Rose Village Alpaca

Rosendorf Alpaca: The Lohmann family breeds the cuddly animals and is delighted to welcome so many guests to their farm

What a wonderful view! I'm sitting in Christoph and Julia Lohmann's living room, we're talking about their "hobby" and when I look out of the window every now and then, I can see the cuddly alpacas grazing in the pasture. "This is exactly what Christoph has always dreamed of. Sitting up here and watching the animals," says Julia Lohmann. She herself has also caught alpaca fever.

Aphrodite, Chanel and co.

The Lohmanns had wanted to keep alpacas for a long time. But it was only during the coronavirus pandemic that they found the time to prepare, gather information and attend seminars. Then everything happened very quickly: the first three pregnant broodmares moved in in 2020. And today there are 36 animals in the pasture. They are called Aphrodite, Baroness, Boomer and Chanel. "Each animal actually looks different and therefore has a name," explains Julia Lohmann. Breeding alpacas is a bit like an addiction, the look of the animals immediately captivates you, but the Lohmann family wants to stop when they have 50 fully grown animals.

Offspring often in the mornings

When the little foals are born, it's exciting. Surprisingly, the alpacas, which actually live in the Andes, have a time window in which they give birth to their offspring, usually between 6 a.m. in the morning and 2 p.m. in the afternoon. "This is probably because they don't lick their young dry like horses, for example, but dry the foals in the air. So if the birth takes place before midday, there is enough time to dry in the afternoon sun. "The foaling season is therefore from April to October. It's nice and warm then," explain the Lohmanns. The animals are pregnant for about a year. If they have any questions, the family first turns to their breeder friends, who are often more knowledgeable than the vets, who are still unfamiliar with alpacas. "There are also no special medicines for alpacas. You have to fall back on medicine for horses or cattle," say the Lohmanns.

Fear of the wolf

Another special feature: in a herd of alpacas, one animal always keeps watch at night to warn the other animals in case of danger. Although foxes cannot harm the alpacas, the Lohmanns are concerned about the return of wolves to the region. "We are really afraid of a wolf attack. That's why we take a few precautionary measures to ward off wolves." The whole Lohmann family loves their alpacas. Son Jonas in particular, the eldest of the three siblings, loves spending time with the animals. "You don't have to worry about them at all. The alpacas don't hurt the children, they look after them," says Christoph Lohmann.

The fleece of the gods

May is shearing time, when a professional shearer comes to the farm, because "shearing alpacas is a tough job and also stressful for the animals". Last year, the Lohmanns had 85 kilograms of wool, which they use to make socks, hats, headbands, gloves, soaps and much more. Alpaca wool keeps you five times warmer than sheep's wool and is also known as the fleece of the gods. Julia Lohmann: "Our comforters are particularly popular. As the fiber of alpaca wool is hollow, it has a thermoregulating effect, which means it warms in winter and cools in summer."

Always something going on on Saturdays

Saturdays are really busy at "Rosendorf Alpaka". The farm store is open from 10 am to 4 pm. The alpaca hikes also take place on Saturdays. A walk lasts around two hours, followed by feeding the animals, a look around the farm store and a drink. Incidentally, only the stallions are taken on the hike. "We are delighted to have so many guests at our farm. The response has been so positive, we hadn't expected it," say Julia and Christoph Lohmann happily. And of course, the children's playmates also love coming to them. "There's always something going on here." Nadine Wenge

Alpaca hike

An alpaca hike costs 40 euros per person if you want to lead an animal. Accompanying persons pay 25 euros and children under the age of 14, accompanied only by an adult, who wish to lead an alpaca, pay 20 euros. If you have a family card from the town of Lüdinghausen, you get a ten percent discount. Contact and registration: info@rosendorf-alpaka.de or tel. 0177-9415892.