[Jacob-list] guard llamas

[dbennet954 at earthlink.net]

Our neighbor had two male llamas and together they were fighting rather 
than guarding, so we bought one of them in January. We initially put 
Danny Boy in an isolation pen because everyone was getting ready to lamb 
and kid and we weren't sure how he would react. The jacob ewes started 
sleeping next to his pen each night. About a week after the goats had 
kidded, I got up one morning to Danny Boy guarding the gate of the goat 
pasture (he had jumped a 6 foot fence to be there). The goat buck had 
jumped the fence and was guarding his flock and my older ram had torn 
the gate off his pasture and was guarding his ewes.The threat seemed to 
be long over by the time I arrived on the scene. Danny Boy checked out 
the entire barn area ahead of the ewes and then got out of the way so 
they could eat. The goat buck went right back to his pasture. We fixed 
the gate, tapped the ram on the rear and he went back "home". Danny Boy 
followed us up to the goat pasture, checked out their shed and then went 
back to his pen. No one was missing or injured. We have since moved 
Danny Boy in with the goats. He plays chase occasionally with the 
babies, but is very careful not to step on them. The goats sometimes try 
to steal his food and he whines, but he lets them.

Debbie Bennett
Feral Fibre