by Lisa Dreggors

Thirty Years With Llamas

by Lisa Dreggors

Sunshine State Llamas • Silver Springs FL

It’s hard to believe, when I look back, that thirty years have passed. I have had many memorable experiences with our llamas. Tried to teach others and share my knowledge. Our journey began in August 1987. I was raising sight hounds (afghans, borzoi or Russian wolfhounds, saluki, and whippets). We had land that was given to me and my sisters from our mother. Looking for a grazing animal that would not be eaten, my sister, Margie Hendon, suggested llamas. So started Sunshine State Llamas Pick a Pak Llama Ranch. Later we changed our name to Sunshine State Llamas only.

Llamas were very uncommon in the South and information was hard to come by. There was the International Llama Association (ILA) and Llama Association of North America (LANA). Both were based out west. We didn’t have computers to share knowledge. It was written word or phone.

Upon searching we found a new association for llamas in the south. Sunshine State Llama Association, it was renamed Southern States Llama Association in 1990 or SSLA. SSLA was new, exciting and it’s members were eager for knowledge. We were a group of 30-40 who met as often as possible. Myra Freeman wrote many observations and articles about llamas. We attended workshops with Dr. David Pugh at Nancy and Randal Greene’s farm. It really was llamas 101, for we were all beginners.

In our first decade we experienced many hard knocks. We didn’t know how to go in and reposition a dystocia thus many a sad loss. Ultrasounds were done internally and loss of life from torn rectums occurred. We were learning about deworming and treated every month needed or not. Heat stress in the south was way too common. Vicious fire ants would attack any down animal.

As we now know llamas red blood cells are irregular in shape but lab values and this simple knowledge were just being developed. Each time an animal was hospitalized at a vet school we gained more baseline normal and abnormal labs.

Our first show with SSLA was at the Alphareta Horse Park in Georgia. We had halter, showmanship and obstacle classes. Our stud Larry competed in the obstacle class. He was about fifteen. We had purchased him six months earlier. It took six adults and a lasso to catch him. This shows the ability for llamas to learn at any age. At this show we met a couple from Georgia. She was all dressed up in a pretty dress and had heals that made it hard to walk in the sand. But she was interested in learning all she could and had love for our llamas. That’s where we met Tracy Pearson. The rest is history.

Llama prices were high. Females usually only sold with a male. Searching for quality animals I traveled to Bend and Sisters Oregon.The llama capital of the US. I visited 20 plus farms one of which was Patterson Farms which had hundreds of llamas.A wonderful memory was going into a large warm barn with over fifty moms and babies. Touching all those soft beautiful babies was life altering for me. Then the barn doors were opened to happy pronging babies running all around. I WAS HOOKED!!!! What hooked you?

SSLA grew and we had new members joining all the time. Llamas 101 I pray will always be needed to teach new owners.

In our second decade we grew. Our farm had over 120 llamas. So I must tell you a story. There were many sales going on to liquidate herds in the early 2000’s. My sister, Margie and I bought a Jr. Herd sire. He looked just like his sire.We sent DNA to the International Llama Registry (ILR) to register him. The ILR corresponded that his sire was not as listed. They did determine he had one of three sires in the database. Further testing needed to be done. We received a letter that his sire had been identified. However his dam

was incorrect.WHAT??? OK Sire found but not as listed but now dam not as listed or found-- more tests... After much time, work, and phone calls we found the truth.

His real dam had her eggs flushed and fertilized by his sire. Artificially Inseminated (AI) into current black dam who was bought at a sale. She was brought to her new farm and bred to a black and white stud. A baby was born from this black female who was black and white just like the supposed sire. Thus total confusion. ILR was on the ball. They figured it out. Our herd sire to be was one of the first successful AI babies.

Many new farms were starting. A new phenotype was coming, wooly llamas and suri’s. Computers were coming of age and suddenly information was available. Some accurate, some not. You did not have to go to meetings to get knowledge. But you could not replace the relationships that had been developed over the years. This was a time of educating new owners for me. Receiving many calls and emails for help. More people were breeding, education was at a deeper level.

We attended classes at Jack and Tracy Pearson’s farm, Pearson Pond Llama Ranch. We were taught how to correct dystocia using actual fetuses. Andy Tillman taught us about genotype, phenotype and basic color genetics. Dr. Norman Evans gave us levels and normal lab values for camelids in the south. He developed feed specifically for the south and taught us about nutrition. Training was taught by Marty McGee Bennett and John Mallon. They had different techniques but each owner was better equipped to understand the behavior of our animals. During this time we had a real push to develop 4H and FFA with the llamas. It was great to see the children with their big llamas doing anything they asked. The kids and leaders worked very hard to train the kids and llama. I would say our second decade had deeper levels of education, increased breeding and increased membership.

Decade 3 made us pay for some of our sins over the past 20 years. Over breeding and falling prices caused the need for rescue. Southeastern Llama Rescue (SELR) was developed. This was a turbulent time with breeders selling their herds. It was a time when many chose between love or money with their animals. Our farm shifted from breeding to rescue. SSLA has always supported SELR when possible. Claudia Hammack is our Florida representative. Most rescues have been up north or out west, however, in the past few years rescue has grown in Florida. We over medicated with dewormers and the worms developed resistance. Now we use FAMACHA© scoring to help determine worm load and deworm accordingly. Haemonchus has invaded our herds. Thanks to farms who allowed Dr. Lisa Williams and Bob Story from University of Georgia to come to their farms and collect blood and feces to develop a plan of care to eliminate Haemonchus. All of this was helped by grants from SSLA.

As we move forward we must encourage the youth, our future, to develop the love we have for our llamas. We are down to nineteen llamas at our farm. As we get older we must face our limitations. I see myself always having llamas in my life. They are too precious to loose. SSLA is the backbone of our llama community. With education, friendships and the goal to better serve our wooly brothers.

About the author: Lisa Dreggors has owned Sunshine State Llamas since 1987 with her husband Howard and sister Margie Hendon. She was one of the earliest members in SSLA and was also a founding member of the Florida Llama Association with Ron and Claudia Hartung (now the Florida Alpaca and Llama Association, FALA). Over the past thirty years she has mentored many new llama owners. At it’s peak Sunshine State Llamas had a herd of 120 llamas, making it the largest llama farm in Florida at the time. She has also been active in showing, 4H and rescue. Lisa worked as a registered nurse, specializing in Critical Care and Management but her career ended on 2006 due to an injury assisting a patient. Lisa Dreggors lives with her husband Howard and her old llama girls on their farm in Silver Springs Florida.

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