Wind Ranch » llama

New Llama at Wind Ranch!

admin — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 14:08:34 +0000

We have a new girly llama for Cheese!

Rory

A. Lluminous Aurora Borealis. “Rory”

Isn’t she sweet? We have her out back with the goats until she is a little bigger. She is still on the small side and we do not want to breed her until she has grown a little more. We got her from Auld’s Lluminous Llamas; Steve and Sandy Auld. They came out to our place with their llama bus and sheered both Rory and Cheese for us, right out front. Here are some photos.

Cheese getting sheared.

Sad llama

admin — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 14:59:15 +0000

Mac appears to be a little sad, depressed maybe. So I google depressed llama and look what comes up…

Llamas with hats

The good and the bad…

admin — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 13:26:50 +0000

While we were in Wisconsin, visiting a great llama farm and chillaxing at Great Wolf Lodge. Our llama, Mac, miscarried her baby cria. We found the baby in the shed. It had no hair and was really small. We think it may have died when the dog attack happened and just now was miscarried. While we were outside looking at the little guy, we heard cries from the back pasture. Low and behold, our youngest female goat had had 2 babies while we were away too. We thought she might be bred, but we could not figure out how, because we did not expose her to the buck. It had happened..

The baby goats are really small. These would be the smallest babies yet. We are crossing our fingers that they continue to thrive. They look good, just small..

I had my shoulder surgery on Thursday of last week and am still recovering. It is hard to not go out and cuddle babies and hug the llamas and horse. Next week…

Sage and Crinkles the llama

By the way- the llama farm we visited in Wisconsin was fantastic. Fran, the owner, was very forthcoming with her advice and knowledge. We have gathered enough information, to intelligently start planning on bringing in more llama linage, building more shelters and focusing on a specific market for our llamas. We are excited.

Grooming Llamas – first attempts at handling and grooming

admin — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 14:40:57 +0000

I bought this video, online, that has Bobra Goldsmith that helps with training llamas. Link Here. I had a little fear of llamas because I just did not know what to expect. I would walk way around the llamas when hanging with them, as if they were a wild mustang tied to the post. Ha ha. Of course the kids saw my first attempt at playing with them and this imprinted in their little minds. They feel some fear of llamas, now. This video was enlightening. I watched in awe as this 70+ yr old woman wrangled these unhandled llamas and taught them various forms of manners with ease. I was stunned. I was inspired.

It turns out that the next day I needed to catch our pony, who had not had a halter on for the entire winter and was hard catch period. I used a method I saw on the Bobra video and had the pony captured, haltered and ready to go in no time. My confidence was up. I caught and haltered the llamas not long after this..

I tried brushing the burrs out of the llamas. The were losing much needed hair (it is pretty cold this winter) and they were just not enjoying this at all. So I gave up and hugged their long necks and let them back out to the corral. I have caught Mac a few times since this first attempt to brush. She is the older and more handled llama. She will let me catch her, halter her, walk her and hug her long llama neck. Cheese, on the other hand, will not take feed from your hand yet. He leads, but he is just not as trusting. This summer we will need to work on him some. I am assuming he is a little more hard to handle because he is a male starting to hit puberty.

I was chatting with a friend at work about the burrs. I told her I figure we will leave them in their coats and in the summer when we attempt our first shearing/shaving of them, the burrs will go then. Oh, this will be a spectacle in itself- for sure! I mentioned that I fear their fiber will be a loss because of this. She asked me if I had ever heard of Grooma combs. I had not. She raved on and on about how miraculous these combs are and brought me one the next day. As soon as I got home, I caught Mac (could not catch Cheese) and tried the comb out. If does work, but I think I need a detangler to go along with it to really make a solid dent on the burrs in these guys.. She was not into being away from her horse and llama pals, so I did not work on her coat too long.

I am sure I will read this post a year or two from now and laugh at my fledgling attempts at llama handling.

Did Someone Say Llama?

admin — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 16:08:10 +0000

Yes.
Windranch has taken on a new direction. After not much consideration and lots of impulsive behavior, Jinx did not fight the impulse to buy a pair of Llamas from someone on Craigslist.com. ( Croy just read the start of this blog and said, “That just about narrows it down, doesn’t it?”. )
On Thursday I responded to an ad on Craigslist.com that offered up a single registered llama for $150. I inquired and the folks were honest enough to say you can not get a single herd animal and offered a 2nd llama for really cheap to pair up. I understood this, because when we bought our first goat, the people did not tell us about the herd instinct and the poor baby goat cried and cried for a companion. These llama folks were honest. I planned on mulling it over more.. But these people were really pressing to see if we were ready to buy. After some emailing, they admitted that they needed money for a bill and really would like to sell by the weekend. They lowered the price and offered to deliver. I bit. On Friday, I left work early and prepared for the new arrivals. Around 2 PM a pickup truck with 2 llamas rolled up the driveway and 2 nice guys took the llamas out of the back of their truck and helped me lead the llamas to the front pasture.
Did the fact that they had llamas in the back of a pick up give you a visual? It was amazing to see. And here is the real kicker… They drove up from Missouri with these guys in the pick up. Imagine the looks they got with the 2 funny looking animals laying down in their truck on the interstate!

Horses and their new pasturemates

The 2 are now out there, with the horses (who are keeping their distance). I think we will call the Male Cheese and the female Madonna. Still not in love with Madonna yet.. I do like Cheese, however.