Clare’s Rooftop Landing Reindeer Farm

It’s not every day you see a gaggle of Santa Clauses, but where better to do so than when they’re surrounded by reindeer? That’s the case each fall at Rooftop Landing Reindeer Farm outside Clare. “We had about 100 professional Santas,” said Dave Aldrich, the owner of Rooftop Reindeer, of the annual Santa Convention he hosts. “I’ve got like 300 Santa Facebook friends.”

The Santas interact with the reindeer, learn about them, and even get some Santa and reindeer selfies. They come not only from across the state but also from across the country — 20 states in all. “There are a lot from California, Hawaii, Florida, where they never see reindeer,” said Aldrich. And it’s not just from the U.S. either: Santas from across the globe have been known to visit the farm. “Denmark, Norway, Canada, Germany — they’re serious about Santa.”

And Aldrich is serious about reindeer. He got his first reindeer nearly 30 years ago and currently has a herd of around 20. It’s important to have enough reindeer to go around, as he provides them to events across the state. “We do a lot in Detroit, Grand Rapids, Lansing, places like Greenfield Village, Meijer Gardens, John Ball Zoo. We do 140 events on the road,” he said. “We have 11 people working on the road. Each location gets two deer,” he said.

This year, for the first time, Aldrich took some of his reindeer to Petoskey and Harbor Springs. While the north country might seem a natural destination for the reindeer, Aldrich said it’s easier to go downstate, where the reindeer can appear at three or four events in one day. (And to answer the question, no, the reindeer don’t fly from event to event. Whether it’s because of possible stormy weather and the lack of a Rudolph-esque guide deer, or if it’s because two deer can’t provide enough lift, Aldrich won’t say.)

Aldrich came to the reindeer business in a rather roundabout way. “It started as a hobby. I was raising horses and fowl — turkeys, peacocks. I got a couple Japanese and European deer, and a friend bought a couple reindeer from Alaska,” he said. He decided to concentrate on reindeer, and “pretty soon I had 35 in the backyard.” 

As word got around about his reindeer, he began to receive contact from those interested in having the reindeer visit their holiday event. “I got calls from people, and before long it became a business,” he said. 

While he’s been taking the deer to events for nearly three decades, it was only five years ago that he opened the farm to visitors, and it’s been a revelation. “It’s only open weekends. It just took off,” he said. That’s when the Santa conventions started.

Aldrich said the conventions aren’t the only time the farm is visited by jolly old St. Nick. “Over the summer, there isn’t a week goes by I don’t have at least one Santa here. They come to Michigan for vacation, and they bring their Santa suit.”

Given their association with the holidays, other than visits from the occasional Santa the reindeer aren’t particularly popular the rest of the year. “They’re only in demand for about six weeks of the year. On Dec. 26, the phone stops ringing,” Aldrich said.

Aldrich is in the midst of turning the business over to his son Dan and Dan’s wife, Corrie Aldrich, who are taking over the business. “I’m 69 and can’t do what I did a few years ago. It’s a physical business. I can’t get out and vaccinate them and when it’s time to trim their feet. I do the booking — I’ve done it so many years.”

He likes to keep his own herd around 15 to 20 animals. The youngest of his reindeer is about six months old; the oldest 12 to 13. When the herd grows too large, he will sell some to other reindeer farms, but he admits he’s picky where his deer go. “I don’t sell to just anybody. They’re family, so they go where I know they’ll be taken care of. I send some to Colorado and New York — I’ve got friends there.” While he’s known for his reindeer, they aren’t the only animals on the farm. Rooftop Landing Reindeer Farm is also home to alpacas, wallabies, and highland Scottish cattle.

Aldrich got his first reindeer 27 years ago, and he bemoans the fact it took him so long to start raising them. “I wish I’d started 27 years sooner,” Aldrich said. “We’re really just a bunch of children,” he said.

Dec. 23 is the final day to visit the farm before Christmas. Rooftop Landing Reindeer Farm is located at 2706 E. Stevenson Lake Rd. in Clare. For more information, go to RooftopReindeer.com, call (517) 749-4866, or email info@rooftopreindeer.com.

 

Raisin’ Reindeer
“Reindeer have been domesticated about 5,000 years. They’re not native to the U.S. and are USDA regulated — they’re the most regulated animal. You need three licenses. There are a lot of whitetail diseases, even though reindeer don’t carry them. They’re pretty disease-free,” said Aldrich.

While his reindeer are comfortable with his dogs, that’s not typically the case. “A dog to a reindeer is a wolf. We keep dogs with them when they’re born. They learn to accept our dogs,” he said.

Reindeer are native to the most northerly climes and don’t do well in places where there isn’t a true winter. That’s why you won’t find Aldrich selling to places in the south or west where it’s too warm. While he says they can survive there for a couple years, that’s not what they were bred for. “They’re a cold weather animal, and they need the cold to kill parasites.”

 

 

 

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