about the state, she may be spending time with family, relaxing by the pool, or out somewhere enjoying nature.
Alpacas are fascinating creatures. There were first imported into the United States in 1984 and have been domesticated animals for thousands of years. September 26 is recognized annually as National Alpaca Day, which would make a great time to visit an alpaca farm in South Carolina to learn more about them. (But of course, you could do this any time of year.)
Stanley Farm is located in the tiny town of McConnells, which is in York County, the Midlands region of the state of South Carolina. It falls under the Hourglass Alpacas, LLC. Meet Titan, one of the livestock guardian dogs!
The farm is owned and run by Matt and Shannon Stanley, whose goal is to bring families together and allow them to spend time bonding over these peaceful and funny animals.
The Alpaca is a domesticated species of South American camelid, which originated in North America many years ago. Camels migrated east via the Bering Strait and llamas migrated to South America. Today there are five recognized camelids breeds: camels, llamas, guanacos, alpacas, and vicunas.
There are only two breed types of alpacas: Huacaya (pronounced wuh-KAI-ya) and Suri (SUR-ee). The Stanleys are raising Huacaya alpacas, which is the more common breed type, accounting for about 85-90% of all alpacas. They are planning to grow to a herd size of 20-30 alpacas.
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Did you know that alpacas have differing personality types? For example, this guy, named G-money, has to be right in the middle of anything the Stanleys do on the farm. Here he was helping work on a new chicken coop, and he is known for giving good "hugs" when you get frustrated!
A visit to the farm provides an up-close and personal experience with alpacas and llamas. Tours last about an hour with an opportunity to hand feed the animals. Whether you are interested in owning alpacas or just learning about them touring the farm is a great experience.
And in addition to the alpacas and llamas, the Stanleys also have other animals on the farm including sheep, horses, guinea, ducks, chickens, cows, pigeons, cats, and as you've seen from other photos, dogs. This is Mr. Nuggs watching over the barn!
