Floyd Flaire Ferrell III, a 29-year-old man from Southeast Missouri, has always had a fascination with camels. He’s had 43 camels since 2014, and it’s been a huge success. He’s had TikTok videos go viral and even a famous celebrity contacted him about possibly purchasing camels, and his story continues to change every day.
A few months ago, Ferrell’s trainer Terri Lindley recommended him to Jeffree Star, an American YouTuber and makeup artist. Lindley had helped Ferrell train his camels and was now training Star with his yaks. She recommended contacting Ferrell, and he assisted Star in finding four Bactrian camels and transported them to Wyoming on Star’s ranch in December.
Ferrell resides in Scott County and has always loved animals; they have always been an important part of his life, he said. Ferrell grew up surrounded by animals, and his father had ponies at an early age before his family ever owned a farm. He had pet ducks at his home. He got his pig and named her Tapanga when he was 8 years old, he received a parrot for his 9th birthday, and in fifth grade, his father brought him to an exotic animal sale and bought him a Watusi cow.
Ferrell said he has always had a love for animals, but he his favorite has been his camels.
“My dad used to take me; we would go to Rhodes and he would get the trader paper and they would have the animals in there,” Ferrell said. “And it was in 2009 I saw a camel for sale in the trader paper.
He continued: “I had buffalo, Watusi cow, pigs, goats, sheep, and I wanted to go more exotic, and then I saw the camel and I was like, ‘I want a camel.’”
Ferrell said that he was in high school when he first saw the camel in the trader paper, and so for a while, to have camels was only just a dream of his.
“It was more so a dream than what I thought it would become,” Ferrell said.
Ferrell graduated high school without having any camels and went to work for his father’s company for a few years so he could save up his money. It wasn’t until December 2014 when Ferrell purchased his first-ever camel in Kentucky from a private owner and named him Raj.
“I brought him home not really knowing too much about camels and I absolutely fell in love,” Ferrell said.
In 2016, Ferrell bought his second camel who happened to be his favorite.
“I was on my way to an exotic animal auction with my cousin and I looked out and in front of us and there was a trailer and there’s a camel sticking its head out of the back,” Ferrell said. “So we go to the sale and lo and behold, it was that camel that was looking at us that we passed on the interstate and I named him Roman.”
Ferrell expressed how much he cared and loved Roman and that he had him for seven years, before he passed.
“He was literally like my best friend,” Ferrell said. “I am not a person that has too much patience, but the camels have taught me patience, and they have also taught that you can’t have an ego.”
Ferrell has gotten quite knowledgeable about camels over the years, and he claims there are many misconceptions about the animals.
“General public, I feel like, has the wrong understanding of camels,” Ferrell said. “They think they’re mean, and that they spit and they only do that in a defense when they’re uncomfortable and its actually only the bactrian camels, the two hump camels, those are the only ones that spit.
He continued: “I raise the dromedary camels, and they don’t spit.”
Ferrell went on to say that the camels love him and he has formed an incredible relationship with them.
“Just the bond that I have created with them is priceless,” Ferrell said. “Just the affection I get from them and the love.”
Ferrell said he was at a loss for words to explain the loving bond he has with them, especially his camel Roman. Ferrell also said camels are incredible animals that have given him his life’s purpose, and working with camels is his passion and he loves it.
Ferrell has owned several camels and his name has become widely recognized in the camel world after over nine years of working with camels.
Ferrell said it didn’t happen quickly, but he began advertising a few camels here and there, and his first major camel sale was when he transported two camels to California.
He added the lady in California that bought his two camels absolutely loves them and he still stays in contact with her to this day.
“She then referred a few of her friends to me, and I slowly just got to know more and more camel people around,” Ferrell said. “A lot of it is word of mouth.
He continued: “The camel community is small, but it’s a lot bigger than what most people would think.”
Ferrell claimed he no longer has to advertise since he is often contacted by individuals interested in purchasing camels. Ferrell also said if he does not have what a possible buyer is looking for, he knows other camel owners and contacts them to assist the potential buyer.
Ferrell said he’s very particular about who he sells his camels to, and that he won’t just sell them to anyone. He spends time talking to the potential buyers on the phone, making sure the camel is going to a good home.
“I spend a lot of time on the phone. Any time I sell a camel, I like to speak on the phone,” Ferrell said. “I prefer not to text. I like to talk on the phone, get a good vibe because I make sure that my camel goes to the right home.
He continued: “That’s my goal, to place the right camel with the right owner and to set them up for success.”
Ferrell said if it weren’t for his trainer, Terri Lindley, he wouldn’t be nearly as informed about camels, and he credits her with his understanding of camels.
“She taught me so much and built my confidence up with the camels,” Ferrell said. “Now I know how to properly train my camels.”
Ferrell also owns camels that are leased to a camel dairy in West Virginia, and said people actually can drink camel milk.
“The camel milk has so many good things about it,” Ferrell said. “There are a handful of camel dairies in the United States that sell it and it is about $12 to $18 dollars a pint for camel milk.
He continued: “In order to get camel milk, you have to have the camel calf with its mother to produce milk.”
Ferrell explained that camels aren’t like cattle.
“A milk cow you take its calf away and you put the milk machine on it and it still milks every day,” Ferrell said. “A camel you still have to have its calf with it.”
He said when a camel calf approaches its mother, the mother releases oxytocin in her brain, and then she drops her milk down into her utters, allowing her to be milked.
Ferrell also said there are health benefits from drinking camel milk as well and in other countries they call camel milk, “white gold.”
Ferrell said it can help with diabetes, and that it actually helped a friend of his.
“A friend of mine in California who has diabetes uses her camels to milk them and she no longer has to take insulin because she drinks the camel milk,” Ferrell said.
Ferrell concluded that being among the camels and having such a deep knowledge of them has been a wonderful experience and asset to his life, and that sharing his passion for camels offers him joy.
“Even if I’m not selling, it’s always a good conversation piece,” Ferrell said. “I truly do love my camels and if I can see somebody smile that comes out and looks at them that makes me happy.
He continued: “I do it because I love it. I’m so fortunate, and blessed to have great family and friends that may have thought I was crazy in the beginning but they truly back me now because they see what I’ve done with my passion.”
Ferrell said that he believes he has truly found his purpose.
“I feel like God put me on this earth to better the lives of people through animals,” Ferrell said.
Ferrell would like to dedicate this article to his favorite camel, Roman, and his grandmother, Georgia Ferrell, who have passed away.