Hershey.
My lovely bride had been telling me that she wanted llamas since we got the first donkey. She never was able to give me a good reason. She just always said that she had thought they were neat. Personally, I thought I had enough to do. We had donkeys that did not all live in perfect harmony but what is a guy supposed to do. Just consider.... What would you do?
Well in my house what Mama wants, Mama gets. We had an undersized standard Jack that was tough as nails and a mini gelding with a history as a herd sire that were in constant conflict. The gelding would have sued for peace but for a couple small items. The jack was implacable and proved the old saying that power corrupts has some grain of truth. Also, the area was too small and they could see each other continually. The embers continued to glow.
The jack had chewed on the gelding pretty badly so I had separated them. They now had an uneasy truce that was enforced by two rows of barbed wire with a 30-foot Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) . I can assure you that I watched that DMZ very carefully. The gelding belongs to my granddaughter. You have heard the saying “if Mama ain't happy - nobody’s happy”. Well you can extrapolate that downwards as well at my house. My granddaughter was not happy when her donkey got chewed up.
Well in my house what Mama wants, Mama gets. We had an undersized standard Jack that was tough as nails and a mini gelding with a history as a herd sire that were in constant conflict. The gelding would have sued for peace but for a couple small items. The jack was implacable and proved the old saying that power corrupts has some grain of truth. Also, the area was too small and they could see each other continually. The embers continued to glow.
The jack had chewed on the gelding pretty badly so I had separated them. They now had an uneasy truce that was enforced by two rows of barbed wire with a 30-foot Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) . I can assure you that I watched that DMZ very carefully. The gelding belongs to my granddaughter. You have heard the saying “if Mama ain't happy - nobody’s happy”. Well you can extrapolate that downwards as well at my house. My granddaughter was not happy when her donkey got chewed up.
6 year old feathers is the small one. 6 month old Sugar is somewhat larger.
We actually had attempted to provide companionship to Feathers. This picture shows Feathers (about 6 years old) and Eeyore’s first born, Sugar. Right now he is loaned to a friend of mine whose daughter has renamed him Elvis because she says he has sideburns. The fur coat that Sugar lives in gives a whole new meaning to the word sideburns.
Sugar has a disposition to match his name but that is not why we named him Sugar. We were going to a meeting in Sugarland the morning he was born so naturally he became Sugar. Well Sugar had become old enough to go on a grass diet but thought he really didn't want to. We separated him from his mom and took this picture. We actually felt that Mom was starting to dry and was eagerly awaiting his departure. I can normally tell when one of my donkeys is happy and she did not seem to be particularly so when he was nursing.
I know. You are probably wondering how I managed to master so many aspects of animal husbandry. However, if I remember correctly it was on the first night that either Sugar or Blue announced to me rather unceremoniously that my plans did not amount to much. One or both of them demolished the barbed wire fence and Sugar was nursing again the next morning. That continued until his little sister was born. I did note that Feathers was still in his little enclosure. He could have left that night had he chosen. I began to feel that Eeyore’s readiness to impose his will might have had more to do with Feathers maintaining his unhappy seclusion than the fence.
Eeyore seemed happy and not leaning towards more violence so long as Feathers was physically separated. Possession is nine tenths of the law and he had the girls. Feathers, however, had lost his heart in Grangerland. He seemed to miss an association with the jennies that he had never truly had. He would pace the ground and bray. They would bray back but without much conviction. I think the jennies may have just been flirting. I realized that an equine needs companionship. If I were to sell one of these donkeys it would not do if the buyer didn't have a horse, donkey, zebra, or mule.
Sugar has a disposition to match his name but that is not why we named him Sugar. We were going to a meeting in Sugarland the morning he was born so naturally he became Sugar. Well Sugar had become old enough to go on a grass diet but thought he really didn't want to. We separated him from his mom and took this picture. We actually felt that Mom was starting to dry and was eagerly awaiting his departure. I can normally tell when one of my donkeys is happy and she did not seem to be particularly so when he was nursing.
I know. You are probably wondering how I managed to master so many aspects of animal husbandry. However, if I remember correctly it was on the first night that either Sugar or Blue announced to me rather unceremoniously that my plans did not amount to much. One or both of them demolished the barbed wire fence and Sugar was nursing again the next morning. That continued until his little sister was born. I did note that Feathers was still in his little enclosure. He could have left that night had he chosen. I began to feel that Eeyore’s readiness to impose his will might have had more to do with Feathers maintaining his unhappy seclusion than the fence.
Eeyore seemed happy and not leaning towards more violence so long as Feathers was physically separated. Possession is nine tenths of the law and he had the girls. Feathers, however, had lost his heart in Grangerland. He seemed to miss an association with the jennies that he had never truly had. He would pace the ground and bray. They would bray back but without much conviction. I think the jennies may have just been flirting. I realized that an equine needs companionship. If I were to sell one of these donkeys it would not do if the buyer didn't have a horse, donkey, zebra, or mule.
The head of flock security.
Knowing this I began to read about llamas and became convinced that my bride had a point. Llamas are noted for being able to bond to other species, especially sheep or goats. In fact guard llamas must be gelded. Intact males bond much too well with the ewes. A recent publication stated that llamas can guard a 250 acre plot with over 200 sheep. This fine guard llama and the following three images are downloaded from Google Images.
This is a typical scene for Donkeys, Llamas, and, believe it or not, Goats.
Llamas also serve as pack animals in South America and the western United States.
This cannot be anywhere in the west.
I even found that Llamas can be used under saddle.
However, I think this could get you labeled a sissy here in Grangerland.
However, I think this could get you labeled a sissy here in Grangerland.
The goat should have known better than to get within range.
I knew that Llamas had their unique way of expressing their displeasure and that it probably would not involve chewing up another animal. I decided that even in a worse case scenario this had to be better than what Eeyore had done to feathers.
I finally relented and returned to the source from which all our livestock cometh - Craigslist Houston, home and garden. What do I chance to find online but two male Llamas for the princely sum of $250. They were housed on a ranch just outside College Station, TX.
Now I was not very much for the idea of two ungelded males based on my most recent experience with the donkeys. I realized though that my two donkeys would have gotten along splendidly if it were not for the presence of those two beautiful (but flirtatious) jennies. I reasoned I should be safe because I had traveled through Grangerland extensively and not seen another llama.
I must admit, however, that I did discover more llamas shortly after the purchase. I was told about them down at the feed store. One night a deputy stopped and asked me if I was missing any Llamas. I was not but somebody was and the deputy wanted to know who. Shortly after that the other Grangerland Llama herd disappeared. They are now raising miniature horses.
Our llamas seemed unaware of any their presence. I was pleased about that since I have no fondness for long distance romances even in humans. The disrespect that hey showed my fences meant our llama experiment would have been doomed to failure from the start.
We traveled to College Station and found the ranch. On the way into the ranch we drove by the pen containing the two llamas. They greeted us suspiciously but I thought since they lived together in such harmony - what could go wrong. The fence was a 4-ft. range fence and it seemed to be nothing special. It was certainly respected by the llamas.
I finally relented and returned to the source from which all our livestock cometh - Craigslist Houston, home and garden. What do I chance to find online but two male Llamas for the princely sum of $250. They were housed on a ranch just outside College Station, TX.
Now I was not very much for the idea of two ungelded males based on my most recent experience with the donkeys. I realized though that my two donkeys would have gotten along splendidly if it were not for the presence of those two beautiful (but flirtatious) jennies. I reasoned I should be safe because I had traveled through Grangerland extensively and not seen another llama.
I must admit, however, that I did discover more llamas shortly after the purchase. I was told about them down at the feed store. One night a deputy stopped and asked me if I was missing any Llamas. I was not but somebody was and the deputy wanted to know who. Shortly after that the other Grangerland Llama herd disappeared. They are now raising miniature horses.
Our llamas seemed unaware of any their presence. I was pleased about that since I have no fondness for long distance romances even in humans. The disrespect that hey showed my fences meant our llama experiment would have been doomed to failure from the start.
We traveled to College Station and found the ranch. On the way into the ranch we drove by the pen containing the two llamas. They greeted us suspiciously but I thought since they lived together in such harmony - what could go wrong. The fence was a 4-ft. range fence and it seemed to be nothing special. It was certainly respected by the llamas.
Our actual llamas, Hershey and Patches. before all our grass was gone.
We spoke to the lady who owned them. A deal was struck and they were to be delivered for the price of the fuel. Now the reaction that feathers had to his new pasture mates had to be seen to be believed. Donkeys evolved to be cool and deliberate in their actions. Feathers shook my faith in what I thought I knew about donkeys right to the very core. I think the experience may have made him a better donkey and I am looking forward to telling about it in the next installment. I know that you are probably thinking that these actions show superior intelligence and grasp of modern farming techniques on my part. You may come to reconsider.
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