Llama update
 So, it was time to take Stefany and Francis down to Iowa to the breeder and see about getting Stefany bred back, and also for Roxanne to take a look at little Francis in person. They did great on their trailer ride down there. It was a nice cool morning and cloudy. It's a 2 hour drive, and we got there at 0930. Stefany knew where she was! We put her out in Tory's pasture (Chilean Toreador - he is Francis's' dad and we wanted to breed her back again to him). She pooped right away! They are neat poopers, and never poop in strange places if they can avoid it. In fact at their homes they make dung piles and only pee and poop in a couple select spots. Apparently Stefany did NOT want to poop in the trailer. Then Roxanne let Tory out and he went right at her. She kushed right down and "it" began .......  So, we are quite hopeful a new cria will join the family in 11.5 months. The plan is to confirm pregnancy in 21 days by taking her back down and exposing her again - it she has no interest and he is not interested, it means she is indeed pregnant....so if she is interested, it also means she did not take yesterday and then will be bred at the new visit. But, Roxanne said Tory has been breeding (impregnating) almost all females on the 1st attempt.  AND - we got a great report on little Francis. We all have a great eye, as apparently he is an exceptional baby.  Roxanne commented pretty much to the effect that she sold the wrong bred female.... so good news for us  Francis is the best of all her babies this year...and he's OURS! I learned a lot about the structure that separates an average decent llama from one with better traits.And what I thought was his soft and flowing baby coat is actually called a "silky" coat, and more valued for fiber than regular coat. It's not quite as good as the Suri variety, but almost. This silky coat will be his forever coat, so that was interesting to learn. Apparently Tory has some silky genes, and has thrown a couple silky babies. Then we went over structure - His better traits are his level topline, high tailset, the sharp "L" angle that his back/neck attachment makes at the withers, and his long neck. Also his front and rear movement are exceptionally straight and true. And to top it off, he just has a showing attitude - as we have seen in his pictures - he kinda flaunts himself!  So, what was going to be a performance baby for Bre to show has been upgraded. We are to start working him in halter and get him trained to enter conformation classes as well.  Talk about a new project! Here are a couple pictures after the breeding - Francis is in the pasture w/ Stef and Tory. And some of the other flock was checking them out as well. And I didn't get pictures of the most beautiful ones - she has some really cool colors and fibers in her flock I only got the 2 pictures. The other babies are cute, so I'm sad I didn't get any pictures of them...we were just too busy! When we go back in 3 weeks I promise to do better.    |
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| They are really interesting animals and so many beautiful colors. Stupid question, do they go into heat like cows do? I know you said before that you usually breed right after the baby is born but don't really know how it works. I'm sure there must be some sign that a mating will work. Sounds like Francis is going to be a real asset for your family and something else for you to do. Good thing you have lots of energy yet. |
ICH wrote: They are really interesting animals and so many beautiful colors. Stupid question, do they go into heat like cows do? I know you said before that you usually breed right after the baby is born but don't really know how it works. I'm sure there must be some sign that a mating will work. Sounds like Francis is going to be a real asset for your family and something else for you to do. Good thing you have lots of energy yet. NO stupid question...and I never knew this about llamas either. They are available to be bred anytime they are not pregnant. They ovulate in response to being bred by the male. This must be somehow related to their abnormally long gestation (11.5 months).  Apparently they are MOST fertile immediately after birth (how unfair  ) - so that's why the recommended thing is to breed back within 10 days of birth. But with the distance to drive for us, we needed to wait a bit and let Francis get bigger and a bit older for the trip.  And the males are sterile or not as good in hot weather, so we had to wait for a couple cool days to make the trip. We basically were on call! Roxanne emailed me Sunday afternoon to see if we could come early Monday while the weather was cool. Thankfully it worked out. And I got to road trip down with granddaughter Bre - an extra bonus! Roxanne showed her stuff to do, gave her llama books and magazines, and even a llama calendar. It was a great trip, and we were all back home by 1:30pm! |
 But the 11.5 waiting would be killing me....  |
| Great pics and great news on your boy Francis....no surprise to us...he is a beauty...like his Mom/Dad. Learning oh so much about Llamaes. Thank you Dawn, I really appreciate you sharing your great farm with us. |
| Wow! That's great to hear about Francis but we all knew Francis was the best!  That's very interesting about the breeding cycle. Llama's are certainly interesting creatures. Great pictures and look forward to more from the next trip.Cindy |
| Thanks Dawn, was wondering if that might be the case but wasn't sure. Makes it pretty convenient for the breeders then especially since you do have to travel to get that done. Anytime with the grandkids is good. I thought our granddaughter was coming for the summer but her folks decided that since Tripper isn't doing very well she should stay home. Wouldn't have bothered me. |
sheepieshake wrote: :clappurple: But the 11.5 waiting would be killing me.... It did about kill me last year....but at least this year we have Francis to distract us!! |
| Looking forward to another bouncing baby llama! |
This is so awesome1  I can't wait to see the new baby!  |
I don't see many llams, we are more an alpaca area here in the south valley.......but I was immediately impressed by Francis' posture. It was/is perfect every time. So he doesn't straighten up for pictures, he's just built correctly!  Yeah, you need another show animal......you have so much free time. But it will be something new, new people to meet. I hope Bre enjoys it. Fast trip! How nice the llamas have such a clean refuse nature. Imagine a self forming compost pile. |
| More than I ever thought I would know about llamas!!! If I'm ever on Jeopardy, this might come in handy! Laurie and Oscar |
 This is better than some shows on Animal Planet. And in a 11.5 months tell Todd to check the undercarriage thoroughly before he chooses a name this time.  |
SheepieMommy wrote: This is better than some shows on Animal Planet. And in a 11.5 months tell Todd to check the undercarriage thoroughly before he chooses a name this time. I don't think he will ever live that one down...... Even Roxanne mentioned it when we were down there....lol More than I ever thought I would know about llamas!!! If I'm ever on Jeopardy, this might come in handy! Laurie and Oscar Glad - to help you out!!! I do worry about my brain being overloaded with senseless data!! |
Question-- How many times is a female typically bred in her lifetime? If it takes almost a year for delivery, and then they can be bred immediately following birth, those poor things live their lives pregnant.  |
Abuckie wrote: Question-- How many times is a female typically bred in her lifetime? If it takes almost a year for delivery, and then they can be bred immediately following birth, those poor things live their lives pregnant. This is the shocking thing most of us forget: genetically speaking, all living beings are created to reproduce. They are DESIGNED to mature, mate and reproduce, to pass along their genes. As humans we've decided we have better things to do (well, lord knows I have!!) and we don't want endless pregnancies interfering with our capacity to earn MBAs or wear bikinis or whatever our other priorities are. But for most living beings, on the grander scale of things, reproducing is the reason for their existence and being pregnant is merely a perfectly normal state of affairs that their bodies are built to take in stride. I mean, I know WE worked hard to get away from our forebears' endless string of pregnancies, popping out kids in the middle of fields and so on, very inconvenient. But you really haven't seen that kind of emancipation movement in other female mammals to date  If their reproduction is curtailed it's due to human interference and convenience. Left to their own devices, and with any even half way suitable mate around, I can't think of many cows, pigs, goats, sheep, dogs, cats, lamas etc etc etc who wouldn't go for it. That's what they're programmed to do. In fact, I'm witnessing that kind of up close and personal right now, testing progesterone levels, calculating ovulation date etc etc (dog, not me ) - the whole process is completely and utterly hormonally driven. Will she live if she doesn't get pregnant? Oh, heck yeah. And unlike her sister (who has fake litters every six months because she's never been bred so has never had the real thing) she probably won't go through a false pregnancy, at least not outwardly, if she turns out not to "take" as we say. But even if she isn't pregnant when all is said and done, her uterus will still go through pretty much the exact same hormonal changes as if she was pregnant Kristine |
| Physically, llamas can reproduce their whole life - no menopause. I did check, and not all the camelids can. Camels live to 40-50 yrs, but stop reproduction at about 20 yrs. And they live (llamas) 20-30 years, although the early 20 end seems more common. Roxanne said she gets 25 a lot on her seniors. And for these guys it doesn't seem like a normal pregnancy like we would think for us, or even a cat or dog. They hardly show (and maybe why nature gives them just one baby??) until right up to the very last month. Even shaved, you can't tell. They evidently have evolved to do this very easily, because even the last weeks in the heat she barely looked pregnant. I bet it would have better if we were able to get her shaved a month or so earlier. The heat seemed more of a bother than being pregnant I did a little scientific reading (scientific abstracts r/t llama reproduction) and the reproductive follicles are made to be bred back. The follicle shrinks and becomes less fertile in the month following birth and later - resulting in a less fertile or less likely to reproduce state. So their bodies were specifically made to become pregnant sooner, rather than later. |
Mad Dog wrote: popping out kids in the middle of fields and so on, very inconvenient. |
Quote: popping out kids in the middle of fields and so on, very inconvenient. Why is that inconvenient? The rice needs planting, no time to run back to the hut and push out a kid. Sounds so Pearl S. Buck. Of course "back then" infant mortality was huge, getting one or two to adulthood was pretty good. Also large families were sometimes necessary. DH's father was one of 13. The kids were needed to help run the farm. When DH's father and uncle ran off and joined the Army (WWI)....the last sons...their father beat them for deserting him. Yesterday, driving home, nearby property, there was a beautiful golden cria. I forgot that farm has several alpaca. |
| Pandas don't seem to want to get pregnant very much. |
| Dawn--this is so very interesting!! Thanks so much for keeping us updated! I now want a Llama! |
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