First Day on The Farm

Nothing can replace a cria that Miss Cierra is not going to birth; learning llamas includes disappointment. I really wanted her blood line but she is 14 so I think it prudent to retire her and find that line elsewhere. Balancing that sorrow are the two new girls in my herd, and while they are not newly born, they are newly separated from their mothers, and you can tell. Maria and SP are spending their first full day on the farm, and amazingly, they have really settled in. But not surprisingly, they are homesick, missing mothers, missing a large herd where they knew everyone, missing Carol and Buck Hollow Llamas.

I am trying to be a good stand in, and Maria already comes to me. After feeding, I took her for a walk to the pond area where I thought she might graze, but she was much too interested in her surroundings. SP is shyer but by late this afternoon, she was nuzzling me face-to-face. Tomorrow should bring a walk with her. Such graceful beautiful creatures. Wonderful fiber too, but the personalities are what sold me, enough that I switched from Bodacious, a stunning-looking llama, to SP at Carol's open barn. Just loved the the manageability and people-pleasing nature of SP. Of all my herd, the girls would only know and possibly recognize Et Cetera, and so it is no surprise that they bonded to her. What did surprise me is Et Cetera's response; she is mothering them, staying with them, forming a sub-herd of 3. When Tess, Rev, and Miss Cierra went to pasture again late morning, Et Cetera stayed behind with the new girls, mentoring, guiding, and teaching them.

I agonized for months over how they would settle in, if they would be accepted, and would there be enough room for all of them to have fan access. Guess I shouldn't have lost sleep over this one. The two young 'uns stay together, and consider the first stall they entered as theirs. That's where they head, and Et Cetera is right there with them, their stand-in mother. She kushes down with them, calls them to follow her, and they travel together in a small pack.

We are so rain deprived, I followed Carol's advice and brought hay to the pasture. The girls dug in at the beginning, but then went back to browsing the sparse orchard grass. If only we could have several days of gentle rain to green the fields.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Llamas a Labor of Love for Seabeck Woman (kitsapsun.com)
• Wunsapana Farm (timesunion.com)
• Llamas brought in to protect wading birds at RSPB reserve (telegraph.co.uk)
• NYS Sheep and Wool Festival - Friction in Fiberland? (timesunion.com)

The Farm
Llamas
Carol Reigh
Buck Hollow Llamas, Inc.
Camelids
Breeding