Baby goats are well scary!

Listen, do you want to know a secret? Do you promise not to tell? closer, Let me whisper in your ear…..

Baby goats are well scary!

I know this to be true as I have witnessed the fear that they instil, and the terror that is evoked by their mere presence.

Now I’m sure that true to their formidable reputation, you would believe that should our llamas be introduced to new farm mates, they would be pretty stand offish, maybe band together as a gang, and very likely gob in the eye of a newcomer… had I not been privy to the scenes on our farm earlier this year, I’d have agreed with you, probably even been willing to bet money on the llamas nonchalantly flicking their heads at any interruption to the day long task of eating and chewing the cud.

If there are any changes to be made on the farm, We always try to think of our animals first. So wanting to increase the animals on the farm, we decided on goats, you see, we’d seen so many pictures of llamas and goats together, llamas bravely acting as guards for these cute little creatures, sharing their stable and hay, all getting along like a house on fire.

Nonetheless, we decided to get baby goats, these 3 baby goats had also been breed to be hornless, we didn’t want the prospect of any accidental leg injuries to the llamas, and thought that introducing goats barely a few months old would pose no threat.  We were smug indeed, that we had thought of everything to ensure a smooth welcome onto the farm and introduction to our beautiful, strong, toweringly tall llamas. (most are well over 6 ft tall)

Fast forward, an enclosure and stable were built to keep the goats safe and quarantined for a few weeks before they would be ready to mingle. Because of open gates we kept the llamas in the far pasture whilst the goats were delivered, out of sight and harms way.

Considering that we have a tendency to make impulsive decisions which are put into action before we can change our minds, we were pretty pleased with ourselves that everything had gone smoothly, even the dogs and cats had come for a nosey and decided that these newbies were a perfectly acceptable addition to the farm.

Re-opening the gate from the far pasture, we wondered off, out of sight, excited to watch the llamas meeting the goats through the fence for the first time.

OH MY DAYS! 

Have you ever heard a llama alarm cry? have you ever heard 7 llamas making an alarm cry?!

When llamas sense danger, they make an alarm cry from their throat, to warn the rest of the herd…. you know the thing, warning there is a big cougar in their natural environment, or perhaps around our farm, there are hunters with guns, they let out the cry and make sure Bambi is aware and gets away (we love this!)

Oh the shame of it, our beautiful, strong, toweringly tall llamas were absolutely terrified of the threat to their safety, these babies had bought to the farm. Were the goats scared by the raucous the llamas were causing… not one bit! In fact they were acting incredibly annoyed that someone had put a fence in between them and their new friends!

Oh llamas do love a good drama and kept up the theatricals for a good couple of weeks. Then overnight, it seems, Ayesha instructed the lot of them to don their big girl knickers (even the 2 boys, who were not happy about this order) link little fingers with the goats, sing make up make up, and act as if nothing had ever happened.

Florence, Mary and Tabitha are now honoury llamas and get away with any mischief they think up;

Llama hay feeder = perfect goat trampoline

Llama standing in the rain = just the right height for a goat shelter

Llama cushed down chewing the cud = very handy goat foot stall to reach high places

Remember, you promised not to tell… our brave-heart llamas have a reputation to maintain!

Our 4th goat Didi has now also joined the crew and is expecting kids in February….