Snowy Morning and Bad Llama

A couple of days ago we woke up to snow, the first so far.  Normally, here in Alberta, we would have had more by now, but the fall has been wonderful.  Even the bit that we did get was not enough to shovel. 

The animals can still get grass but in the fall there is very little nutrition in the grass so we feed hay, just once a day for now, they will get fed twice a day later when we really start getting snow, and winter sets in. 

Naughty llama

We do have proper feeders near the barn for feeding hay, but have 2 bales near the house which we are feeding now.  One of the round bales was just a bit too close to the fence and Crystal decided to help herself.  As a result she has bent the fence.  I nailed a board across the top, but she leaned on it so bad it broke off.  Eventually the bale will be out of reach, but it's funny because even when there is plenty in the pasture she insists on eating from the bale.  I think it is because she has it all to herself that way. 

I always try to throw out several piles of hay because the animals tend to move around from pile to pile and push others away, by having extra piles it means everyone gets something to eat.

Patsy and Girlie having breakfast

As we only have 10 acres we do not grow our own hay, rather we buy it and have it delivered.  We do not even have a tractor to move bales around, so must feed by hand.  Certainly small square bales are easier to feed, but they cost more money, and are getting harder to find.  As such we buy the large round bales and have them delivered. 
We put tarps over the bales to protect them, sun can take away nutrition from hay, and if water gets into the bales they will rot!

When we buy the hay it is always hardest to know how much to buy.  In the past we have not bought enough and had to get some in the spring.  This was often because it kept snowing, and snowing, and snowing, so we kept feeding, and feeding, and feeding.  Hopefully this spring we will not have to worry about that and I will not need any more hay.

A Bright New Ram for Fall

After lambing in January and early February I had decided that this year I would plan smarter for lambs in later February or March.   As it happened there was a livestock Auction in the middle of September.  That ended up being a bit of a disaster.  We were planning on selling some chickens and ducks at the auction anyhow so got an early morning start, only to arrive at the Auction market and find out the auction was postponed until the following week. 

So once again we loaded our birds for the sale and looked forward to finding a ram for our small flock of ewes.  The problem was that not a single sheep was brought to that particular auction.  There were plenty of goats, pigs, and alpacas, but not one sheep.

We went home and looked on line at our favorite website for buying and selling livestock, but there were no rams for sale within a reasonable distance.   Panic was setting in.

Finally we found a guy, whom we had bought a ram from in the past, and as luck would have it he did have a ram for sale. 

Most people have larger farms and can keep a few rams, but with only 10 acres and no way of keeping them apart we do not keep a ram all year or we would risk him breeding ewes too soon and having lambs when we least want them!  As such we buy a ram in the fall, and sell him in the spring.

The ram we bought this year is a lovely black and white Dorper x Katahdin.  Not a purebred, but that is alright as our flock is mostly mixed ewes anyhow.  Our biggest concern was finding a ram, and we really wanted a hair sheep.

Our new ram was brought to us in the evening and it was already dark, by next day I went out to take pictures of him and watched as he tried to join the flock.  Crystal. the llama, was not about to hurt him, but I found this one picture perfect as the girls seemed to take shelter behind her.

Our new ram might just end up being called Oreo, for lack of any more original name, he is quite nice, and not as nervous around people as our last ram.  He is still young so will be big and handsome by spring when his lambs arrive.

Using Llamas as Guard Animals for Sheep or Goats

Not long ago a Llama could command thousands of dollars at a sale in North America, now a knowledgeable buyer can pick one up for under $10. I have even seen people pay to have them taken away.

What was once suppose to be a bottomless market hit bottom, and today, although a few people do still raise them for fiber, one of the main uses of Llamas is to guard other livestock, such as sheep and goats.

Tips on getting a Llama to guard your livestock.

• Get one that is friendly, and ideally halter trained.
• Get only one – that way it will stay with your livestock, if you get more than one they form their own herd and do their own thing.
• An intact male Llama can be mean to your other animals, a gelded male, or female will be much better.
• Buy a Llama with a low quality fleece, that way you do not have to worry about shearing it.
• Buy a Llama that has been raised with sheep or goats.

You can tell she is not letting anything near this Jabob lamb.

How do Llamas Protect Sheep and Goats?

Being tall makes it easy for a Llama to see a predator approaching. They tend to be slightly more observant than sheep. When alerted to something new, or out of they usual, a curious Llama will typically approach the intruder. In the case of a coyote, who is not use to being approached in this way, they will usually turn and leave, a fox (more interested in your chickens than your sheep) might be equally confused. A single feral dog might turn and leave at this “threatening” move by your guard animal, who may simply only be curious.

By being observant, bold, and curious, the Llama, often scares away the intruder. If the predator does get close the Llama may try to spit at it (they have foul smelling spit, more likely to deter a human than an hungry predator), or kick.

This year I witnessed a coyote in the neighbors pasture.  The sheep were grazing in tall grass and did not see it, but the Llama did, she started walking towards it, simply looking curious and not aggressive.  The coyote fled.  Coyotes are not use to animals walking towards them, it found this intimidating and decided there was easier food elsewhere.  I am aware that our llama would have been no match against a hungry pack of coyotes. 

All in all Llamas are a fair, to good, defense against the occasional predator, however if you want tougher protection you might also want to add a donkey to your herd.

Llama versus Guard Dog?

I have not used a guard dog, and only have one llama, and one donkey for our small flock of sheep.  A dog requires dog food, and as such are much more expensive to feed than my llama.  As well any dog that is guarding sheep must be properly vaccinated, and protected againsts diseases.  Another fact worth remembering is that llamas do not like dogs - if you introduce a guard dog, or pet dog, your llama might hurt it, so keep introductions slow, and safe!

Only certain breeds of dog work well for guarding sheep, some (such as the Border Collie) will chase the sheep too much.  Some people find that by keeping dogs coyotes are more likely to come around, either attracted by a female in heat, or because they see the dog as an intruder in their area.

Llamas too!

The petting zoo we bought the sheep from also had Llamas, we had heard that llamas make great guard animals for sheep.  There were only two for sale, Crystal, and Jade, we could not make up our mind which to get, so decided to get both, for $100 each. 

Later at an auction we decided to get them a mate, the males were cheap, $5 each, so we took two of them... and a younger female.

Well nature took its natural path and 11 months later both Jade and Crystal were mothers.  In the mean time we learned that with guard llamas, you do not want to get more than one.  When you have one llama it will stay with the sheep it is suppose to guard, if you get two or more, they form their own herd and do their own thing, as such we sold all the males, and the baby llamas, (called crias) and kept only Crystal.

The above photo are the two baby crias. 

To learn more about keeping pet Llamas, click here.