I’d never had any encounters with Llamas until I had the crazy idea of getting some.
In case you are wondering, when did the llamas arrive? The llamas were one of the earliest arrivals at the farm as I had to get them early to have time to train them.
Being inquisitive in nature, they enjoyed watching the comings and goings of the construction workers building the farm.
Although I had purposely purchased quality llamas who had been trained from birth for trekking, they obviously didn’t know our farm or local area.
To prepare the llamas for meeting the public, they had to be walked several times a week in order to prepare them for every scenario so they wouldn’t go crazy when faced with a member of the public. I
’ll never forget the time I was walking the llamas along Plantation Road when a farmer did an emergency stop with his tractor right alongside us. He leaned out of the window and said, ‘I’ve been farming in these parts for 30 years and I’ve never seen anything like that!’
So, what has 10 years of having Llamas taught me?
- Llamas are herd animals and social – they love company. As a business owner, you are only as good as your team and you’ve got to provide good leadership for the team to follow you.
- Llamas have a gentle and docile demeanour – there are lessons about slowing down and appreciating the beauty of nature.
- Llamas are inquisitive, very friendly and fun to be around. Having a friendly and welcoming, positive culture mean that your employees are more happy, more productive and more committed.
- Llamas are unique and stand out with long necks, beautiful eyes and funny teeth – you’ve got to be different and stand out in business and develop a strong brand to be memorable.
- Llamas are so much fun – you can’t look at a llama without smiling – weave fun into your culture, workplace and daily life so everyone with enjoy what you have to offer.
- Llamas are strong minded they won’t be forced into doing anything they don’t want to do – stand your ground and pave your own way in life. Be unique and make the most of this precious life we have.
- Llamas are extremely curious and most will approach people easily. Curiosity is essential to success it lets you test new ideas which uncover opportunities and lead to growth. Always be curious.
- Llamas rarely spit at humans. Spitting is a gesture that llamas use on each other. It is the method that they use to keep order in the herd. Llamas will spit to settle arguments over food, or if another llama gets in his personal space. It’s their way of expressing irritation or displeasure with other llamas. The trick is to watch their ears. When you see the nose in the air, you might want to step to the side. The greatest danger is to be in the line of fire between two disgruntled llamas – but at the end of the day, it all washes off. 😂
- They are extremely intelligent, very beautiful and graceful, and carry themselves with elegance. There’s a lot I still have to learn from these animals … ❤️
- When I had the crazy idea of putting a bow tie around their necks, the llamas saved my business. I will always be eternally grateful to them. 🙏
As the Llamas are such a critical part of my business, to coincide with the 10-year anniversary of the Llamas arriving at the farm, I will shortly be leaving for a tour of Peru (where llamas originate from) to experience them in their natural habitat and to come back with some new llama outfits too – I’m taking a spare case just for this 😂❤️🦙
You can read about my story of putting bowties on Llamas here: www.celiagaze.com and more about why we chose llamas here: Why did we choose Llamas? – Wedding and Events Venue The Wellbeing Farm