In North Devon - come and say hi!

Do you fancy experiencing some time with our llamas?

What we offer –  Up to two hours of our time, both Vicki & Kevin will show you around our smallholding, and giving you the opportunity to get up close and personal with some, if not all of our llamas.

• First, we’ll do a short introduction, including the essential health and safety rules. We’ll give you some history of llamas in general, some useful facts about the way they will behave, and what you should expect from handling them.
• Next, we’ll bring some of the llamas up to the holding pen, where you can all get to say hello!
• Here, we will show you how to halter the llama, and each member of the party (one at a time) can groom a llama and have that one to one photo opportunity.
• Next, we will take two llamas for a short stroll around their field and you can have the opportunity to lead them.
• On our return, it will be treat time, the llamas will be rewarded and you’ll have the chance to give them their treats.
• Then, a chance to wander over and see our other llamas, our goats, chickens, and we may even be joined by the cat!
• A quick, but thorough wash of the hands and it’ll be time to say goodbye!

Who do we offer this to? – We can cope with a minimum of 2 people and a maximum of 6 people. Any child under 16 must be accompanied by a full paying adult!
When do we offer this? – We offer this experience on weekday afternoons, except Mondays, although during the summer holiday period we are happy to do this at weekends. Booking is essential! The experience is, I’m afraid, weather dependent, if it is too wet, neither the llamas, you, or indeed us will enjoy it, so please bring some nice dry weather with you!
How much? –  £15 per person, children under 16 will cost £8 each. Please note that children under 10 will NOT be able to fully participate, they will only be able to groom and feed the llamas from outside of the pen and through the fence, and will not be able to walk their own llama (they can walk with the llama while a responsible adult holds the lead).
How to book? –  Check out our website - www.ashwoodllamas.co.uk
Essentials! – Please come prepared, it doesn’t matter what time of year it is but sturdy walking boots, trainers or wellies will be required – no flip flops or beach shoes – if a llama steps on your foot it will hurt!

We’re ready – are you?

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

Don't say it out loud!

The vets have been booked to castrate some of our animals.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on your point of view we have been unable to sell our young pygmy goat kids as entire goats. We have had two sets of buyers who each want two wethers (castrated goats) as pets. I am sure that in their new homes they will be very well looked after.

Young goats who are castrated lose not only their manly bits, but this also stops the hormones that grow large male horns, they will end up much more like female horns, smaller and shorter. It also stops the urge to wee on themselves which in some way makes them more attractive to the girls.

Both Galloway and Nero, our two stud males have a horrid smell during the autumn rutting season when they try to attract the calling of the girl goats.

This is Galloway one of our stud goats.

This is Jedi, one of our wethers, I think you can just about see how much bigger Galloway's horns are.

The other animal booked in for the chop, is Llancellot, our stud llama. He has been for sale for a while now and with no takers, he will join our other gelded males (and females) with no chance of breeding.

We have decided to stop breeding as it is becoming harder to sell llamas, and we do not have enough land to keep on breeding.

What a grey day!

A grey day here in North Devon!

We have a very good guard llama and you can see him here guarding the llamas huddled in their shelter getting out of the wet & windy weather!

Llamas can cope with most types of weather that occurs but they really do not like heavy rain, especially when the wind is blowing as it is today!

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!