There are two questions below with Marty's replies after each, but I'd be interested to see if anyone else has experience with inter-species breeding issues: We took Marty's advice on buying guard llamas seriously, especially after seeing how irresistable the frolicing crias were and hearing from a neighbor that they had spotted big foxes with kits on our mountain in Southern Chile. Unfortunately, there are only two places we could find that have llamas in our entire region of Chile (anywhere in the country you can get to without using a boat or plane and without crossing into Argentina.) This ranch was 300 miles south over really bad roads, and the Swiss lady had lost her husband to a heart attach four years ago and was just trying to keep up with running a huge ranch alone and was interested in selling as many llamas to us as we would buy. After we'd picked out two females and one male, all of whom are half-brothers/sisters, and decided on gelding the male, she told us that two years ago, several of her females had been bred by wild guanacoes who jumped over the fence. Subsequently, the weanlings also jumped the fences to be with the wild guanacoes, except for two that she had butchered for meat. We got the two female llamas at our ranch last week and they immediately blended smoothly with our two female alpacas and two new crias. We brought the male alpaca to the two females to see if they would accept him (in which case we'd have to separate them before they actually bred a half-llama, half- alpaca, but the two females absolutely refused his ardent advances toward their tails, spitting and turning on him, so I fear the guanacoes (or their brother llamas) have already bred them. Is there any way to cause an abortion or re-absorbtion of the fetus safely in llamas? If not, do you know anything about half-breeds? Could we tame them through Camelidynamics or should we not even try? Marty Replied as follows: >>> Certainly you can raise them not be be afraid and to be easier to >>> handle with Camelidynamics. I have worked with Guanacos before and >>> they are much harder but not impossible. I have also worked with >>> pacunas which is a deliberate cross between alpacas and vicunas. I >>> wouldn't necessarily assume they are pregnant llamas will frequently >>> turn away an alpaca suitor and even a male suitor when not pregnant if >>> they are at a particular point in their cycle. So I would keep my >>> fingers crossed as far as aborting them I would suggest asking that on >>> the forum you might get better advice than I can offer. I think it >>> depends on how far along they are which would mean having an >>> ultrasound. (My note: an ultrasound is impossible, even if you are a human, in southern Chile). Second Issue/Question: >>>> The 4 year old female llamas have been roughly treated by the lady's gaucho, using horses and dogs to heard, and roping them like a champion rodeo rider, so they're quite afraid of us in the open pasture and won't let us get within sight without running from us (the alpacas just watch them run and wonder what all the fuss is about, as the formerly wild alpacas are nearly eating from my hand already after weekly working sessions with Camelidynamics and TTouch techniques). It took us an hour to be able to herd the llamas into the barn with the alpacas (who go in in 5 minutes now without stress) three days after they arrived, and we worked the techniques through haltering with very few problems, but the one session has obviously not changed their minds too much about us. We will keep trying every week unless you tell us to do it more or less frequently. Pictures with halters are attached: not a fight at all, but they were scared to go in the barn and scared when we first went in with them and roped them using the wand. Once roped and balanced, they calmed right down for the TTouches and haltering, and even a little leading, but they were still happy to be let out of the barn. Marty replied as follows: >>> Sounds like you are doing extremely well!!!!!!!!!! I love the photos >>> and I think they will come around really quickly you might spend some >>> time setting up a better herding system to get them in the barn more >>> easily it has quite an impact on how they feel once you get them >>> there. Please share this with us all on the forum if that is >>> possible.
