MOLT— If you happen to travel northwest of Billings, just off of Buffalo Trail Road, you'll find a quaint, family-owned alpaca ranch.
Mule Train Alpacas has been in business for nine years, and the ranch now houses 120 Huacaya and Suri alpacas of different ages.
Besides alpacas, you'll also find Scottish Blackface sheep, llamas, domesticated chickens, dogs, a mini mule and horses at the ranch.
See what day-to-day life is like in the video below:
Married couple Angi and Udo Lyngby-Cox have owned the ranch since 2016. The couple's love story is just as interesting as the work they do.
"Well I went over to Germany as an au pair and then I applied to school over there and was accepted. And that's when I met Udo at school," said Angi Lyngby-Cox.
Her husband is from Cologne, Germany. The two lived overseas until their first child was born. Afterwards, the two moved to Montana and opened their alpaca ranch.
Lyngby-Cox said she and her husband decided to start raising alpacas as a way to teach their children responsibility. But what originally began as a 13-alpaca ranch quickly turned into a 120-alpaca ranch.
"They're easy keepers. They're easy for kids to take care of... It just became a lifestyle that we loved as a family," she said.
At Mule Train Alpacas, Lyngby-Cox said she and her husband breed alpacas for their fiber, groom the alpacas, raise them from birth, sell them, and offer the ranch as a tourist attraction.
A day at the ranch begins at 5:30 a.m., according to Udo. He begins the morning by feeding each of the alpacas hay and grass, and grain as an occasional treat.
Because the Lyngby-Coxes raise the alpacas from birth, a large part day-to-day life on the ranch is watching pregnant mothers and the newborn alpacas.
The alpacas are sheared one or two times a year, and according to Lyngby-Cox, their fiber is processed into yarn or felt afterwards. Lyngby-Cox said alpaca wool is more expensive and softer than sheep wool.
"I'll clean it and skirt it and sort it... I'll send it off to the mill and them what I'd like to have done with it, and then they send it back... with ready-made products or yarn, roving, felt, different types of things," she said.
Lyngby-Cox said alpacas come in 22 colors and produce hypoallergenic fleece.
"It is one of the best fibers out there," she said.
The ranch makes a little bit of money from the alpacas' fleece production, but Lyngby-Cox said it stays afloat because of tourism.
Visitors can schedule private tours of the ranch for $50 a family, or $20 a person.
The Lyngby-Coxes also earn money through events and photo opportunities with the public. For instance, on Oct. 4, Mule Train Alpacas will be a vendor at the High Plains Brewery fall festival in Laurel.
"We do tours by appointment right now. Come and visit us, and see how amazing these animals are. We love to share our animals and what they've done with everybody," said Lyngby-Cox.
To learn more about Mule Train Alpacas or to schedule a visit, see their Facebook page at this link.
