I plan to get some milk goats in the spring and I want to get a guard llama for them. I am currently in the process of building a home for these animals. I was wondering, does my Llama need a separate stall or can it sleep in the large communal stall with the goats? also does anyone know the amount of square feet of living space needed for a llama? Any book recommendations would be greatly appreciated too
Llama questions
I have no idea. You will probably have to wait for Moxon to resurface to get llama knowledge
What Porkpal said......Moxon is the llama mama.....
ya, I know :-) these questions were really for her.....
I have heard that they really bond with whatever they choose to think of as their herd so hopefully they'll take to your goatlings right away...would make everything easier.
Where's the ultimate authority? Not playing some pseudo-farm game I trust!
Well, I suppose it is remotely possible that she is trying to finish her law exams before the Thanksgiving break.
But then I don't do pseudo-farm games, so perhaps I am ignorant of their allure....
Grownut! What are goatlings? Sorry but every time I think of you I see you running with that lawnmower cord. Hay
Ha!! I wasn't tall enough to do anything else! Goatlings are beloved little snot-nosed brats of goaty description.
Moxon is vanished...last I saw she needed help laundering money...which seemed to me to indicate law school frustrations. But truly -I know not.
I have been (apologies to porkpal here) feeling rather wassaily twinges of late and was wondering...
Pseudo farm games....eh...the only thing I can say is it is much easier to relocate trees, houses, fences etc at the click of a mouse. So for ideal theoretical farm design...it can be beneficial. But the game rather gets in the way...
Just thought I'd bump this....
Yes, where IS Moxon?
She had new sheep. check out her blog.
Wren, do you have the link?
Here you go. http://chooksiniowa.blogspot.com/
Thanks, Wren.
Sorry sorry sorry! I do have final exams approaching, Dec 8 and 14. Plus we got new sheep. We have been working on lambing stalls - they are due in Feb. Yikes. Not normal for Iowa so the lambing will be indoors. Today we got new hay (last hay was moldy) and then put together sheep breeding groups (great excitement on all sides).
My exams are insane. I have 2 exams this semester but for 4 credit courses each, and that means $4000 out of my pocket per course unless I get at least a B grade, and considering that the final is 100% of the grade, I MUST do well in the exams. Ergo, limited computer time lately.
So, llamas.
book recommendation: The Camelid Companion by Marty McGee Bennett
Yes, it's pricey, but it is REALLY good in helping you understand not only the needs of your llama(s), but also their psychology (which is really different from other animals) and the best ways to interact with them. Truly worth its weight in gold if you ask me.
No, a llama does not need its own stall. More often than not, ours do not sleep in the barn - they prefer to be outside in most any weather conditions. They will sleep with the goats/sheep, if they so choose. They are choosy and you should expect that from any llama. Guardian llamas are best at their job if they are a single llama in with the sheep or goats. Our best guardian is a single gelded male. He is extremely protective of his sheep. He even kicked the ram (hard!) when we put him in today and he mounted one of the ewes. The llama was clearly upset. He even growls and clicks at me on occasion, especially if I am clipping hooves or something else that visibly puts the sheep on edge.
Please let me know if you have other questions. I shall watch this thread.
Thank you! I'll probably have tons more questions as I research threw the winter....but that's it for now