Callie
She’s the matriarch of the herd here at Laughing Llama Farm. She is the mother of King Cotton and she takes her guard job seriously. You aren’t going to snuggle with this sassy thing. No. She’s a wonderful Mama Llama. Sweet, nurturing, attentive, very intuitive, but she’s all business and she knows where you are at all times.
She will come up to the fence at the Silo House for feed if offered - but beware - she won’t spit on you, but she will spit on the others to boss them around and tell them to get out of the way of her handout. Just don’t get between her and her mission.
My husband Frank’s description of her to me, “She’s bossy, but I like her. She reminds me of you.” :)
Bruce
Who doesn’t love Bruce? He’s just a teddy bear. A wild teddy bear if there is such a thing.
When we got Bruce, “she” stepped off the trailer as “Honey” and it was quickly discovered that “Honey” was indeed a “he”!
Bruce is the father of Cupid and Sophie Jo - the result of Bruce’s escape Spring Break 2018 for a short period of time. He made the most of it at least and now has 2 wonderful little llamas he has sired.
But, those are his last. He was gelded shortly after their births in February of 2019. This was done with the hopes to settle his insatiable desire for the ladies and his fondness of escaping pens, jumping fences, raring up on gates and having a wild streak a mile wide.
The jury is still out on his transition.
Bunny Pearl
My girl Bunny Pearl, the Mama to Luna Blue (2017) and Cupid Valentino (2019), she was pregnant when she came to us ….. she was my breakthrough to the herd. She was my breakthrough, period.
When we got our initial herd of llamas, they were all wild and untouched for years. I was at a point in life where I was having a difficult time trusting, confiding in others, being vulnerable with my ideas, feelings, friendship or love. I had no idea at the time how getting a herd of llamas was going to help me, not like I even planned on it or wanted them to help me at all…. or even knew they could …. and I’m glad I didn’t know, because I absolutely love how it has all worked out ever since.
They all came from a neighbor nearby and everyday before we had them, I would drive by, stop the car and talk to them over the fence for a minute out of my car window and my name for her was “Pearl”. Turns out, the name she was called there was “Bunny”, so, Bunny Pearl it was!
I noticed pretty quick that she was slow to respond to calling for the herd in the pasture. If she wasn’t looking at you, she wouldn’t hear you holler. But, she watched the rest of the herd intently and would take cues from them. After a while, a few would quickly duck their head into and snag quickly feed out of a bucket, but none of them would not let me touch them at all. I knew when she would finally approach the bucket and she wouldn’t flinch at the sides of the bucket being tapped when her head was inside of it that she was deaf.
Right then and there, I knew if I was going to gain the trust of the herd, as much as they take signals from each other, the one to gain the trust of for them all to accept me would be Bunny Pearl. She is where I started the taming of them all. And it worked!
I’ll never forget the day I ran back in the house with the great news that Bunny Pearl finally let me pet her and my hands were filthy with the proof from doing so. That was a great day and a major breakthrough.
Things haven’t been the same since.
She has taught me to be more observant just like her. To take cues, trust my instincts even more, go with my gut, let things play out the way they are meant by being patient and learn to trust all over again. Gone are the days that were a short blip on the radar of my life where I shut people out and saw everyone as jaded. Anyone who knows me knows that was not the way I lived at all. A deaf llama taught me to leave the sighted path to God and to be deaf forever to criticism and doubt. God knows what our hearts need and my heart needed this sweet girl. My girl, Bunny Pearl.
Luna Blue
Luna Blue was Bunny Pearl’s first cria and born on a crazy day…a full moon day. I noticed that there were some buzzards flying low around where Bunny Pearl was lying out in the pasture and as I looked closer, I could see the amniotic sac showing and that Bunny Pearl was in labor.
For two weeks, I had her up at the barn because she was showing signs she was going to have her cria - and sure enough - the one day I just give up and let her out with the rest of the herd on a nice day to hang out, she decides to have that baby!
I ran out to the pasture and we waited to see if she was going to have this cria on her own and it was taking longer than usual. I called the vet about 45 minutes after we first noticed she was in labor and the vet said we would probably need to assist and pull the cria.
Bunny Pearl loves to eat and eventually, we got her to stand still and while she had her head in a feed bucket eating, Frank gently pulled and helped deliver Luna Blue. She was born with some laxity in her back leg so that her back leg turned out at a 90 degree angle and it was difficult for her to stand to nurse. So the first night on her her birthday, out in a pen at the barn in the dark, I milked her wild mama, held Luna Blue up to stand to nurse with bobcats hollering in the background down at the creek under that full moon. I told you, it was a crazy day! The laxity in her leg resolved at about 3 days old and she’s been fantastic ever since.
Luna Blue has one blue eye and a constant “smile” on her face. She is the little mama of the herd and she absolutely loves the sheep, especially new lambs. Each night the sheep are taken to the barn and when they are let out, Luna Blue sniffs and “counts” each one individually to make sure all of them are accounted for.
She has the sweetest personality, loves to give hugs and has no problem meeting a stranger. She’s a quick study and so attentive. She’s going to grow up to be a fabulous Mama Llama one day.
Sidenote: She loves Clint Harp <3
Cupid Valentino
Cupid Valentino was born on Valentine’s Day 2019. Cupid is as gentle as his mama, Bunny Pearl. He has a playful side and wants to run the show with the boys.
He has a knack for getting himself into some precarious situations and it would be no surprise at all to walk out and find him with a lawn chair wrapped around his head or waiting at our front gate ready to make a run for it. He comes to see me every morning at the barn and he loves giving kisses like King Cotton used to do.
He has the sweetest eyes. His fondness for causing trouble in playful ways and that sweet face gets him a pass every single time. Beware, when Cupid aims his arrow, he will steal your heart!
Pistol Annie
Pistol Annie was my 50th birthday present from my husband Frank. We were in the throws of the pandemic February 2021. We couldn’t safely have a party with all of our friends and family and I was pretty bummed about it. Frank came to me and said, “Since we can’t have a party for your birthday, why don’t you get that llama you’ve been wanting.” She is one of the best birthday presents I ever got!
She was chosen for us by a trusted friend and breeder because of her demeanor and temperament. She can be sassy, but the one thing she excels at is confidence! She never meets a stranger. She knows what she wants and greeting you at the fence is her number one goal. She is respectful of your space and she has a way of connecting one on one with the guests here at the farm.
Pistol Annie is the mother of Trulee, who was born in March 2023. She is a wonderful mother, attentive to every twitch her baby makes, so calm and patient.
A quirky fact about Pistol Annie: In the summer, she doesn’t want to be casually hosed down like some of the llamas do. She wants water to come at her like a tsunami when it’s being thrown from a bucket! Like I said, she’s confident!
Silver Belle
Her story is coming soon!
Lil D
His story is coming soon!
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is tall and stretchy like a runway model and if she could, I think she would wear heels, a big hat and sip champagne somewhere on a beach in the French Riviera. She was timid and smaller when she got here, and soon after, she shot up from a gangly teenager to a long legged confident Queen.
She is the “Aunt” of the herd. She watches over everyone when they deliver crias and sniffs all the new babies to check them out. For a year, we waited on a cria of her own and it never happened, or if she did give birth, we never saw it. Things like that happen in the country. So we waited for another opportunity one day.
Remember the Spring Break story about Bruce? Well, she was that hottie he could not resist apparently that year. Surprise! The result of that surprise was Sophie Jo, born in February 2019, and she is going to grow up to be just like her Mama Llama.
I helped deliver Sophie Jo because Cinnamon was having problems and was not progressing well. This was the first time ever, I have had to glove up and go in - on a wild llama. I’ve done many things, but this, with a llama, was a first.
Our relationship has changed tremendously since then. She actually allows me to touch her just a tad bit longer than she used to. Maybe one day we will work our way up to being led on a halter. When we achieve this - trust me - her and I are going to be sipping champagne in the pasture wearing our hats and celebrating that little victory.
King Cotton
King Cotton was the first cria born here at Laughing Llama Farm and when he was born he had that white crown of cotton and being the first - the name just came naturally.
When he was about a week old, got really sick with a virus similar to Rotavirus like we get. He rode in the car in my lap to the vet and his chances for survival were slim. We brought him home and I spent 2 weeks at the barn night and day nursing him back to health. His Mama, Callie, was not to thrilled I was constantly hands on with her baby, but as he started to get better, she started to get used to the idea. He was the first to start halter training at a really young age and part of the training was to allow me to handle him with a wild Mama always watching.
Out of all the llamas, King Cotton is the only one who will “give kisses” on command. He LOVES to go for walks. He is genuinely a big hearted llama with an attitude of gratitude. So attentive and never misses a thing. He can read you like a book. He’s my baby. I’d move mountains for this guy. His future offspring, if they are anything like him - lucky us - as he becomes the new herd sire here at Laughing Llama Farm.
Unfortunately, we lost our magnificent King Cotton in October of 2019. This was like losing my best barn buddy, my most enjoyable “work” buddy. He taught me so much. He was a very rare wonderful soul.
I know King Cotton is saving me all the kisses up there in Heaven.
Chianti
Chianti came here to Laughing Llama Farm in February of 2019 and he is the old man of the group. He is 15 years old and an ex show llama that then became a guard for an alpaca farm near Dallas for 10 years before coming here to us. He has a gentle spirit and the second he gets a halter on, it’s SHOWTIME! Since he was trained early on in his life by someone else, he knows other commands than the other llamas know and when he heard them again for the first time from me, he fell in line perfectly.
He is a magnificent guard. He can see something literally a 1/2 mile away on the hill and he is tracking it and has absolutely no fear. The sheep and new lambs have nothing to fear with Chianti around. Nothing gets past him. My nickname for him is “The Gate Keeper”. Anyone in or out of this entire place gets the once over by him. If you happen to be at the barn, he is literally the first one to the gate looking for a hand out and telling you Hi!
Sophie Jo
Sophie Jo was born February 24, 2019, just 10 days after Cupid Valentino. Let me introduce you to a fighter. She is a resilient, trusting llama with a heart of gold.
Sophie Jo had some issues with some lesions on her face that were very hard to treat. This was an ongoing issue for YEARS. It cause ulcers in her eyes and despite all the treatments and visits to the vet, we were unable to eradicate the issue.
In August of 2022, I took her to the vet for one more try and as one last ditch effort. There was some discussion of having her put down that day, but I felt like we were not done just yet. What if we had missed something? My line of thinking is to never give up. She was still standing, and although she was blind from the ulcers in her eyes, she was still able to get to feed and water.
We treated her with some different meds that are actually for dogs. My dad just had radiation treatments and my mom made an arnica salve for his radiation burns. I combined the vet treatments, the arnica salve and some other old school remedies. I hit her with everything I could throw at her. But first, I had to train her to let me touch her face and eyes for the treatments. This was difficult because of the lesions, swelling and blindness. But also because llamas do not like being touched on the face or ears.
What an undertaking! I worked with her every single day for just a few minutes and just her and I. She started to improve and feel better. When she felt better, she was open to take things further each day. Next thing I knew, she was coming to me ready for her treatments and LOVED it! She felt better and deep down I feel that she knew the progress we were making was due to her trust in me and her routine to the habit of receiving that one on one love and attention.
There will be times when the easy way out is the fastest way to end your suffering. In reality, the long hard road is the true way to recovery. Being challenged in life is inevitable, being defeated is optional.
Sophie Jo is a winner!
Kevin
KevZEN, is what we call him. He has the sweetest disposition. You will find Kevin out in the pasture with the girls, as he is a non-breeder. He came to Laughing Llama Farm summer 2023 and arrived in the back of a van! Was he bothered? Nope! He was so calm and gentle that I actually, jokingly asked, if he was aware he was on this planet.
It took just one full day here to realize what a laid back love bug he truly is. He fit in perfectly and the girls accepted him into their pasture quickly. He has taken a certain fondness to Sue, our cow here at the farm. They are an unlikely couple for sure, but she doesn’t mind having her little KevZen around and I don’t think he even know she’s a cow. He is so accepting. As we all should be!
Kevin is a water baby! In the summer, he has a pool up at the barn and he loves to get in it and sit under the big fans. If I had one llama to take with me on a river float trip, it would be him. Chill. No drama. We could float all day and watch the world go by, one cloud at a time. His shirt would say, “No matter what happens, somebody will find a way to take it too seriously.”
Llamaste, KevZen. <3
Trulee
Her story is coming soon!