Month: January 2021

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Answering some of your questions about Black Frog Farm

I get a lot of good questions from people interested in what we do at Black Frog Farm. Some stuff I just take for granted because we’ve done this for so long, but they are great questions! Here are a few of the questions I’ve gotten, and I’ll try to answer as best I can 🙂

~Would I sell the fleece from my llamas?
Short answer – YES! Longer answer- it depends what you want to use it for. I get my llamas sheared every spring, and the fleece is put into large garbage bags initially. After that I “skirt” the fleeces – fancy term for going through each one and picking out the best fiber to use. The best fiber can be used for spinning, or felting, or be sent out to a fiber mill to be made into yarn or socks or hats, etc. The lower end fiber can be used for felting, or bird nesting balls (hang it out in spring and the birds LOVE to build their nests with it!!) or the fiber can even be used as dog bedding filling.
Anyone interested in buying raw fleece from me – the fleece before it goes to be milled- get in touch with me before May.

~What do I do for bad weather on the farm?
This is a year round concern for us. Since having outdoor animals I’ve become utterly obsessed with watching the weather! In winter it’s a matter of keeping the animals dry, and having dry bedding they can nestle into to keep warm. So the important thing is to have the animal coops in good condition, and add additional tarping or boarding up to keep the snow and ice out. Animals also need an abundance of feed, and clean water to drink. None of our animals have heated shelters, which is for a couple reasons. First, the chance of fire is too high with heaters in shelters with straw or bedding. Second, the animals are all acclimated to the colder weather by not heating them throughout the fall as it gets colder gradually. The goats and llamas grow in thick coats to keep them dry and warm. The chickens molt in fall and get new feathers to help keep their body heat in during the winter.
In summer we can get some bad thunderstorms around our area. The important thing is that the animals have shelter they can run to if we get hail, heavy rain, or high winds. It’s also important that we keep up with tree trimming around the animal shelters so no branches fall onto the shelter. Sometimes, it’s simply out of our control with weather. In cases of tornado warnings or destructive winds we make sure to have the animals be able to decide to stay in or run out of the shelters if needed. The animals are pretty smart weather wise and seem to know what to do to stay safe. We give the animals their options, and then make our way to safety for ourselves.

~Who takes over the farm when I’m sick?
This is a good question in a pandemic time! Thankfully we haven’t had any major illness here, but I keep a routine for many reasons and possible illness is one of them. My husband and daughter both know the daily routines of animal feeding and care, and Aubrey usually helps daily with them. If she or I are sick or cannot be home for some reason, the other person can take over fairly easily and make sure everyone is cared for. In cases of us needing to be gone for a couple days, or take a vacation, it becomes more complicated. I have a network of great friends, neighbors, and family that are willing to help us out and each take on an animal’s care.
Routine is important because it helps cut down the amount of time we have to take to care for everything. It’s also helpful because the animals know the routine and know exactly what they should do at feeding time. It makes it much easier for us!

~What other animals could we consider on our farm?
We are limited in space for some of the biggest farm animals. Cows and horses really aren’t in the cards for us due to their intense grazing needs and our lack of large amounts of grassy acres for them. I can’t rule out any of the smaller animals because as soon as I say no one seems to show up at our farm!

~Would we consider doing an open house for the public?
Yes we are doing just that! April 30- May 2 we are participating in a small farm tour in Northeast Wisconsin. We are one of 5 farms that visitors can tour, for free, and meet the farmers and see their operations.
Black Frog Farm is offering an opportunity to meet our goats, chickens, turkeys, ducks and llamas. We will also have baby ducks and chickens to see, along with geese. Geese will be in full on nesting season, so those two will be in their pen with no visitors, sadly. We also will be having times throughout the weekend to walk a llama along our wooded trail. It’s an opportunity to learn more about our animals and what we do.
I’ll be posting more information on our Instagram page and Facebook page in coming weeks!
Anyone interested in a tour of our farm can also contact us via email, Facebook, or text/call to set up a time for a personal tour.

~Do we ever have “animal escapes?” How do we get the animals back?
Yes, we’ve had escapees here a couple times. Most often it’s the goats who take advantage of an open gate while we are trying to get a wheelbarrow of hay into their pen. In the case of goats we try to round them up as best we can and corner them to get a hold of their horns and bring them back to the pen. We haven’t had anyone escape through the fencing, and I walk the fence lines regularly to ensure there isn’t a way out!
We’ve had one llama escape happen when Nick and I were on vacation, and Aubrey was tending the llamas with some relatives. The gate was left open and Banana took advantage of it! Nick and I heard about it after the fact, but it sounded like some intense herding was needed to get Banana to run back into her pen. Aubrey and my Sis in Law are still holding grudges against Banana for that time! LOL!

~Why do you want all the work of owning a farm?
Simple answer, not all of it is work for me! I love being outside, and with the animals, growing my own herbs, knowing where my food comes from, and meeting new people. So our farm has offered all of that to me while being able to work at home. 2020 was a year of big changes for me, like so many other people. After leaving a long time job I decided to find outside the home work that would allow me to pursue my own farming dream at the same time. I have a job now that allows me full time work in winter and part time in Spring, Summer and Fall. So in 2020 we decided to jump in fully and see where the farm ideas take us. It’s a leap of faith for sure!!

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So, why llamas at Black Frog Farm?

I often get asked why I chose to add llamas to our farm, and what I plan to do with them. I found my love for llamas by accident, and now I can’t imagine my life without them.
Here’s what happened…
I had heard some llamas that were good guards for goats. Well, we have goats and goats are basically a walking meal for predators. Especially fainting goats, who topple over at the first signs of anything scary. I did all kinds of research on llamas and figured that I could handle caring for one and have it guard my goats. Enter Banana. Banana was our first llama that I purchased from a farmer through a Craigslist ad. As far as llamas go she is basically the WORST animal I could have gotten as a new llama owner! That whole “hindsight is 20/20” thing can be annoying. Banana is crabby, spitty, hard to handle and hard to halter. Let’s just say that I got baptized in llama spit early on. I also found that Banana was a good guard, only because she is territorial and not because she ever bonded with our goats. In fact, she barely tolerated the goats. They annoyed her ! I love that llama though…maybe because she is such a cranky animal and it’s sometimes amusing!

Fast foward a couple years and I have obviously added to my llama herd. I’ve learned by trial and error how to manage the Banana’s of the herd, and also the super easy going girls like Princess. The more I learned about llamas, and the more I had an opportunity to do hands on work with them, I found them easier to keep as pets. No amount of reading books, or blogs, or videos could really help me prepare for llamas other than just learn as I go.
They are very unique animals, and different than anything else I’ve ever worked with. They kind of remind me of cats in larger bodies – sometimes with a feral attitude, and ALWAYS judging you. They are incredibly smart animals, and I’ve even had to learn to how to move around them in a way that will allow them to trust me.

Up to this point our llamas have been the most useful for us to chill with, and for our farm promotion. Llamas aren’t a common thing around our area. There are several alpaca farms near us, but once you’ve been up close to both alpacas and llamas you can definitely feel the difference between the two. Alpacas usually go about 150#, whereas our llamas range 250-350#, so they are much larger than an alpaca. Since llamas are unique to our area people are interested in learning about them and being able to be up close to them and experience them. The highlight of any of our farm tours are when guests have the opportunity to get kisses from one of our girls, and are able to touch their soft coats. It’s hard to describe how it feels to be amongst a herd of llamas while they just do their own thing. It’s very rewarding.

On the list of llama usage is using them as pack animals. All over the world they are used as beasts of burden. They have become very popular for large game hunters in the western United States to help carry out supplies and animal meat from mountainous areas. Some llamas are good for guarding herds of goats or sheep (although NOT Banana 🙂 They are also used as show animals, and for breeding. In fact, the more I’ve learned about llamas I’ve found that showing and breeding is actually an incredibly popular thing in many parts of the country. People are very serious about their llamas, and travel all over the country to show them and win championships to showcase their farms. I hadn’t been exposed to it because it really isn’t a thing in our area of Wisconsin.

Breeding llamas for conformation (how their body structure is) and color, and especially for disposition is a serious undertaking. Well bred llamas can command high prices, and ones who consistently show well and produce high quality offspring are extraordinarily valuable. There is a lot of research that goes into breeding, including researching bloodlines. Reputable breeders aren’t breeding llamas just to sell them. High quality and well bred llamas are registered with the ILR (International Llama Registry), which provides a map of each llama’s family tree back for generations. Breeding requires thought into what you are looking for in your herd. I have found that every breeder has different opinions what their herd should look like, but the one thing they all seem to agree on is the disposition of the animal. As a llama owner I am still deciding on my preferences for fleece structure and body conformation, but I am pretty set on disposition. I want animals that are easy to handle, good mothers (if used for breeding), respectful of humans, and easy going. Other than Banana, all of our llamas have been registered with the ILR. It has become an important aspect for us as owners.

I’ve gotten to know some of the breeders in the llama world in the last couple years. Everyone has been incredibly helpful in me learning how to care for my animals. It’s immediately obvious that these people care about the welfare of their animals, and helping others to provide the best as well. They also care about llamas in general. Every reputable breeder is always trying to improve their llama herd in their breeding, and not out to make a quick buck. The llama world has been a very welcoming one, which I have greatly appreciated.

In spring each year we shear(shave their fleece) our llamas to help them stay cool through the summer. Shearing also helps me see their skin and body condition a little better, since their coats can be pretty thick. We have a shearer that comes to our farm and does each llama according to my instructions how I would like them to look. He also trims their toenails for us, and if any vaccinations are needed I give them at the same time since they are confined during the shearing process. Depending on the coat, or fiber of each llama I can get up to a contractor sized bag of fleece off of each one. The fleeces are very different on each of our animals. We purchased some llamas with fleece that is softer and longer in length. LLamas with this kind of fleece are known as “Suri” llamas. The fiber is long, soft, and curly and almost looks like dreadlocks on the animal. It sits flatter to the body and can create a beautiful yarn. Our Suri llamas are Princess, Prince, and Kisses. Because the “loft” or how it sits on the animal it doesn’t provide as much warmth to the animal in the harshness of winter. I purchased coats for our Suri llamas for the worst part of winter to ensure they stay warm enough. Our higher loft animals have more traditional coats – really fluffy and extends off the body which makes the llamas look even larger than they are. Our llamas with this kind of coat are Cloud, Banana, Pearl, and Peach. Generally these llamas are a little better in winter at handling the elements. In fact, on snowy days in winter they will sit out in the pasture with a blanket of snow on their backs. They are so well insulated that the snow doesn’t even melt. I do have blankets ready for Peach and Pearl this year though. Peach is an older gal, and age hasn’t been kind to her. Because of her elderly status I might have to blanket her depending on how cold it gets. Pearl is still just a baby, so she will likely get a coat during the deepest parts of winter this year because of her age alone. She has a fine “baby” fiber yet, that has to thicken up with age.

Our daughter Aubrey is enamored with the llamas. If anything has become the importance of these animals it’s that she has had her hands in helping care for and raise them. In the last couple years she has joined the local FFA (Future Farmers of America) group through her school, and looks forward to being able to show a few of our llamas in upcoming fairs. Both Nick and I have been very proud of the Aubrey’s work ethic for our animals. It’s also important to us as parents that she has the opportunity to grow up learning how to care for other beings.
Aubrey has been learning how to care for our llamas right alongside me, so it’s been an adventure for us both. It’s been enjoyable for me to learn so much about llamas! I’ll never know enough – each day brings something new to handle and learn from.

I am hopeful that the future of Black Frog Farm will include being able to breed llamas, and do our part in contributing to the improvement of the species. I also look forward to educating people about llamas, and sharing our love of them. We have people stopping along the road sometimes just to watch them play, or even try to figure out what they are.