Farmamerica Discovery Days features llamas

“The alpaca’s hair is so soft, she feels like a stuffed animal,” commented Brenda Zachrison, proprietor of Llama Mama Minnesota, based out of Hamburg, Minn. Zachrison was standing among a small crowd of children holding brushes, all of them simultaneously stroking her impressively calm animals from all sides.

 

During “MEA Discovery Days” at Farmamerica on Thursday and Friday, Oct. 16 and 17, the three llamas and the one alpaca supplied by Llama Mama Minnesota were featured guests, available only for a few hours at midday on Friday. 

 

Groups of children and families attending Discovery Days were offered a range of activities on both days, including face painting, crafts, pumpkin painting, tram rides around the grounds and the opportunity to tour the organization’s numerous sites. Pumpkins used for the event had been raised on the Farmamerica grounds.

 

Roughly 200  people took part over the two days. According to Kari Wadd, program coordinator, children attended with parents and grandparents, and sometimes as part of outings sponsored by daycare programs. This marks the third year the Discovery Days event has been held at Farmamerica.

 

Wadd mentions the forecast for the two days had been a source of concern, it was inviting to be outdoors most of the two days of the event. “We were glad to have welcomed families to Farmamerica this fall weekend. The llama and alpacas were new guests to Farmamerica and so much fun! The opportunity to share a type of farm animal we don't normally have on site made for a unique and very fun experience.”

 

Out on the field, Zachrison described the differences between her two most docile animals, llama Graycee, and alpaca Coco. She mentioned that llamas tend to be larger and have longer, curved ears which she described to the children as being shaped “like a banana” compared to the alpaca’s straighter appendages, which she said were more like carrots.

 

Zachrison said she has been working with llamas since her children leased them as project animals in 4-H beginning about 14 years ago. She has owned her animals for the past six years, and says she chooses the animals based on their demeanor more than their color or size. “We do our best to find the calm ones,” she observes.

 

Three of her four animals are already “therapy registered,” and the fourth is in training toward that goal. Zachrison comments “Llamas have long necks, which make them perfect for hugging.”

 

Llama Mama Minnesota offers its animals for a diverse range of uses, including visiting care facilities, delivering “Llama grams,” and in one case even as ring bearers at a wedding. They are available for birthday parties, family gatherings, and special celebrations.