Or lack there of. A smart person would NOT have bought two llamas with unknown history. Especially if she had no prior experience with llamas or with any other type of animal larger than a dog. But I did want a llama to guard my mininubian goats from coyotes, wild dogs, and other night creatures. And after a little research, learned that two llamas were preferable to one. Because of the cost of a llama, I didn't really think I would ever be able to buy one let alone two. But the camelid gods must have been smiling at me when I saw an ad in a local online sales site for two llamas at a dirt cheap price.
That was the end of May.
We didn't really get a clue that they weren't friend when my husband loaded them on the horse trailer. That went off without a hitch - same for delivering them to our home. But now, almost 6 weeks later, they still are not overly fond of us. I've researched ways to get them to trust me, to be respectful, yadda yadda yadda. They MUST be sheared - their wool is a matted mess. I tried one clip at a time and that SO pissed Dolly off, that she tried to spit at me. But I persist and have succeeded to snip off about 4 hunks of matted hair. Certainly not enough to make a difference!
Is it the makeshift llama hut? I know it is not pretty - not at all. But we'll have a llama house complete with walls and roof and door by winter. They have beautiful trees to hide under, a creek to cool off in (but they won't), and lots and lots of yummy plant food. I give them sweet grain which they l-o-v-e. I talk kindly to them, give them fresh, cool water.
But they are animals. I forget about that sometimes - as much as I would love to cuddle them, they are still animals and I need to respect that. More than hugs and kisses, they appreciate in their animal way, the fresh water and food, the shelter, the safe environment. And that should be enough for me.
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