Life is Grand and Love is in the Air!

Tuesday the stars where just right and the gods where with me.. This is Rasputin and he is the male of the year here at Larkspur Funny Farm. It was not an easy choice this year as to who would be the breeding male but I really wanted to put more color back into the herd and this guy is perfect. Rasputin has perfect body structure, amazing horns but most of all that fleece is to die for - his staple length was on average 9 inches with a handle that makes you just want to pet it for hours. His brother Rafael has a staple length of 12 inches but he is pure white so I went with color...

I have been waiting for him to separate himself from the pack of two year old males for sometime now - much safer to move him out if I do not have all the other males trying to get my affections - you know horns and all. Tuesday was the day! As it happened while doing afternoon chores Rasputin decided to hang back from the guys as they went out for their evening grazing in the back pasture. Before the others could hear I crept into the pasture, closed the gates and then walked Rasputin out. As he cleared the last gate the boys saw what I was up to and came running. I got the gates locked before they could reach me and the crying began. With just my Shepard's hook I gave a tap on the ground and Rasputin started walking forward. Just then Llama Boy came a running - I asked him to assist me in moving Rasputin across the farm and to the goat girls. With such ease Llama Boy and I slowly walked this large, proud billy across the farm and towards his awaiting girls. As we approached the girls the came a running to the fence line and screamed with delight. We all stopped for a moment to let Rasputin have a chance to touch noses with everyone through the fence. He has not been this close to a girl in two years so it was a bit overwhelming - the greetings had stopped and now came the time to get him to go through the gates. We made it through the first set. I locked them behind me. Now comes the hard part - not to get between him and the girls - this is where folks make the mistake and get hurt. With my hook I tapped the second gate to clear the goats away, then opened it and stepped thru and to the side. Rasputin took slow steps forward and thru the gate. I then closed the gate and move into the barn. I put down some hay in all the feeders so to give everyone something to do as they took their time to meet and greet. You see if you give the breeding male something to do other then just jumping the girls the process goes much kinder and all will be safe in the process. No slam, bam, thank you I am out here at this farm. I want the male to take his time, select those who are ready and give the others a chance to come into heat at their own pace. Also, I do not set myself up for the male thinking he has to protect the girls from me - we want this to go by the numbers and in the process not hurt me...

As everyone ate, the girls took their time to greet Rasputin and he slowed down the "Male Dance" to a crawl. By evening time they where laying down and chewing their meal without any chasing and hiding. The girls sat in their family groups and Rasputin was sitting at the top of the hill looking like he had won the lottery. What warmed my heart was to see the two llama girls (who have watched over him since he was little) had their charge back with them - they greeted by nose touches and I found them sitting within 2 feet of him as night graced the farm.

All in all the GREAT DAY at the Funny Farm!!