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Alpacas de los Arboles is located in the equestrian neighborhood of Los Ranchitos in Temecula, California, and is owned and operated by Doug and Marian Guy. What was once a 3.7 acre horse property has now been modified to meet our ever-growing alpaca breeding operation. Our alpacas enjoy the lush grass pastures that are shaded by lovely Sycamore trees. While the alpacas graze, we are able to view and interact with them throughout the day.
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Doug is a practicing attorney who spends his workweek in courtrooms in San Diego, Orange and Riverside Counties. Marian, who is also an occasional attorney, is busy raising our two small children and meeting the day-to-day needs of the alpacas. We also have three older kids, two in college and one a high school history teacher. All the kids get a kick out of the alpacas and their antics. They are equally amused by their parents’ efforts to learn alpaca care by doing.
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After selling our avocado ranch and moving to the more suburban Temecula area, we decided that we needed to do something that was connected to farming and/or ranching. We researched and researched what type of business to start, and when the research was over, we chose alpacas, a choice we certainly don’t regret. The research continued, this time in the direction of what would be the best strategy to maximize both tax savings and long-term investment potential in the world of alpacas. After speaking with many different breeders, we decided to invest in the highest quality, blue ribbon winning female Huacayas we could find. Enter Mi Cielo, Celestena and Elegant Ebony. These gals are simply perfect in confirmation and have fiber that is crimpy, lush and dense. They were the perfect starting point for our enterprise. These same girls were matched to champion studs, which have now given us three of the most beautiful female crias around, two, which are ivory white, and one that is midnight black.
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While our property is completely fenced and is quite secure, we were concerned for the welfare of the alpacas if a coyote or stray dog got inside the fence line. Enter Brave Norman, our 1 ½ year old Anatolian Shepard, who stands almost six feet tall and will ultimately weigh approximately160 pounds. While Norman poses a very serious risk to four legged intruders, he is universally loved by the two-legged species, with walkers and joggers stopping by the fence daily to pet Norman on the head. In terms of care and training, Norman has been more expensive and time consuming than the alpacas. It’s a good thing he’s so loveable and cute! A word of caution—when you come to visit, leave your dog at home. Norman is in no way mean, just territorial, as Anatolian’s tend to be.
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We are still a small operation but are growing every eleven and a half months, which coincidentally is the gestation period for alpacas. We continue to breed our females to only champion males and we are anxiously awaiting the outcome. Frankly, we are expecting great things in the future. Business aside, raising and breeding our alpacas has turned out to be a great family activity. We are having fun and learn something new every day. We have also met some wonderful people in the business and look forward to the years ahead. We would love you to visit our farm and share in the joy of alpaca breeding.
Doug & Marian Guy
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“You only live once---but if you work it right, once is enough.”
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