Cusco, our first!

Looking back, it was 2005 (July) when we first became interested in llamas and we went ahead and bought Lima & Inca, and it wasn't until 2008 that we had our first cria (baby llama) and as you can see Cusco was born on 15th August.

His younger brother Nazca came along a year later!

We have made the decision not to breed any more, but it is something that we will definitely miss!

Cusco & Nazca are still with us and have a great temperament and are always willing to halter up and go for a walk with willing guests!

Would you like to be a willing guest? Ashwoodllamas.co.uk

Moving pregnant llamas around!

Oh yes, today we have given up on getting babies from our first lot of "believed" pregnant girls & have shipped them off into the pond field to sample some fresh grass.

The second lot of "believed pregnant" llamas, covered by Llancellot, have now been moved up to the maternity field and will be there for a month while we start cria watch two!

Fingers crossed.

Llancellot the stud llama

Cria watch is coming to an end

At least our first watch.

Nazca, our own bred youngster spent a month with 5 girls last year and was taken away from the girls around the 5th May, so with an 11.5 months gestation period we are coming to the end of the cria watch for these girls. We will keep an eye on them for another week, as llamas are well known for going over their term, but it is increasingly difficult to see that all five girls are pregnant.

The girls are Willow, who must be about 6 now, so in her prime and she has previously given us Wispa, Cola & Llatte. Wispa was also put in with Nazca as a three year old and so it would be her first time. The other three - Katie, Bella & Evelyn - are all older girls but not that old.

So, it is a disappointment and if we do end up with nothing, I think Nazca will end up having the chop and will join our walking boys - he halters nicely and walks very well.

So, next week, we come to the start of our second watch, We have four girls who spent a month with Llancellot, who as a three year old was not expected to produce. He spent time with Clara, who is looking a big girl and certainly looks as if she will be having a baby. There is also Lima, the herd matriarch, and two of our youngsters Princess and Tallara.

Next weekend we will be swapping everyone around but it looks like another disappointing year for cria.

Princess & Tallara as cria

 Fingers crossed

April is cria watch!

Cria is the name of a young llama (and aplaca)!

This year we have 9 believed pregnant llamas & the first cria are due as early as the 7th April!

The first 5 girls have already been moved to the paddock nearest the house where we can keep an eye on them many times a day!

Cria are born during the day and nearly always in the morning, so unlike the lambing & kidding season where lambs & kids can be born at any time of the, no sleepless nights for us!

This is Wispa as a cria, probably just a few months old! She'll be three this year and is one of the, hopefully, expectant mums!