  The Sanctuary - It's A Boy! It's A Girl! |
Or - When's The Vet Coming?It's true we haven't a clue. We haven't gotten close enough to figure it out. Llamas are like other Animals in that unless they have been socialized they resist contact. And resist they do. We'd let Percival tell the story, however we learned a lot that deserves telling. To begin with, we learned a lot about what we don't know. The birth came as a bit of a surprise. Chu Chu was born without any interference from us.  On a Sunday night we assessed the situation and the expected arrival. We decided to move the Llamas into the barn, from the corral and small stall where they were residing, the next day in preparation for the birth. In the morning when we went to move them, there was Chu Chu!Our Large Animal Vet had expressed some concerns over the ability of Domesticated Llamas to give birth without assistance. Though a great Equine, Sheep and Goat Vet, she by her own admission, does not know all there is to know about Llamas. The lack of a qualified Llama Vet was a greater concern once we learned Penelope was pregnant. That concern was amplified with the birth of Chu Chu. We are happy to announce that we have finally found one who will be visiting shortly.  In the meantime, we quickly subscribed to One List's Llama List and solicited advice. It was suggested that we weigh Chu Chu daily to make sure that s/he was gaining weight. Penelope would not allow it. Penelope can be extremely defensive. She is rarely aggressive. Percival is neither, When we managed to get close enough to Chu Chu to pick her/him up, not only did Penelope charge us, so did Percival! Chu Chu was released, as it would have been impossible to make it out of the corrals with her/him in arms as Penelope was charging and spitting violently.We found Percival's behavior very interesting. Though it might be thought that Percival was defending Penelope, his subsequent attention to Chu Chu has shown otherwise. Percival's behavior demonstrates that he feels Chu Chu to be a family member, and one who needs protection. They actually hang out together quite a bit. We are aware that the fathers of some species do take an active parenting role, Penguins and Emus, to name two. Among the 22 species that we care for, this is not typical behavior. Chu Chu continues to spend most of his time next to his mother. We have seen Chu Chu play with the young Nubian Dwarf Goats, the three running up and down the hills together.  Since winning the battle over Chu Chu, Penelope became a bit more aggressive, especially during feed time. She will attempt to take the food out of our arms as we carry it the barn. That behavior is not being accepted. Aside from a stern vocal warning, we have taken a new tactic which has worked, reciprocal spitting. Now this may not be the way Llama people would handle a non socialized Llama. It's worked for us. The first time, of the three occasions this tactic has been used, the look on Penelope's face was priceless. She backed up immediately. Granted she is a far more accomplished spitter than any human here will ever be. A new tactic she has developed has been to turn her back towards us and urinate. We are not sure that that is normal behavior. Penelope may be crazy. Life would be enhanced for all three of the Llamas if they were socialized. It is necessary to handle them several times a year for clipping and vaccinations. These activities are very stressful for them in their unsocialized state. It is our hope that we can find someone who can spend some time training them soon. It would be nice to approach Penelope with out her ears going back immediately.Chu Chu is flourishing. Full of energy and curiosity, the young Llama seems to be taking life on with great expectation. May those expectations be fulfilled. Met The Llamas Of The Sanctuary Before?
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