As the big field is now fully fenced, we decided it was possible to bring back one set of llamas from their temporary accommodation at Mike and Sue’s. This field is to be home to the breeding llamas, so we arranged to pop up to collect them this afternoon.<\/p>\n
Perhaps not surprisingly, “popping up” proved a great deal more simple than “collecting”.<\/p>\n
Four llamas grazing in a field, and the task is to get them through a gate in one corner. Sounds simple enough? Unfortunately, llamas are not stupid and they can run. Put these two things together, and you realise that getting a reluctant llama through a gate requires enormous luck – or so many people that you can block off every possible avenue of escape.<\/p>\n
We didn’t have enough people. Elif was not going to go through that gate, thank you very much. We’d edge her tantalisingly close, and then she’d sprint for a gap. And believe me, you have to be very stupid to stand in the way of 150 kg of determined high-speed llama.<\/p>\n
After half a dozen failed attempts, we stopped and huffed and puffed for a while. We could see that this approach was going nowhere. Elif was getting more agitated, and this was communicating to other three, who might have\u00a0 otherwise been ready to cooperate.<\/p>\n
The Zen response, when your way forward is blocked, is not to keep pushing on but to take another route. And so we did – deciding that we should see if the other group of three llamas would be easier to collect. Never mind that their field was not yet ready …. we’d sort that small problem out later.<\/p>\n
Within minutes, Duc and Valentine (ever keen to come into anywhere, as long as food is on offer) were in the catch pen. They accepted their leads, and after a bit of heaving and cajoling by Mike and me, I was able to tie them up in the trailer. Ana was a little more difficult, as she was mixed up with a bunch of other young females, but Mike and Suzanne separated her off skilfully. Soon I was able to heave her up the ramp to join the other two.<\/p>\n
Within minutes, we were off on the short journey home, with the first llamas to live in Saint Sornin.<\/p>\n
Unloading was equally straightforward . . . and we ended the day watching the threesome happily frolicking and exploring their new home (of course they didn’t know this was actually the field for the breeders, and they would have to move to their own field when its fencing was finished – we were sure the Universe would find a way to make that happen!).<\/p>\n
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As the big field is now fully fenced, we decided it was possible to bring back one set of llamas from their temporary accommodation at Mike and Sue’s. This field is to be home to the breeding llamas, so we … Continue reading