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| Introduction |
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The
reflections contained herein occurred during a late winter thaw. I am
setting down these thoughts following a heavy snow and rain storm, which
signaled the end of a two-week thaw and there is more wintry weather
forecast later this week and into next week. Hopefully, by the time you read this, we will be enjoying
warm days and green pastures.
Just prior to
the thaw we had about twenty inches of accumulated snow and ice. Our
llamas had become couch potatoes and ventured out only along
well-trampled paths. We had tried to increase their activity by breaking
trails with our cross-country skis. The llamas followed our activities
with great interest and would even venture about six feet onto the trails
we broke … but would go no further.
By the end of
the thaw only about 5% of the pastures were still snow covered. The llamas
were venturing all over the pastures and were clearly enjoying the absence
of snow.
The warm days
and clearing pastures encouraged us to catch up on our herd and pasture
management. |
| Parasite Control |
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The warm days
and clearing pastures also served to remind us that it would not be too
long before we begin our meningeal worm control program which is based
upon monthly ivermectin injections (1 cc/100 lbs) from the month following
pasture clearing through December. We wanted to perform a prophylactic
intestinal worming with an agent other than ivermectin before we embarked
on meningeal worm control. It was also time to weigh our herd. We decided
to combine our ‘weigh
in’ with fenbendazole in the form of alfalfa-based crumbles (Safe
Guard). The dosage we used was three times the recommended dosage for
cattle*. After we weighed a llama we would mix the
measured amount
of Safe Guard crumbles with a small amount of grain. Rather than being
stressed by having paste expressed into their mouths, our llamas were
‘rewarded’ for cooperating with the weigh-in with some grain. It was
a win-win situation and it added to our winter thaw exhilaration.
*June
27, 2000 note: We have found that parasite control products come in
various strengths. You should refer to your package to determine the
appropriate dosage.
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| The Weigh-In |
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Our feeding program is oriented towards maintaining a
constant weight pattern (adjusted
for pregnancy) throughout the year in our mature llamas. In a natural
environment we would expect to see a season-to-season variability in the
weight of llamas with winter weights being materially less than summer
weights. Thus our feeding program could be viewed as being unnatural. I
have often wondered whether totally eliminating the variability is
appropriate, i.e., are we doing the llamas a health disservice by
maintaining a constant weight pattern irrespective of season? I suspect
that I will never get an answer to this question and I will still keep
wondering. |
| Hay |
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Last summer
we decided to be generous in the amount of hay we acquired, or so we
thought. We did not count on having to go into our hay supply beginning in
August due to the drought. When I look at our dwindling supply I
alternatively swing between optimistic and pessimistic on the question of
whether or not our supply will last until our pastures become productive.
During the thaw our pastures started to green up and my optimism soared.
Now the pastures are covered with about six inches of icy snow and there
are two more significant snow events forecast over the next seven days. My
pessimism is in full force.
The
long-range weather pattern forecast for this summer is hot and dry. If the
forecast holds true, it sounds like another bad year for obtaining quality
hay. I plan on talking to my supplier early in the year. |
| Visiting with Our
Llamas |
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During the winter there is a
natural tendency to rush through the farm chores and head for the house
where it is warm. Jeanne pointed out that our males were losing out on ‘quality time’ with us since I was rushing through their morning
feeding. The females, on the other hand, enjoyed our company throughout
the feeding process and subsequent shelter cleaning. She noticed that the
males were beginning to be more stand offish. We altered our feeding and
shelter cleaning habits with immediate positive results. During the thaw
several of the males looked forward to going for walks with us and even
gave clear indications of wanting to extend their walks rather than
turning around to go back to the barn.
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| Toe Nails |
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During winter inactivity the
nails are not worn down as much as they are during other seasons of the
year. Thus they appear to grow faster. Unless you have a heated area in
the barn there is little desire to get out and attend to the nails. The
thaw brought an all to brief opportunity to start attending to the nails.
We prefer to use as little restraint as possible when doing nails. The
amount of restraint required varies with each llama. We have one llama
that we refer to as our ‘gentle giant’. She currently weighs 460 pounds, which is a good
weight for her body structure. She uses her weight to good advantage. If
she does not want to do something she will either kush or lock her legs
while in the standing position. When I do her nails she leans against me
with all her weight. When I went to take her into a catch pen to do her
nails during the thaw, she stopped dead in the mud (our second mud season
so far) in the middle of the pasture. She graciously allowed me to trim
her nails but only after I agreed to support her 460 pounds
… it would have made an interesting picture for the GALA photo
contest … our gentle giant leaning her full weight against me while my
legs spread-eagled in the mud. My footgear will never be the same.
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| Visitors |
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Another sign of the thaw was
the immediate increase in visitors to the farm. We had five separate
visits during the two weeks of the thaw. One family from Rhode Island
mentioned that we had quite a reputation and that they were told that the
farm was a ‘must visit’. Several other groups were repeat visitors from
last year. While none of the visitors could be categorized as potential
customers, we are always happy to be given the opportunity to share our
llamas with others. It is a far better experience for the visitors than
that which can be obtained at a petting zoo. |
| Pasture Cleanup,
Mud Season and the Z-Trak |
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The winter
snows lead to these marvelous llama-built paths consisting of alternating
layers of ice and llama pellets. Mid way into the thaw I was able to bring
in my garden tractor and cart and haul these layers out. They ended up in
our small orchard to foster my long-range effort to rehabilitate our apple
trees. If I took the Z-Trak out before the temperature climbed above
freezing and the ground turned to mud I was able to clean up the remainder
of pastures. On the morning of the latest snow, I was out on the Z-Trak in
a light snowfall cleaning up the last of the manure. The cleaned pastures
looked magnificent. The pulverized pellets were placed on the pasture I
have in my experimental fertilization program. I was a very happy camper
… and then the snows came.
Happy spring! |
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