Bio-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 11,1989
Look! A
BY LOU ANN GOOD
Visit the home of David and Flo
Hamish in Ephrata and you might
come face to face with a llama in
the house.
Adam isn’t a baby llama; he’s
(all, white, beautiful and friendly.
So friendly, in fact, that he greets
visitors with a kiss. •
When he struts around the kitch
en, his padded feet sound like he’s
wearing slippers against the hard-
pei g
grounds and live quite compatibly with the 12 llamas that
Ihe Harnlshes own.
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This elegant white llama namec _.iiii oehaves In a gentlemanly mannei
visits David and Flo Harnish Inside their home in Ephrata.
Diamond Boy glvat Flo Hamlsh of Log Cabin Llamaa a smooch on **•“ noaa.
Llama In The House
wood floor. Actually Adam pre
fers to be outdoors where he can
graze on the lawn.
The Hamishes have 12 llamas,
three peacocks and a flock of gui
neas on their Log Cabin farm.
Two weeks ago a baby llama
weighing 30 pounds was bom on
the Log Cabin farm. Since the
mother’s name is Diamond and the
father’s name is Black Diamond,
the new baby was named Diamond
0
Boy,
At first, the 30-pound baby
didn’t seem to be getting enough
milk so the Hamishes fed him milk
through the tube in addition to his
mother’s milk. He gained 10
pounds. David is a doctor so he
finds it easy to feed the baby with a
tube.
Diamond Boy is a lively, health
y boy who doesn’t act like a baby.
He kicks up his heels and runs
across the lawn. He behaves well
and docs not disappear from his
mother’s watchful eye.
Diamond Boy, like the rest of
the herd, often communicates by
making a soft humming noise. In
Peru, where llamas are many, the
people refer to the llamas hum
ming as praying.
The other female llamas on the
farm like Diamond Boy, but the
male llamas already view him as
competition. Male llamas like to
claim their own territory.
Although llamas are normallly
friendly, the males will spit at each
other so they are usually penned
separately.
/pvt w
size, he doesn’t knock things over and he doesn’t eat things
he shouldn’t. He Is a well-behaved pet. Ask your mother If
you can have a pet llama In your home.
The females are friendly to each
other. But there is a definite peck
ing order in the herd—that means
some always want to be the leaders
or the bosses. They may try to
gobble all the food and not share
with the others.
Mostly llamas are friendly,
especially to people.
Llamas can be taught to pull
carts.
“I have a cart, but I didn’t find
time to hitch up one,” Flo
explained.
When she does hitch one to a
cart, Flo expects the llama will do a
good job of pulling the cart for lla
mas are quick learners. It is not
uncommon for llamas to leant a
skill after trying only one to five
times.
They have a docile nature, a
willingness to learn and to please,
and they are very intelligent.
Flo said that their 12 llamas
have distinct personalities. For
example, Marietta is tall, very
proud and skittish. Hy Jinks has
raggedy wool and likes to jump
fences. Lanaige is all white, placid
and calm.
Llamas usually live IS to 20
years and weigh between 250 to
500 pounds.
They do not eat much food and
they do not require much care.
They are much cheaper to feed
than most livestock. Formerly the
Hamishes fed their llamas horse
feed, but now Agway sells pellets
Some of the llamas become to warm In their fuzzy coats
so the Harnishes give them a hair cut. Then their wool is
spun and knitted Into sweaters. Flo Harnlsh is wearing one
of the sweaters knitted from the wool of her llamas. The yarn
Is soft, silky and cozy to wear. Because the yarn was spun
from the wool of a dark and a white llama, the sweater is in
multi-shades of brown and natural colors.
just for llamas.
LLamas rarely get sick. The Log
Cabin llamas have never been sick,
but they are treated to prevent
white muscle disease, menigitis,
and are dewormed.
Llamas are very trendy now.
They are also rather expensive. A
female usually costs between nine
and $ 12,000; a good male between
$15,000 to $20,000. But an ordin
ary male can sometimes be pur
chased from $l,OOO to $3,000.
Although llamas are expensive,
you can make money on them if
they bred properly and have
offspring with good posture, lots
of wool on their legs and ears with
a very wooly coat. Some llamas
have straight hair, others a guard
hair that covers fine under hair,
which is most preferred.
Some people use them as watch
dogs for their sheep herds.
Because they are curious, they will
run toward a coyote and spook
him. Ibis protects the herd.
The Hamishes like many other
people find the llamas are stress
relievers. They like to feed them
then sit back and watch them for
hours.
“It’s so peaceful,” Flo said.
“Llamas are so interesting to
watch.”
If your mother doesn’t allow
you to have one in the house, try to
visit someone who has one. Then
your mother will surely want
one—llamas are so lovable.