Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Crias

Hi! I will tell you about the pictures of the crias. I put in a creep pen, so the young crias could creep feed and keep warm and grow. But I didn’t know if they would come into the pen. So our son Steve (who is a bow hunter) brought his camera & put it up in the pen so that we could keep an eye on them. It takes about 200 hundred pictures and will take pictures when there is action. We sure learned a lot. We learned that they only sleep about only 2-3 hours at a time, then spend the rest of the time eating or playing. In the picture of the two lying down, the small one is a very small male; he only weighed 14½ pounds at birth. His sire is only 36 ½ inches tall at the shoulder and his dam is only 37 inches. All of the ones in pictures are third generation to the farm. There is a cria that has three brown legs and only one white leg, and there is one gray cria that has three gray legs and one white leg. The sire of these two is all black but his right front leg. His two babies’ both have front left legs that are white. You can breed for fiber, size, big bone or fine bone, long or short fiber. But you can’t fuss about the color; you get what God gives you.


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About their sizes, you have to remember that the miniature world of llamas only was started in 1999. So if you compare mini llamas to mini horses, we are about 50 or 75 year behind them. A mini llama has to be 3 years old and measure only 38 inches at the top of the front legs or the shoulder (called the withers) to be a miniature. From 38 to 40 inches, the females are called foundation llamas.

Boy you talk about learning about llamas! I have been in the llama world for 20 years and I don’t know it all yet, but it is the most fascinating hobby I know of. I only wish that we could have had the llamas when Shirley & I were young and our children were young, as well. Kids can do so much with llamas when they get use to each other.

In fact girls, most the time, can get llamas do more than boys can, for girls usually show more affection than boys. Llamas can be talked in to doing thing, but llamas cannot be ordered to do things like horses can.

I would like to find a family or some one that wanted to have a hobby, for we have some good llamas for sale.

The other great thing about having llamas as a hobby is that you get to meet great people who become great friends.

Well I guess I have bent you ear long enough for now.

Bill –Twin View Llamas

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Merry Christmas

I have not been on since I started because of sickness. Shirley and I were both sick with the flu. Then one of my llamas was very sick and I had to give her medication, but she made it and will survive.

Then the cold and snow have made it hard for me to do chores, so I have been busy with that.

I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. I will be back after the New Year and try to keep the blog going then.