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Welcome to Our Ranch
Philosophy
At Peaceful Valley Alpacas we operate our business with the same degree of integrity and sincerity as we do in all our relationships. We consciously try to always treat other breeders and prospective breeders the way we ourselves would wish to be treated. We firmly believe that our success is interwoven with our client's success, so we are forthcoming, honest and clear about all our animals. Often, we'll suggest questions that new breeders might never even think to ask. We provide complete background information on all our animals and work to find just the right alpaca for THAT person. Always purchase from a breeder you feel you can trust and who you can truly count on for after-sale support. We love our animals, enjoy caring for them and can offer a lot of personal assistance to a new owner.
Our ranch is fairly small, with 20-25 alpacas. We plan to stay that size as it affords us the opportunity to know and appreciate the unique qualities and needs of each of our animals. We endeavor to provide an environment that is as stress-free as possible, through humane husbandry and a close connection to our land. We strive for the very finest quality and diversity in our herd. We wish to always offer premium alpacas at an excellent value. Our entire herd is ARI registered and all sales and breedings come with full warranties. We're a full service ranch and can offer warm, personalized attention with knowledge and integrity.
About Our Family
Peaceful Valley Alpacas is owned and operated by Barbara Skolnick. Deeply committed to the larger alpaca owners community, Barbara served on the Board of Directors of EVAA from 2000 to 2003, in the capacity of President and Secretary. Barbara has been a professional glass artist for many years and had a busy studio at home. Her lifelong dream was to have a beautiful place in the country, sharing it with her family and many animals, and creating art. After leaving her long-held position managing the office of a large private school, she was able to finally make her dreams a reality.
 Until his unexpected passing in December
of 2005, Jeffrey worked happily side-by-side with Barbara. After 20 years
in the fast paced telecommunications industry, it was a true labor of love
for him. He often joked about how much more he preferred his "commute to work".
 Our young adult children, Devin and Brianna, are actively involved with the ranch. They are wonderful with the animals and have been of great help at many breedings, birthings, shearings and training sessions. It's been a happy and rewarding family business.
We first became enchanted by alpacas in 1995 and after intensive research (and soul searching) bought our first several females in the spring of 1996. They simply captured our hearts and, as a venture, seemed to work for us in every way. It was a deep and exciting learning experience from the beginning and we are always seeking new opportunities to increase our understanding of our silent brothers and sisters. We truly enjoy networking and sharing the knowledge and experience we've acquired over the years. We love to talk "Alpacas"!
We've made many wonderful friends within the alpaca owner community. To us, this has been one of the most treasured aspects of this business. Everyone truly appreciates their animals and operates their ranch in their own creative style. If we don't have the right alpaca for you, we'd be happy to guide you to other ranches.
Alpaca Breeding Program
At Peaceful Valley Alpacas we raise huacaya alpacas exclusively, and our goal has always been to develop a select herd of consistantly high quality animals. We believe that yo u should start with excellence, do your homework, breed to the best studs (traveling far afield if necessary!) and strive for constant generational improvement. We take great pride in the quality of our alpacas. Many are award winners and our primary focus is on correct confirmation, robust health, and high quality of fiber. We choose to have a variety of colors, from white to fawn to silver to black and everything in-between. We love to see the rainbow of glorious color in our pastures!
We believe that the finest all-around alpacas will result from cross-breeding the best stock from various countries of origin to one another. Our herd contains quality bloodlines from Peru, Chile, Australia and the USA, and many of their pedigrees are several generations deep. We've included bloodlines from the Accoyo ranch of Peru, as we've found this to imbue a higher level of quality to the fleece. We approach each and every breeding decision with a careful eye toward diversity within the herd and improvement with each generation. We're in this business for the long term and look forward to the time, in the not-too-distant future, when the North American alpaca will exemplify the very best of all worlds!
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