Re: [AlpacaTalk] Re: guard llama

 

Thank you very much for your advice. 

I don't know how many times it is said that llamas are guardians but not guard dogs. And sometimes even guard dogs aren't enough.

I also don't know how to impress upon people that guard geldings, either llama or alpaca, should never ever be kept with open females of any species. Yesterday we drove by our "favorite" sheep farm and saw his guard llama breeding a ewe. I don't know for sure, but I don't think a sheep's anatomy is quite compatible with a camelid. I hope that ewe hasn't sustained irreparable damage to her reproductive organs.

Heather

On Aug 4, 2009, at 4:23 PM, blackpearlfarm wrote:

Wishing everyone the best in this industry that I love.

None the less want to send a reminder:
Llamas are wonderful Alert Guards but they are Not a Guarding
-Fighting/Protector. A Llama is a wonder to watch as they play 
with crias and keep track of their charges and they Will push 
those charges to whatever safety is available before turning to
face the "enemy" . 

However, I beg, don't think of Llamas as disposable barriers between
your animals and the roving "gangs" of neighborhood dogs. As we 
have seen NOTHING survives when there are enough dogs or when 
the predators work in teams.

Please, remember that it is Your Job to Respond to their Alert Calls.
even if you are not "sure" you heard it. No excuses you have to 
show up!
You are the critical final layer of protection between your animals
and your neighbors' sweet 'fluffy, rufus, and butch....' who are
evil H&!! spawn when they get to run loss, UNattended.

I've lost whole week's worth of sleep over the years, to strange
sounds and cria watch and I have 6' No-climb exterior fences 
with another 18"+/- buried; with all of this, I still have had loses.
Now I am planning how to expand the paddocks around the barns 
and inner shelters just to have them closer to the house (to hear 
better at night, during cria season, and to make winter hypothermia
watch easier).

I recommend you follow my habit when responding to an Alert, I 
carrying 2 guns.
1 is a paintball gun sends them home with a mark that is also
a warning. 
The other gun has as its companion, a nice shiny shovel. 

I'm not evil or a dog hater or an angry hermit I just don't want to
be the next person to have to post that I'm out of the camelid 
industry because dogs or hunters or other evil doers have 
demolished my herd. It is my personal nightmare.

My best to all and in particular to those who have managed to 
come back from such devastating losses. May no one have to
post such enormously sad tidings again.

Blackpearlfarm 

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