Bluebonnet Hills' alpacas add charm to the Victorian Christmas festival held in Galveston, Texas each December. Above, Laurence and Donna stop for a quick picture as shoppers purchase alpaca products for Christmas gifts.
Bluebonnet Hills Alpaca Ranch is located just minutes from northwest Houston and Texas A&M in Waller County and is owned by Laurence and Donna Binder and son, Kevin.
After developing an interest in llamas, we discovered alpacas at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in 1997. The months following our exciting discovery were filled with researching and educating ourselves about these interesting creatures. Frequent visits to ranches and attending the Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association National Conference helped us realize that ranching alpacas was something we wanted to pursue. Our decision was based on several factors, three of which include "the alpaca lifestyle," the potential for financial rewards, and the ease in caring for the animals. It was also something that we could do as a family. Living in the city with a desire to move to the country made the alpaca rancher lifestyle very appealing.
With the goal of developing a colorful herd, Bluebonnet Hills' first five animals were purchased in September 1997. Our top breeding objective was genetic gain in conformation and fiber. Consequently, we bred our females to nationally known, award-winning herd sires from Ohio, Colorado, Oregon, Louisiana, and Texas. Other goals of Bluebonnet Hills Alpaca Ranch are to run our business based on integrity, to provide potential new breeders the opportunity to learn about and spend time with alpacas, and to use our valuable years of experience to give any client all of the pre and post-purchase support necessary.
We invite new and established breeders to visit us and our colorful, huggable herd of sixty alpacas in the rolling, tree-shaded hills just minutes from Houston and Texas A&M.
