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.