Frostbitten Penguin

Winter here in central BC has been incredibly mild so far and despite several dumps of snow, nothing has stayed around for long and the grass has continued to grow and the Llamas continued to graze the cut oat field - that was, until Friday.

Friday trumpeted the arrival of winter with vicious winds blowing straight out of the Arctic, making minus 16 degrees C feel more like -27.

Fine powdery snow arrived horizontally, drifting around everything and hampering any attempt at movement.

.......and Sodah chose THIS day to bring into the world her first baby!

Of course, she couldn't have the baby in the cozy hay shed, Llamas prefer to be out in the open for such events. Luckily, the writhing wet mass was spotted within a minute of landing in the snow and was rushed into the haystall and wrapped in blankets and towels.

The spiteful wind found every chink in the woodwork and opening eyes in the blizzard was painful at times. Cardboard and blankets were quickly stapled to the walls and the generator dragged to the haystall to power a hair dryer to assist in fluffing up the coat.

The cold was so savage though, that even the hair dryer couldn't cope. Our little winter cria was then bundled up and rushed to our work studio to dry in front of the furnace.



After an hour of heavenly warmth and having learned the art of standing up, she had to be returned to the stall with her anxious mother for the all important colostrum feed.

The tempestuous weather continued the following day with the air temperature dropping to -25 C, so mother and cria remained confined and frequently monitored. Unfortunately, SoDah refused to allow her baby to feed on the second day and once more she was hauled indoors for a bottle feed as she appeared weak and was constantly shivering......hardly surprising really!

We are not great advocates of interference, but at this stage tube feeding had to be considered as the baby would not take a bottle. We gave Sodah one more attempt and THANKFULLY she allowed her baby to feed, perhaps due to the anxiety of absence.

Unfortunately, at some time during the proceedings, the cria's ears succumbed to frostbite and now hang limply. This is always a danger with newborns in winter here.

If only she had been born the day before, she could have enjoyed warmth, sunshine and grass. I have read that Llamas choose the best time and weather to give birth......but then again SoDah has always been the 'difficult teenager'!

....and the baby's name? Pinguino seemed appropriate - evenly marked black and white - our own little penguin!

Toe Nails

Toe nail trimming might seem like a minor event in the life of a Llama, but it happens to be one of the most difficult and traumatic experiences we have to deal with.

I have seen the videos where someone just casually lifts the foot of the animal and neatly trims the nail. That just doesn't seem to happen for me!

Throwing the animal seems like such a drastic thing to do just a clip a few nails and fully grown Llamas don't actually enjoy being thrown - if you know what I mean. I usually end up being the one that's thrown!

Does anyone have any tips on hassle free nail trimming?

Bella - Recovery Success

Bella has had a pretty rough ride through the summer and at one point it seemed she might not pull through. She became too sick to make the long journey to the vet clinic. Her knee swelled to the size of her head and numerous abscesses broke out around the entire joint. We suspected deep wound infection as she was not exhibiting signs of sepsis. A single dose of penicillin helped to bring her temperature down, but further doses of the same led to distressing reactions and we stopped treatment.

We turned instead to our normal bag of herbal and homeopathic medication and over a period of weeks she has made great progress.

The entire knee was covered in a hot comfrey poultice and changed morning and evening for 3 weeks. This treatment brought out a huge amount of pus from dozens of locations and a gradual reduction in the swelling.

Homeopathic Lachesis was also given and this improved her countenance and she has become much more mobile that enabled her to join the rest of the herd.

Homeopathic Hep sulph was given to try to clear up the remaining infection after the bulk of the abscesses healed. We have stopped the poultices except when a new raw bump appears and needs to be drawn out.

Bella walks well, allowing a little weight onto her bad leg at times and sharing her weight whilst standing. Cushing is no longer a problem, although standing up has become a more awkward process and she often has trouble rising from her front knees (her back end rises without trouble). Assuming this to be additional strain or weakness in the front legs we are giving her a daily dose of homeopathic Ruta.

She is still in pain at times and draws her knee into her flank for comfort. I can apply pressure on and around the knee with no reaction, but gentle touch is sometimes unbearable for her (a key homeopathic state).

We do not foresee any problems arising from the added strain on her other hind leg and her muscle is building once more on her bad leg. She can even run away from us when she feels like it! She still remains the sweetest natured and easiest Llama to handle from our entire herd. We have a couple of animals that I most certainly would not want to treat, as we have Bella!

Given personal experience with muscular injury, we understand the repair may take a year or more to take effect.

The knee is still grossly swollen though and until this reduces the orthotic brace cannot be fitted. In fact it is unlikely to be used as Bella does not try to rest on the sore leg when cushed.

Finally, it appears that the cold wind on her leg is causing her great pain (probably the metal work inside). We are making her a long legging from her own wool to keep her warm in the winter!:)

That’s it

A big thank you to all concerned for making this recovery possible – for the advice and concern over Bella.

Bella's Recovery Continues

Just a very short update on Bella’s situation.

After several weeks of twice daily comfrey poultice applications and administering colloidal/ionic silver she has been making a slow, but steady recovery.

One of the key indicators of improvement in this case is the length of time Bella spends either cushed or standing. Excluding the hours of darkness, she has reduced the time spent in one position to about 3 hours, indicating that the process of getting up and down is more bearable now. This is a vast improvement over the 48 hours she had spent either flat out or standing up. For the past six days she has also been receiving homeopathic Lachesis, which brought on a day of fever within the knee and the opening of the worst abscess of all on the front of the knee. The heat has gone, the lumpy swellings have diminished considerably and there are only two large suppurating abscesses remaining.

The pain level seems to have increased and Bella holds her knee hard against her flank at times. However, her mobility has also increased and she frequently uses the bad leg to scratch at her fore legs. The thigh muscle has also re-developed and appears less wasted than even a week ago.

Our main concerns now are completing the abscess draining before the cold winter sets in, reducing the hard swelling that surrounds the entire knee and getting Bella to transfer more weight onto the bad leg.

She appears to be having some trouble with standing up these days though. The advice we were given implied that if Bella didn’t start sharing the weight on her bad leg that she could end up with a breakdown of her other hind leg. A llama’s center of gravity is just behind the fore legs and very little weight is actually carried by the back legs. The problem as far as Bella is concerned is not that she cannot get her back end off the ground, but that she has to use a more dynamic thrusting motion with her front legs. She often ends up with her back end up, but still resting on her front ‘elbows’.

With the onset of frosty nights, we are only applying the comfrey poultice during the daytime. The effect that the poultice has is even more noticeable now, as the abscesses scab over during the night, sealing in the gunge that needs to come out. The poultice softens the scabs and the abscesses pour forth their excrescence.

The body doesn’t necessarily take the shortest or most direct route to healing, but we are confident that with the right stimuli, it takes the most appropriate route….if we allow it.

Manna From Heaven

There’s no getting away from it – we all turn a bit mushy when a new baby arrives on the scene and this is as true when a llama baby arrives as with the ugly human variety.

A couple of weeks ago Snowball produced yet another. For the first time we able to watch the entire performance or rather the lack of it. To Snowball, having a baby appears to be a mild interruption in the day’s eating schedule. From the waters breaking to depositing the soggy jumble of bones and wool in the dust took around twenty minutes and not a sound to be heard.

Snowball is pretty experienced at the baby game and this, her seventh offspring, was delivered with apparent ease.

She was attempting to urinate when the water sac appeared and the waters broke within a minute. Less than a minute after that two small feet appeared at the window and Snowball ambled around for a few minutes seeking the most appropriate place and position to finish the job.

Within five minutes a head had popped out and the legs had stretched to about 18inches long.

The advice is always DO NOT GET INVOLVED except in an emergency. It’s really easy for medically brainwashed humans to believe that something might go wrong, but those instances are extremely few and far between. The baby thrashes its head and legs, struggling to free itself from the vice like grip of the pelvic muscles, but every now and again it sags and hangs limply from the back end of the mother. This isn’t a problem, the poor little creature is utterly exhausted and is just resting for the next Herculean attempt at escape.

Snowball stands up and sits down every couple of minutes as the pressure and pain increase, but once the baby’s shoulders are through, she’s up on her feet enabling gravity to drag it free.

The baby made little use of the ‘air time’ before hitting the dust nose first. Welcome to the Big Bad World baby! Of course, what should be a beautiful moment is rather ruined by the image of a bundle of soggy white dirt and slime covered pipe-cleaners, flopping around in the llama’s favourite dust bath.

I understand that llamas give birth according to the weather. They need to ensure the baby is dry and mobile before the afternoon rains fall in their natural, South American, habitat. Snowball waits for the warmest day of September to give birth and always in the morning, although we aren’t usually bothered by afternoon rains in Central BC, but the cold can be quite dramatic.

Snowball turns and casually sniffs the writhing bundle before turning her attention to the afterbirth – apparently a more difficult operation for her with much straining involved as the afterbirth is somewhat less cooperative than a squirming baby, gagging for air and desperate for a drink.



Once again, the mother stands and lets gravity take over, slowly drawing the massive placenta and associated pipework out of the body. I haven’t heard of llamas eating the afterbirth, being strict vegans and the mother’s instinct is to get herself and the baby as far away from this bloody beacon for predators as possible. To avoid attracting the coyotes, wolves, ravens and other predators we promptly dug a hole in the field and buried the placenta.

Usually, the baby is up on its feet within five or ten minutes and this new born bundle of fluff was no exception. A few shaky starts and a few nose dives, then bingo! She’s mobile. It took me more than a year to learn to do that and I only had two legs to coordinate!

Of course, the arrival of a baby is cause for the entire herd to gather and pay homage. The poor little thing has a llama blowing in every orifice for the first 30 minutes of its life and as the mother leads the baby away from the birth site and possible danger, she has an entire llama entourage as company.


Manna (as the new baby has been named) eventually found the right place to suckle after about two and a half hours. They should, according to the professionals, be suckling within four hours, otherwise directions should be given. However, the baby is usually desperately tired after the effort of re-entry into the atmosphere and just wants to sleep for while – so let it.

The flies move in to clean up the remnants of membrane and mucus and actually perform an essential task in cleaning the nose, ears and eyes, so don’t be tempted to chase them away!

Less than one day old and she was rolling in the dust with the rest of the herd and within 2 days she was lining up to use the bean piles and testing her speed and acceleration. At five days old she was grazing and chewing the cud. Simply amazing!

Deep Wound Infection & Abscesses

Bella’s saga continues with gruesome abscesses breaking out all around her knee.

The swelling around the knee has subsided somewhat as multiple abscesses have burst, yielding huge quantities of thick, bloody, white puss. The pain that this poor llama must have endured from this infection whilst wearing a cast is unimaginable.

For a while the prospects have looked grim. Bella has laid flat out for up to 36 hours at a time and would only stand after encouragement using a supporting sling. Once on her feet now however, she moves around on her 3 good legs and occasionally rests her bad leg on the ground.

Following her last visit to NVAHS clinic to have the fiberglass cast and staples removed and the orthotic brace fitted, she became so ill that we thought she wasn’t going to pull through.

The veterinary advice was to return to the NVAHS clinic for biopsy and analysis. We doubted that she would survive the 8 hour round trip and turned our attention to other options.

Our immediate concern was the swelling which was becoming slightly lumpy. We decided to remove the brace which was certainly contributing to the pain and consider the herbal remedies that might help. The next day, Bella nibbled continually at the knee and eventually ruptured an abscess that had been forming. The volume of pus was astonishing and it was obvious that there was considerably more to come out, by the huge size of the knee joint and the numerous soft lumps adorning it.

Natural Healing

For nearly two decades we have lived according to the doctrine of natural healing. There is definitely a place for scientific medicine or allopathy, as it sometimes called by naturopaths, but having chosen surgery for Bella, we continued along the scientific route for the cure. Unfortunately, according to some research, approximately one in three hospitalizations result in infection and this appears to be Bella’s lot. She has exhibited adverse reactions to the penicillin and appears to have a deep wound infection, although this has not been proven by biopsy or laboratory analysis. With Bella in such a weak state, we must return to what we know and what has proven effective for centuries - the plants that surround us.

The first task was to gently deal with the infection with means other than drugs. Bella had shown marked side effects after several doses of penicillin, so we turned to some tried and trusted anti-microbial remedies.

Spruce Tea

Spruce is strongly antiseptic and camelids love eating spruce needles. Pine needles work too, but preference is usually given to the young shoots on the ends of spruce twigs.

Snip enough young shoots to fill a small pan to three-quarters full, add enough water to cover the shoots, place a lid on the pan and simmer for ten minutes. Strain and allow the tea to cool.

This is a POTENT brew and is best diluted about 1 part tea to 3 parts water. Try drinking some of the neat tea yourself – if you’re fond of paint thinners then you might even enjoy this! Diluted it becomes more palatable and to Llamas, the tea is just fine in its raw state….if they feel they need it.

Watching how animals graze can provide great insight into minerals and medicines that they need and can to a certain extent offer insight into their state of health. Bella drank deeply of the spruce tea on the first occasion, but since then only sips at it. Perhaps that one large draft was the best dose for her.

Echinacea

A well known immune system booster, the potent Echinacea tincture is made from the plant roots and a few drops in a glass of water is the usual dose for a human. Multiply that dose for a llama’s water bowl.

Ionic (Colloidal) Silver

One of most potent antibiotics known to man that purportedly kills 650 or more different types of bacteria. You can buy the ready made ionic silver water or you can buy the small machine that will make gallons of the stuff for all manner of household purposes. If you go this route, don’t just look for the cheapest one. There are many different types of ionic silver generator and recent new innovations have made them much more effective. We bought ours from http://www.silvergen.com

Silver is perfectly safe to use and as long as you don’t overdose (difficult), there are no side effects. Silver was the preferred metal for use for food storage and cutlery in days of yore because of its powerful antibacterial properties. In fact, in the days before hygiene was considered important, in order to avoid salmonella or other such beasties, royalty consumed so much silver from scraping silver knives on silver plates, that their blood developed a blue tinge and they became referred to as ‘blue bloods’. This habit of using silver for cutlery was also adopted by the ‘working classes’, but the silverware was only brought out on special occasions so as not to poison guests. Otherwise it was left in the cupboard to that it didn’t wear out. Good idea!?

Don’t expect your doctor to applaud your use of ionic silver though. You will find a great deal of resistance to this ‘quackery’ deeply embedded in places as popular as Ebay!

Killing bacteria doesn’t automatically make someone better though. The poison still has to be removed from the body and if the body has chosen to do this by abscess, then that process can be assisted by a poultice or cataplasm.

Comfrey is one of the greatest healers of body tissue and a comfrey cataplasm works extremely well in drawing out the pus and closing the wound cleanly and scar free afterwards. I hadn’t seen this demonstrated so effectively until we applied it to Bella’s knee. The process for making and applying a comfrey cataplasm requires a lot more space than I can provide here, so I will provide a special file that can be downloaded very soon.

Changing the cataplasm (poultice twice daily has drawn a huge quantity of gunge out of the knee and Bella is finally beginning to put weight on the bad leg. She is also getting a teensy bit fed up with the leg handling and tries to runaway when we approach. She has got the fight back in her and that is the best news that we could hope for at this time!

Bella - To Hell and Back

Bella has been through a really tough time recently. One of the most common problems associated with hospitalization is infection and it seems Bella picked up an infection in the clinic. Her temperature gave no indication of this so we dismissed this idea, but monitored her temperature daily.

Recap

We had assumed the reason she was in so much pain and not wanting to put any weight on the injured leg was cast sores, thus we rushed the manufacturer to complete the orthotic brace so the cast could be removed. When finally all the pieces came together, Bella was hauled the four hours to the vet and the cast and staples removed. The wound had healed nicely and surprisingly, the cast sores were minimal. The brace was fitted and we dragged the poor girl back home again.

The following day the knee was badly swollen and gradually the swelling spread down the leg into the toes. The next day the post surgery swelling was so severe that the brace had to be removed and the leg bound with bandages and duct tape to prevent flexion of the knee.

Stoicism

Llamas are incredibly stoic animals and it is sometimes said that the first appearance of illness in a llama is a dead body. Bella however, was flaked out on her side in the paddock and she groaned low and long at the slightest touch of her leg. Her temperature was up to 40 degrees, so without further delay we gave her a shot of penicillin and decided to spend the night under the stars with her. About ten hours after the injection, Bella struggled to her feet, at least for a few seconds, before tumbling down the hill and landing against a fence – I just managed to roll out of the way to avoid being squashed under 400lbs of woolly beast!

We have learned, the easiest way to get Bella back on her feet is to lay our special llama lifting sling against her back, then roll her right over so we can reach the handles on both sides of the sling and gently lift her back end. Once on her feet, Bella roamed off to find the bean pile and then started grazing at 3am! Her temperature was back to normal, even though the leg was severely distorted from the swelling.

Feeling pleased with ourselves at having dealt with this little crisis, continuing the programme of penicillin injections then caused extremely dry and irritable skin as well as constipation. At the risk of creating penicillin-resistant microbes, we stopped the injections and she was soon hopping around the paddock and grazing normally – happy to be part of the llama herd once more.

After a few days the swelling reduced sufficiently to remove the bandaging and refit the brace, but without the compression of bandaging the swelling resumed, although nowhere near the previous level. She still cannot bear weight on the leg and to top this episode off Bella has cystitis as a further side-effect of the antibiotic injections.

What Benefit?

We have to ask ourselves - the pain that we have put her through – was corrective surgery the right move? If her leg had been amputated, as was the alternative, she could well have been back to ‘normal’ by now. Decisions are hard enough to make concerning our own health, but deciding for others introduces so many more factors, responsibilities and emotions.

However, we always try to turn our focus to the positive end of the spectrum and there is every chance that these problems will dissipate and Bella will go on to lead a long life with four fully functional legs. She is such a calm animal that we would love for her to breed and carry this trait on in her offspring……but we will have to wait and see.

Bella - Removing the Leg Cast

At last, all the parts of the machine came together and Bella was unceremoniously shoved into the pick-up once more for the four hour journey to the clinic, this time to have the fiberglass cast removed from her hind leg and an orthotic brace fitted.

The poor girl was drenched by the time we arrived at the clinic. The heavens remained open for the entire day, offloading enough rain for the entire summer and the passing trucks ensured that Bella received a soaking through the side of the stock crate every few minutes.

There aren’t many vets around who have accrued more than a handlful of hours on camelids, especially those working on the fringes of society. The nearest clinic wouldn’t even look at a llama! Even so, Bella had the full attention of two terrific young ladies from NVAHS, which caters for large animals and were happy to tread this unknown territory. Despite the obvious pain and discomfort, Bella remained on her best behaviour throughout. I can think of one or two animals in our Llama herd that wouldn’t have been anywhere near as obliging and might have served up enough spit to put these people off camelids for life!

To get out of the rain, we parked under a barn and attached a hoist to a roof truss. Bella has been wearing a full body harness that we made a while ago to facilitate lifting her on the occasions that she cushed with her injured leg under her. She was lifted and secured in a standing position and apart from offering a few worried looks at the noisy machine that appeared to be amputating her heavy white leg, she didn’t flinch. Incidentally, she appeared to go into shock on the journey home and we feel that her ‘apparent’ leg amputation might have had something to do with it! I’ve never had need to wrap a llama in a blanket before, but together with a sprig of spruce, it stopped the severe shivering and settled her.

Some swelling around the knee was apparent. We had expected there to be some ugly cast sores given her unwillingness to cush or move around, but only a couple of small sore spots were evident. However, a lot of chafing had occurred on the back of her thigh, which obviously hurt like hell and a thick fleece pad was used to stop the brace from rubbing this spot further.

The surgery wound had healed neatly and the two dozen staples were deftly removed.

The fun part was unraveling the bundle of straps and pads that made up the orthotic brace, the cute little bone motifs indicating that the manufacturer (http://k-9orthotics.com) are more used to treating dogs! This was their first ever llama orthotic and a big thanks to them for taking the job on!

The luxating patella was caused by a rupture of the patella tendon, very close to the tibia. This presented very little muscle to tie back to at the tibia and it’s anticipated that the orthotic will be necessary for at least a couple of months to prevent extreme flexing of the tendon, possibly rupturing the repair.

The biggest concern for us at the moment is the extreme swelling of the knee that is now bulging out of the brace and spreading down the leg. The cast has prevented the swelling from occurring and now the fluid is collecting rapidly.

Homeopathically, we have treated her with Arnica 200 for the pain and bruising. This is a really important remedy to have to hand, especially after surgery. We also gave her several doses of Rhus Tox 30 for the swelling. Had the swelling been accompanied by heat and possibly by rapidly changing symptoms, then Belladonna would have been more appropriate. There has been no improvement in the leg swelling, so we shall have to find another remedy, since continuing to administer a remedy that isn’t working may eventually lead to ‘proving’.

I also raided the flower garden for a dozen marigold flowers. The petals were spread onto a small square of muslin cloth and rolled into a sausage. The sausage poultice was then dipped in warm water and strapped around the inflamed knee. Marigold is probably the best herbal remedy for skin problems and swelling. The poultice has to be kept moist, but only time will tell if this old magic still works!

A Hill of Beans

One thing that all living creatures have in common is the need to shit.

We can avoid the subject in conversation.
We can dress the subject in a fancy cloak of obscure words and phrases.
We can even pretend that the matter doesn’t exist.
…..but we cannot avoid the process itself.

Excrement, poop, manure, crap, scat, ‘number twos’, faeces call it what you will, it’s still shit. However, for the purposes of this article and to save the puckered lips of those more easily offended by this subject, I will use the simple word ‘dung’ to refer to the matter that is passed out of the bowel. Dung is a nice tuneful word that almost belies the nature of the product.

All Dung is Not Alike

Each animal has it’s particular dung format according to what it eats, plus a few other factors better reserved for medical journals. Some dung is wet when released, some is dry, some of it is almost odorless whilst another animal will have you retching your guts out at the first whiff.

Dogs, naturally, like to deposit theirs on pathways for passers-by to sniff, comment on and step in.

Horses will leave their huge buns anywhere they like.

Cows prefer to leave it somewhere that humans can’t avoid treading in it.

Goats like to do it all over their food.

Human babies love to play with it!

For the Llama though, dung is a community project. Like deer, moose and goats, Llamas dung is packaged in pellet form, neat little beans with very little odor to offend the dull human senses. Not only do llamas like to use the same places over and over again, but they will actually form an orderly queue to use the pile or if they cannot wait (having been stimulated by seeing another animal defecating) they will line up side by side to use the communal ‘washroom’. As a brief aside, the North American term ‘washroom’, had me both worried and perplexed when I first visited Canada. Having asked someone if there was a toilet nearby I could use, I was greeted with a furrowed brow and directed to a ‘washroom’ at the back of the store. I only hoped there would be a toilet in the washroom! – Did I offend the sensitivities of these people by openly talking of such a vulgar object? I have since heard this term bizarrely twisted into a reference of a ‘puppy going to the washroom on the floor’. Eh?

I digress.

Llamas do it in piles. Big piles. These piles are mostly distributed around the perimeter of their territory as markers and as mentioned previously, when one Llama in a herd goes, more are sure to follow since they ‘stimulate’ each other into marking. Llamas prefer not to crap in their own stalls or houses and can actually be trained where to make the piles! Simply take a bucket of beans and deposit a few scoops of beans around the edge of the field where you would prefer the piles to be. The herd will be sure to follow your example.

Occasionally, you might see some odd behaviour around the bean pile.
The Bean ‘Sniff’ – the llama takes a deep whiff of the beans and then throws its head up in the air with mouth open. This is assumed to be in response to a hormone deposited in the urine of one of the pile visitors.
The Bean ‘Snuff’ – the animal snorts a few crushed beans to stimulate a sneezing fit, presumably this is a deliberate attempt to clear their nasal passages.
The Bean ‘Chew’ – we have seen our llamas, on several occasions, actually chewing beans. We can only presume that this is required to stimulate bacterial growth in the digestive system or to ingest a particular mineral or other element not available elsewhere…..or maybe it just tastes good!

Low odor coupled with the ease of collection from the dung piles makes Llama manure an excellent choice for gardeners. The dung is not too ‘hot’ and won’t burn the plants if used in moderation. The beans remain whole for a long time when loosely scattered, yet release nutrients for the plants when the garden is watered.


Make The Worlds Ultimate Natural Fertilizer, Colloidal Humus, Without Bins, Turning Or Odor

Nutrient release can be speeded up by making a Llama bean ‘tea’. Simply put a scoop of beans into a bucket of water. Leave it to steep for an hour or more and then sieve into a watering can and serve as normal to the plants.

Like all manures, the beans will stimulate leaf growth, so care is required where leaf growth is not the desired result.

As a garden soil additive, compost the beans first for best results. They also make an excellent additive in a compost bin. Just throw in a bucket of beans every so often. Too much and your strawberries will be all leaf and no berry!

It’s a good idea to ‘harvest’ the beans regularly to prevent the piles getting too large and encouraging parasites. Harvesting a whole pile and placing some beans in a small pile nearby will allow the grass to return thick and lush to the old pile site.

The usual banal health warnings apply to llama beans:

Keep out of reach of small children with pea shooters - beans make first-rate ammunition!
Not suitable for casseroles.
If ingested, chew thoroughly to prevent choking!

All in all, llamas do amount to a hill of beans. (I’ve been trying to find a use for that phrase for weeks!)

Cast Sores

As if Bella hasn't suffered enough, it appears that her cast is really giving her problems and it has to come off.

Her reluctance to cush for 40 hours was followed by an inability to stand up without help. Her jaw was visibly tense and she was grinding her teeth - a sure sign of pain.

Now when she walks she drags the cast leg behind her and tries to avoid putting weight on that leg. We are still waiting for the new leg brace to arrive, which is necessary to stop her leg from bending too much and tearing the repaired tendon.

Download Your Copy of A Complete Guide To Dog Health!

She is now fitted out with a full body harness, so that we can easily pick her up if necessary or even help her down. I can tell you she is not overjoyed at having to wear this outfit and the other llamas have been seen rolling around on the ground, hurting with laughter at the outrageous clothing that 'Thoroughly Modern Bella' is sporting.

They keep their distance from her though!

Llama Power - Three Hard Lessons

The other day we received a salutary reminder of the kind of raw, aggressive power a llama can command.

The animal in question is a 2 year old stud (sometimes referred to as an uncut or intact male). Recently our focus has been almost entirely on Bella, who suffered a serious leg injury and is recovering from major surgical repairs. Bella is the epitome of the calm and easy going camelid and over the last few weeks has lulled us into a false sense of security with regard to llama handling.

We were shocked back into reality when dear, fluffy little Cuzco turned into a large, boisterous stud, apparently overnight! Whilst tending to Bella in one of the Llama houses a great ruckus started outside and on dashing outside found Cuzco reared to a height of 8 or 9 feet. The gate yielded to his power as he came down onto it a few times and he charged into the adjoining paddock to accost two other males – Tom Burke, the head of the herd and a sire called Hagar.



Until very recently he had happily shared the paddock with Tom Burke and was moved out into his field of his own before his games for dominance became serious.

Lesson number one: The rules for keeping more than one stud are clear for all to read – keep the intact males separated by at least two fences. It’s just a shame that we don’t always obey the rules!

When two male llamas are fighting…and I mean REALLY fighting, it’s best not to get between them. Luckily for us Hagar isn’t a wild woolly heap of testosterone laden muscle like Cuzco, he’s actually badly crippled, which has made him more of a tactician than a fighter. He has learned to avoid the thrusts and charges and chooses the right moment to bite the foreleg of his opponent, bringing him to his knees.

Just like humans, the surge of male hormone makes the animal want to be chief, which means he has to beat the current title holder into submission. Tom Burke is about as big as a llama gets – at least 450lbs and well over 6 feet tall and despite being a peace-keeper, he still knows how to move.

After 10 horrible minutes of watching this male mayhem, Cuzco finally quit and dropped to his knees in the dust bath, mouth agape, drooling, spit-covered and panting.

Lesson number two: Don’t try this at home folks as I can vouch for the fact that this technique doesn’t work on a 2 year old male in a tizzy. In my madness to get a rope and halter onto the young lad, I dived across the back of his neck whilst he was cushed, believing that this would immobilize him….. well, it’s worked in the past! I was just turning to slip the rope around his neck when he launched himself onto his feet and sent me into orbit.

Brushing the dust off my bruised ego and kissing my battered knees better, adrenaline subsided, sanity returned and the tried and trusted method for catching an animal that doesn’t want to be caught slipped back into my thought processes.

How to catch a Llama (presuming a chute and catch-pen isn’t an option) – Tie a long length of brightly coloured rope (ours is about 80 feet long) to a post at or close to a suitable corner of the paddock.

The rope should be tied about waist height and one person should hold the free end loosely and stand about 45 degrees to the corner. Another person then calmly directs the hapless camelid into the corner using a couple of long wands (6 foot willow branches work well). As the animal nears the corner or tries to cross the rope, it’s pulled taught , which usually steers the animal back to the fence. Both people slowly move into the corner, making all the right reassuring noises…..la la la la Slipping the lead rope around the neck and fitting the halter is a doddle once you get this far.... sometimes!

Getting the lead rope onto a llama will have to be the subject of another post, as will fitting the halter correctly to prevent serious injury or even death!

Lesson number three: Short and sweet, but really sound advice – if you don’t have need for a stud, then castration can save a huge amount of hassle and sore knees for you and save a lot of trauma for the whole herd.

Llama - still unwilling to cush

Continuing on from yesterday - Bella finally discovered that rolling onto her side enabled her to get some sleep and that's just what she did for four solid hours yesterday afternoon!

Unfortunately, she spent another night standing up and is still unwilling to cush. Llamas are incredibly stoic animals, so Bella must really find sitting such a painful experience that she will stand for 40 hours.

I shot a short video of Bella walking with her leg in a cast. She was getting around better than this, but the latest problem has made her really shaky:

Bella - Unable to Cush

Just a brief update on Bella's situation today.

Bella has been getting around quite well with her hind left leg in a cast. Unfortunately, two days ago she appeared to be in some discomfort - her neck was crooked, her ears were down and she remained standing in one spot.

We gave her a careful examination, but could find no obvious problems or signs of distress. (she is such an amazingly well behaved llama that we can do anything to her without a flinch!)

We tried to encourage her to cush by holding her legs, but to no avail. She did finally cush when we put a lead rope on her neck and pulled. However, she remained down for only 30 seconds, before leaping to her feet again.

We manually evacuated her bowel as she seemed to have some difficulty herself, but no real concerns there and the 'bean factory' still seems to be running!

Her temperature was 39.2 which is just a shade above normal, but then so is the weather.

Nothing to do but wait. She remained standing for about 40 hours before finally getting down. She actually stayed down for around 3 minutes, but the pain was obviously too much and she got up again. Apart from the obvious cast-formed leg, her mobility seems normal. What can it be?

An hour later she cushed again for about ten minutes and then again a little later, but this time only the front went down and she remained like this for a minute or more. Finally, a clue to the problem! Her right hind leg is obviously painful to bend and painful to sit on.

This isn't good news. We have examined every inch of her leg and can find no swelling, heat, lesion or sore.

She is grazing and eating normally and yesterday and this morning she seems perky and is walking around the small isolation paddock - perhaps even more mobile than she has been to date.

We will have to wait and see what happens as travelling is out of the question for her right now, without being suspended.

Any clues anyone?

The Case for Llama Rescue

I was recently involved in a debate about the effects of animal rescue and more specifically – rescuing llamas. This turned out to be an emotive issue to which I had only ever thought there was one side – that all animals deserve the greatest respect and care that humans can give……unconditionally.

It was put to me though that many (although I believe this should really be amended to ‘some’) animal breeders believe that by protecting animals that have a weak genetic disposition, the species gene pool is threatened.

The gene pool of animals living in the wild is, apparently, maintained through the maxim ‘survival of the fittest’. The weakest animals are culled from the field by predators.

I presume this to mean that humans have the right, therefore, to decide which animal should live and which should die. We all have different views about the value of life and having lived with a strict vegan philosophy for nearly two decades, I obviously live on the ‘pro-life’ side of the fence.

My debate was with a hunting dog breeder, who carefully examines each new puppy and ’culls’ those that don’t quite make the grade.

My thoughts were, well why don’t we do this with humans? …..but of course we already do! With the advent of ultrasound examinations and other various tests, parents can see whether the unborn baby looks like it will come up to standard and if it doesn’t then it can deleted and they can start again. Expressed in this way it sounds remarkably like something a short, flatulent Austrian chap came up with in the 1930’s.

Back to Llama’s though – Looking at our own motley crew of camelids, I don’t see many genetic throwbacks amongst them! Certainly one of them has a deformed leg, which is nothing but an corner prop for him. However, he has sired in his time, six babies, all very healthy and strong. The mother is also a rather odd shape, but again this has no reflection in the crias she has produced.

One of our animals was bred as a racer; born to pull carts over long distances. Somehow though, the novelty of it wore off and his naughty habit of jumping fences meant that he was no longer desirable. With a little love and care though, his ragged, matted coat and ulcerated face (from years of wearing a halter) have healed. He even limits his fence jumping for entertainment purposes only.

Amongst the others that came to us is an overly aggressive male who settled immediately when placed with a new herd. Herd dynamics are often difficult for humans to understand, but simply changing those dynamics can help settle disputes or introduce them.

We have Bella of course, who has featured so much in this blog – not exactly a rescued llama, but one who was no longer desired. She doesn’t have the most elegant gait perhaps, but she is the largest female we have seen and a natural herd leader.

Of the rest, only one stands out as being a candidate for culling or at least he probably would have been, without the assistance of a surrogate ‘Uncle’ and some additional corrective treatment. Growing up with young children who wrestled and played with him, he had all the hallmarks of developing ‘aggressive male behaviour’ also known as ‘berserk male syndrome’.

I cannot see any reason for any of these animals to be euthanized or dispatched to the meat factory as is common practice. Just as humans come in all shapes and sizes, so do llamas – tall llamas, short llamas, chubby llamas, thin llamas, long coat, short coat, straight ears, bendy ears, thin tail, bushy tail and even the slight cowed hock is no reason for an animal to be culled.

Every year millions of pets are just abandoned, regardless of any pedigree, because humans no longer want them. According to the animal shelters and rescue homes, people either throw their animals out into the street to fend for themselves or leave them tied up outside the shelter. Others are just left to die slowly from malnourishment and lack of care in a back yard or pen. The most common reasons for this behaviour are:

Family break up
Undesirable pet behaviour
Animal grows too big
Animal becomes ill
Loss of interest in the animal

Of course I understand that humans have widely differing attitudes towards animals in the same way that they have widely differing attitudes towards other humans, but guardianship of an animal or human is a huge responsibility and the more this message is broadcast, the less suffering there will be.

We now have to consider whether to stop taking in unwanted Llamas or whether to create a Llama rescue charity and seek sponsorship to look after these animals.

Llama Surgery - Fast Recovery

Just a short progress report on Bella:

Just 12 days after major surgery for a luxated patella to a hind limb, Bella is now standing on her own without requiring assistance or encouragement.

This might seem like an insignificant fact to broadcast on the Internet, but this blog will hopefully provide essential information to people with animals with the same type of injury. According to the surgeon, there is only one previous medical reference to a luxated patella (dislocated knee cap), caused by a ruptured patella tendon, in a Llama and the treatment in that instance was euthanasia.

Euthanasia was the first choice offered to us for Bella. The thought was that camelids cannot live with only 3 legs and therefore could not recover from an operation of this magnitude. This is not a fault on the part of the veterinarian, because the vet relies on available information to make decisions on many illnesses and injuries, just as a doctor will prescribe remedies according to available information. No information available then no choice!

Well, it seems that llamas and alpacas can happily operate on three legs and there are many such instances. If Bella's operation fails, then she still has this option.

We are treading an unknown path just now - unsure how long recovery will take and what amount of assistance she will need. Once the cast has been removed she will need extensive physiotherapy whilst wearing a steel leg brace.........or maybe she will manage fine on her own.

These ramblings about Bella are dedicated therefore, to all other animals and humans experiencing similar challenges!

Bella's Back!

Mildly mollified by the frequent stops for Aspen leaves and spruce twigs on the homeward journey, Bella was more than relieved to be back in her own field. She even seemed happy to be dragged out of the back of the pick-up on to terra firma once more.

She is going to demand a lot of attention over the next three months, but she is worth every ounce of effort (we would say that of course!). Every six hours or thereabouts, she has to be lifted onto her feet. The first two occasions we used a small excavator, but after relocating our mobile A-Frame llama house and fitting a beam in the apex, we thought we would use a block and tackle to raise her instead.

We designed and made a lifting sling from canvas, that could be used to comfortably raise and support Bella. This system worked on four occasions. The fifth time she jumped up by herself before we could slip it under her. Now all we have to do is show her the sling and she stands up and tries to bunny hop away from us. What progress!! Sitting down again is still traumatic to watch – the tail-end just doesn’t want to come down!

I had just finished making a special llama harness that she could wear all the time, to save having to push the sling underneath her. Looks like it won’t be needed!

Although she should be confined to a stall for the next three months, we have given her access to a small isolation paddock where she can grab the last of the fresh grass before the sun bakes it. She needs protection from insects as well as the sun though, since she has a lot of exposed skin following the operation. A large square of gardeners floating row cover, with small rocks tied in the corners, seems to do the job here. She has a similar 8oz waterproof nylon cover to stop her cast getting wet in light showers.

So now we just keep up the routine of standing her up and on fine days, give her the opportunity to stretch her legs in the paddock and get some strength back into her weak legs. Fingers crossed and a big thanks to all the Llama-lovers and well-wishers and for all the encouragement and advice we have received over the past few weeks.

Bella Goes Home

Yippee! Today Bella has been given the thumbs up approval by the surgeon at the clinic and tomorrow, she and I shall wend our merry way back to BC.

Four weeks in a full leg and foot cast has been recommended, before fitting the steel leg-brace. We shall have to use the little excavator to lift her up each day using the special Llama lifting sling we designed especially to get her into the vehicle to begin with. Hopefully, she will quickly gain the strength and technique to stand by herself.

Another idea which worked very well was to lay a mini-bag (a one ton oat sack) on the floor of the pick up before laying down some straw. In this way, once we had arrived at our destination we could just grab the handles and gently slide her out onto the mobile loading ramp at the clinic, without having to handle Bella, who couldn't stand without assistance anyway. We shall use the same technique going home - sliding her out onto a bed of hay instead.

The Humans Guide to Avoiding Llama Spit

It’s truly amazing – the number of people that Lynne and I meet on our travels who take one look at the Llama in the back of the pick-up and tell us how nasty and vicious llamas are, how they spit all the time and how they met a llama just once and it spat at them.

How can that possibly be?

Is this information taught in high school?

I would like to take this opportunity to blow a hole in the popular belief that Llamas like to spit. Llamas DO NOT like spitting!

Llamas have an extremely acute sense of smell and they can sense danger a long time before it appears. Spitting is a defense mechanism, which is a hundred times more distressing for a llama than it is for a human. The smell of the spit, which is simply partly digested food, destroys the sense of smell of both the spitter and the spittee and both stand with mouths open, drooling and impotent after just a single spit. For animals in the wild this can pose a serious danger. With their sense of smell disabled by spitting, they become considerably more vulnerable to predators.

Humans are more likely to be concerned about the juicy green stains on their favourite shirt than the smell….although a face-full from a REALLY angry llama will test even the strongest human constitution!

Several theories come to mind as to why so many people get spat at by llamas and alpacas for ‘apparently’ no reason.

Approach – The typical method of approaching any animal is to walk straight up to it’s head, stick a hand out and try and stroke it’s neck. You couldn’t find a better way to upset a llama in a matter of seconds than to be so bold as to put your hand on it’s neck. That’s fighting talk in Llama language!

As with any animal, if you surprise a Llama or Alpaca and …….yes, you could get what you deserve!

Llamas have very short tongues and unlike most other species, the mother is unable lick a new born baby. I surmise this as the reason that the camelid is not a touchy-feely type of creature – instead it relies on smell for bonding. Therefore….if you want to bond with a Llama, you have to let it smell you or more accurately, let it smell your breath. The following approach has been found to work well……but not always!

1. Approach the llama, but stop a few feet away. Let the animal make the final move towards you.
2. Keep your arms by your sides. Imagine meeting a huge octopus with several tentacles waving around trying to touch you – you are the octopus and having a similar, scary impact on the llama!
3. Lean forward slightly and let the llama come the last few feet to you. If it does come close and puts it’s nose to your mouth, whisper ‘hello’ – this will help the animal build an olfactory picture of you; what you eat, where you're from and perhaps even your state of health. She's NOT going to stick her tongue in your mouth! As previously mentioned, the llama’s tongue is very short and can protrude no more than half an inch in any case. Neither is she going to slobber on you or pass you some half digested grass to try. A llamas breath is faintly sweet and certainly not disgusting.

Once the animal has taken a quick sniff it will probably just turn away from you in a dismissive manner. You’re done! Some Llamas will ‘blow out’ after sniffing you, in order to clear their assaulted sensory glands allowing them to return to their job of sniffing for danger.

Very occasionally, you may meet a llama or an alpaca that is most intrigued by your smell and will linger for a while, trying to determine everything about you from your breath. Just keep still and allow it. This long lingering ‘kiss’ is rare, but you should feel flattered! Don’t worry about brushing your teeth before llama visiting, ‘minty freshness’ is far more likely to put them off than the smell of cress and onion sandwiches!

The second possibility as to why some people get spat at for no apparent reason is their smell. Llamas are strictly vegetarian – their predators are not. If you eat meat then you will smell like a carnivore and potentially offend the sensitivities of the llama. You might not behave like a predator and you (presumably) won’t look like a predator if the llama is at least used to seeing humans. However, even if you have just finished a Big Mac or a 20oz steak, the llama is far more likely to keep its distance from you than to imperil itself by giving you a grassy gob in the eye.

We already know of plenty of exceptions to shake the foundations of this theory, but it might still be a reasonable consideration. Llamas have different levels of sensitivity and we have one particular llama that likes to linger over Lynne’s breath for far longer than she does mine (nothing personal I’m sure) and yet we are both strict vegetarians.

Handling is another reason why some llamas may spit at the slightest provocation. It’s possible the animal has previously received some rough treatment at the hands of a human and has ‘Human’ in bold and underlined on its list of predators or perhaps the animal may never have been handled by a human before. In both cases time and careful handling can be a great healer.

Finally, Llamas do show emotions, whatever the experts might say. Stroll up to an animal who’s feeling a little off the rails and you might get the llama equivalent of ‘shove off’ in chewed grass. I haven’t experienced it, but I don’t see why humans should be the only creatures to demonstrate bad attitude.

Camelids like space. Just watch them interact with each other and witness their reaction when a llama steps over the unseen boundary line into the space of another llama! Don’t be offended if you get the same treatment!

Top tip - Never wear your best white shirt when visiting camelids!

She's Forgiven Me......maybe

A quick update on Bella before adding some more general Llama stuff to this blog:

Bella has again been hoisted to her feet and apparently stood for a few minutes, before returning to the floor with a little more grace and ease than her first performance.

Today she accepted the peace offering of poplar leaves, pine needles and wild alfalfa - none of which was stolen from the ornamentals on the University Campus I hasten to add. (sorry about yesterday's Blue Spruce - it was only a tiny sprig!).

Today she ate every last morsel. Perhaps she has forgiven me for the suffering caused over the past week or maybe it was more to do with the manually assisted bowel movement??? hmmmm....Not sure I fancy that idea much, but it seemed to do the trick for Bella.

I shall twiddle my thumbs for a few more days ('Fringe Festival' in Saskatoon this weekend though) - and hopefully return Bella to the rest of the llama herd next week.

More news as it comes in.

Llama Surgery - an update on Bella

For everyone who has had to put an animal through essential surgery, life seems to revolve around this personal drama, whether it's a highly prized horse or a budgy with a broken leg. Humans need to rationalize everything that happens in their lives and compare what is happening now against the potential results in the future. Animals appear to take every moment as it arrives. When the need arises to make an important decision for the animal, there is no easy path and no way to explain it to the animal.

......and thus it seems that Bella hates me for what has happened to her - but she'll get over it:)) Will I?

Five and a half hours of surgery yesterday means that her knee cap is now securely back in place with a carefully sutured ligament and a steel wire to take some of the strain. She has a full cast on the leg and spinal catheter administering painkiller.

This morning she was hoisted to her feet and took a few tentative steps - the first in almost a week. It took a minute or two to learn how to cush with one stiff leg, but she got there.

She was NOT pleased to see me, despite the offering of spruce twigs!... but then would she be any different if I approached her in the paddock? The guilt is all our own creation. Then again, our llamas don't usually display pleasure at our arrival in their field ....intent only on the food we bring.

The Next Stage?

Bella is being kept on a painkiller for a few days from which she will be weaned next week. A steel brace is being made to provide a semi-flexible support system to enable mobility whilst the knee ligament recovers. Without the brace, she will try to cush in the normal fashion, over-stretching the ligament and risk undoing all the surgery. Apparently the brace is commonly used for dogs, but the llama leg brace is somewhat of a novelty. Visions of Forrest Gump spring to mind, shedding his poorly contrived leg-irons as he runs down the road.

Hopefully, we will be able to make the journey back home next week - I am missing out on the garden harvest!

Bella

At seven or so years old, Bella has reached full size ....and just as well, because she weighs in at a fraction under 400lbs - apparently the largest Llama to grace the halls of the University of Saskatchewan Large Animal Clinic and heavy enough to pin my arms to the ground should I dare to reach underneath her!

Why is she here?



Ruptured ligaments in her stifle knee joint has lead to a luxated patella...which basically means she has a dislocated knee cap, which currently resides high up on her femur. Without the ligaments to secure the patella in the correct position, she cannot extend (straighten) the leg and neither can she bear weight upon it, leaving her right hind leg to do all the work. She basically bunny-hops around the paddock.

How did it happen?

We had noticed several times after she had mated that she shook her left hind leg immediately after rising. We supposed, in our ignorance, that she was trapping a nerve, her leg had gone to sleep or perhaps she had a touch of arthritis. We now know that this is a sign of a luxating patella being pulled back into position automatically by the animal. However, this must have happened one time too many for her and her ligament finally ruptured.

Why did this happen?

We have seen a single black wolf prowling around the llama herd on a few occasions. We live on a fairly steep hillside and it is possible that she slipped on ice whilst running. She also suffered a miscarriage in April, which might also have been the result of a bad fall. Perhaps the surgery will reveal more information.

Initially we believed it to be a slight sprain as we could find no swelling, heat or other signs of broken bones or dislocation. We do not have access to a vet in this region, but we made several enquiries, yielding different ideas and solutions. hmmmm!

We gave Bella a selenium/Vitamin E injection as we live in a selenium deficient area.

We sought advice about parasites, but the symptoms did not match.

We managed to have a Horse Shiatsu/massage practitioner visit and spent two hours examining and manipulating her looking for a possible neurological problem. This is really good way of stretching the patience of a Llama, but Bella still bore our pulling and pushing with her usual placidity. On a subsequent session we finally tried her patience too far and I received my first ever direct-hit, llama spit. I won't tell you the message written in her eyes, but it was plain she had had enough for one day!

The nearest vet referred us to another veterinary about 4 hours distant, that possessed a mobile x-ray machine. A long day out and several radiographs later - we learned the true nature of the problem. Luxated patella or dislocated knee.

.......and then comes the problem of locating a surgeon who is sufficiently knowledgeable and confident to try ligament reconstruction on a Llama.

Prognosis?

At worst she will have to have the leg amputated mid-femur. We received various conflicting ideas about how well a camelid can survive on three legs. Actually 3-legged Llamas are not unheard of and we already have a sire with one completely useless leg!

At best, after a lengthy period of recuperation and much physiotherapy, she should be perfectly normal.

Luckily for us Bella is the sweetest llama imaginable and her suffering and man-handling, travels and manipulations, needles and nurses have all been taken in her usual good humour......well almost!:)

Introduction

At last! Time is forced upon me to begin this long anticipated blog. It's not often that time is doled out in sufficient lumps that enable one to catch up on writing, but I am stranded here at the University of Saskatchewan, whilst one of our Llamas undergoes some difficult surgery to repair a knee joint.

Having driven the long-suffering 'Bella' nearly 1800kms across Canada to one of the few places that felt sufficiently confident to treat her, Bella's experience, ours and certainly that of the Saskatchewan University veterinary clinic, will hopefully go some way to filling the knowledge-void of llama medical know-how.

Our experience with Llamas is far from considerable and we entered this mysterious camelid domain completely 'green'. Through careful observation though we have developed a canny knack of interpreting the body-language, llama sounds and needs of our herd or perhaps I should say that the Llamas have spent many hours teaching US how to behave in their presence! It is hoped that we can share some of this knowledge and learn from the experience of others.

The journey, thus far, has been demanding, entertaining and extremely rewarding. At this particular moment in time though, I don't think Bella sees life quite that way. Her story will unfold here as it happens!