Llamas
Three of our Llamas were a gift from friends who were moving and downsizing. They are grandmother, mother and daughter. The daughter is the youngest at 7 years old. A few months later we acquired a young male Llama to keep company with our females. Llamas are excellent sentries and constantly alert for coyotes or wandering dogs. They have a very effective strategy to protect all the other farm animals and we have seen them chase strange dogs on several occasions. These Llamas receive a daily feeding of camelid chews which contain needed selenium, flaxseed and vitamin E. All the Llamas are quite friendly, curious and used to being handled.
Abuela and SheWah at sunset. Photo by Crystal Buckey
Female LLama called Abuela
Abuela is Spanish for grandmother. We don't know this female's actual age but she is showing some signs of old age. She is a beautiful apaloosa marking which is such excellent camoflague she sometimes disappears in the golden grasses of our pastures. Abuela is the herd matriarch and all the other Llamas take direction from her.
Female LLama called Sachiko
Sachiko is the Japanese word for happiness. She is the most curious and most tame of all our Llamas. Sachi has the thickest coat of all the Llamas and she likes everything on the menu so we have to keep an eye on her weight. Sachi has the most beautiful banana shaped ears typical of Llamas and white markings on her chin and neck that look like Santa's beard. She is our biggest Llama and can be a little intimidating when she comes up to see visitors for a neck rub.
Female LLama called She Wah
We have an alpaca named Bee Bop so we decided to call this Llama She Wah. (Bee Bop She Wah - we try not to take ourselves too seriously). Like Abuela she has distinctive apaloosa markings that help camoflague her in the pastures. She Wah is one of our most assertive sentries and is all business when an intruder dog is seen. One day we watched her spend over a half hour chasing a very determined Chihuahua out of one of the fields.
She Wah in the sunset. Photo by Crystal Buckey.
Male LLama called Matadour
Matadour is a real stallion of a male Llama. His father was over 7 feet tall at the top of his head and Mattie is on his way to being almost as tall. He has lots of presence and carries himself as if he is lord and master over his kingdom. He has brilliant red brown markings on his black fiber and carries a very thick coat. He is quite a runner and frequently chases birds and dogs for some distance. We acquired Mattie when he was less than a year old so he still has some growing to do.
We picked Matadour up at a Llama ranch a couple hours away. He easily walked right into our van, assumed the cush position and looked out the windows the entire trip home. On the trip home we had to make a quick restroom break so I drove through a drive in window at a fast food restaurant to order lunch. The attendant asked me to pull over because the staff wasn't sure if we had a donkey or a large dog in the van. When she brought our food order she was so suprised to see a Llama in the van that she ran inside the restaurant yelling, "it's a Llama". The restaurant manager came out to see this Llama in the van with his own eyes. There's nothing like creating a little excitement to add some fun for people who are working.
We picked Matadour up at a Llama ranch a couple hours away. He easily walked right into our van, assumed the cush position and looked out the windows the entire trip home. On the trip home we had to make a quick restroom break so I drove through a drive in window at a fast food restaurant to order lunch. The attendant asked me to pull over because the staff wasn't sure if we had a donkey or a large dog in the van. When she brought our food order she was so suprised to see a Llama in the van that she ran inside the restaurant yelling, "it's a Llama". The restaurant manager came out to see this Llama in the van with his own eyes. There's nothing like creating a little excitement to add some fun for people who are working.