[Jacob-list] Strange Love

[Mary McCracken]

My youngest llama, who is now one year old, has had some spells of chasing lambs.  It is a playful female llama but I can see that she could hurt a lamb.  She goes at them somewhat like the adults chase strange dogs.  I try to stop that behavior and hope she outgrows it.  She promises to be a nice pack animals.

My feeling about castration is to get it done BEFORE negative behavior is started.  My young male continued to 'breed' the female llamas after his operation.  If he had been bothering ewes before castration I think he'd have continued that too.  I had a fine young male dog who suddenly started running off and bred a friend's female.  He continued to run up to that ranch until one time he was probably shot headed to.  He was never the same after his first journey.  

mary
    -----Original Message-----
    From: Jim Spahr <spahrfarm at dragonbbs.com>
    To: Jacob List Members <jacob-list at jacobsheep.com>
    Date: Saturday, April 21, 2001 8:50 AM
    Subject: [Jacob-list] Strange Love
    
    
    Gary,
     
    I wish our vet had told us that - before we spent the $100 to get "Flash" gelded.  Before the procedure we had suspected him of killing lambs and then finally did catch him in the act.  We intervened and were able to save that particular lamb.  Getting him gelded has at least curbed this disturbing behavior.  We were told to wait until he reached his full growth, so he was 3 yrs. old at the time we had it done.  
    Like Mary, I had also heard stories of llamas crushing ewes.  Flash has never paid much attention to our ewes, but really liked our pigs.  Luckily, the pigs were big enough that they did not get injured.  Oddly, he much preferred the red pig, the same color as himself.  Sometimes I think it is not fair to keep a guard llama and have him isolated from his own kind.
     
                                                            Mary              
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