Working for good first experiences for the young llamas

We had a fun llama work-day on the farm on Saturday. Two of my llama handling/training students, along with my friend Melanie, came out to learn and to help with pen cleaning, use of the blower on the llamas for cleaning their fiber of vegetation, and trimming llama toenails. We trim the toenails about every six weeks. It varies by need of the individual llama. 

I have two llama crias on the farm, Petals and Lily, who hadn't yet experienced the blower. They are learning about being haltered and walking on the lead, but they are not real experienced yet at standing tied. I don't like to introduce too many things at once so here was my approach with Petals -- I haltered her dam, Velvet and tied her in the barn aisle. I haltered and tied Betty in the barn aisle next to Velvet (Betty is an adult female in the herd who has helped look after Petals). Then I put a halter and leadrope on Petals, but left her standing loose in between the two older llamas. One of my helpers stood near her to keep her next to her mama.

When I turned the blower on it was pointing away from llamas and humans. Then I pointed the nozzle towards the lower neck and back of one of the older llamas - both of whom LOVE to be groomed. This gave Petals a chance to hear the loud sound of the blower, experience some of the turbulence of the air, and also realize that the senior llamas were not at all afraid. It worked like a charm. Within a few minutes, we were using the blower on Petals and she was figuring out that it felt pretty good.

After the blower, we did a little brushing of this group of llamas and then put Velvet and Petals in the trailer (which I sometimes use as a grooming chute) and I trimmed Velvet's toenails while giving pointers to the group about asking llamas for a foot and about using the trimmers. Petals let me trim her nails while she stood next to Velvet. For the first time in my years of llama owning, I clipped a toenail a little too close, but didn't even realize it until I saw the blood on the floor of the horse trailer. So my helpers got some training in llama first aid too.

Petals enjoying young farm visitors. Velvet is the red-head on the right.

Bless little Petals, who stood so quietly while we applied first aid to her hind foot. She even stood still while Melanie held her cleaned foot off the ground as I went up to the house to get the other first aid kit and bandage scissors. That is unusual for a llama, especially a youngster, to be so cooperative with a foot up in the air. The trick is to always hold their feet quite gently - almost like an egg whose shell you don't want to break. I also don't hold them high off the ground. I let the llama find her balance before I ask for a foot and then I keep the lifted foot fairly low to the ground so she doesn't have to regain balance.

For those of us who are also horse people and used to just sliding a hand down a leg of a seasoned riding horse, and lifting its hoof to clean it, this approach with llamas takes some getting used to. 

Petals continued to show her gentle disposition by letting me change her toenail bandage (a feminine pad with Furazone ointment, plus roll gauze and Vetrap - a bootie of sorts) two more times over the next couple days - never once needing to be tied or restrained. I would just kneel down next to her wherever she was eating and ask for her foot. She would rest it on my thigh while I unwrapped the Vetrap and then checked her toenail. It has healed nicely.

My students and I decided that one thing we would do in case we had a future first aid need would be to take inventory, and verify that each first aid kit is fully stocked. I keep a house first aid kit, a trailer first aid kit, a barn first aid kit. Then I keep other items (that I don't want to freeze) in the house. I have since gone through the first aid kits and made sure that each one has the primary supplies such as bandage scissors. I also recommend that you always have plenty of roll gauze, Vetrap (or similar product) and whatever other bandaging supplies you prefer to have on hand.  

We experienced a horse first aid need a few years ago with our Connemara pony, Jeremiah, and that taught me the lesson about having items in quantity - not just one or two bandages. If you have an injured horse leg that you need to rebandage daily with many layers of bandage, you'll go through your supplies quickly. It is much less expensive to buy things in quantity from the vet supply catalogs than to have to get something at your local drug store.

I'm happy to report that Petals is healed up and still a happy girl. I even tested her out last evening to see if she would give me her foot again, and sure enough she picked it right up for me. I'm relieved that the little incident didn't upset her.

I'm also excited to report that one of my other llamas, Simply Stunning, who has been afraid about having to give up a foot for toenail trimming, showed me last evening that she has turned a corner. I have owned her since October 2010. The first few times I trimmed her toenails, I could do one or two feet, but would have to come back to do the others at a later time so as not to over-stress her. Last night she haltered very quietly, stepped into the grooming chute quietly, and gave me each foot for toenail trimming. She even seems to be recongizing the phrase I use, "Now find your balance. Good girl." Go Stunning! I had her trimmed in just a few minutes. I was so proud of her, and so happy that I had taken my time and not rushed her about it. I think it has made all the difference in the world!

Hard Rock's Simply Stunning with her daughter, Armful of Lilies (they're saying hello to FFF Mas Chiri)