Llamas are very sociable animals and need to live in a herd. Just like people, llamas have very different personalities. Our llamas live in two separate groups, each one having its own social hierarchy. See if you can guess which llamas get along with each other!
Felix "Grandpa Llama"
Felix was the first ever cria to be born into the herd. A surprise event after his Mum, Patsy jumped into his Dad's paddock and back out again without letting anyone know what she'd been up to! Felix went on to become the stud male, fathering many cria for us over the years, who all inherited his calm and friendly manner. He retired from stud duties in 2012 and was happily living out his retirement, until Dave arrived! Dave is actually Felix's grandson and the pair of them struck up an immediate friendship when Dave had to be weaned from mum, Hattie. Felix and Dave are now inseparable, mainly because Felix is the only one with the patience to put up with the antics of a highly energetic young llama.
Born 1st July, 2004
Sire: Monty Dam: Patsy
Hattie "Calmer Llama"
Hattie is a small, white llama with blue eyes. Smaller than the average llama, she is also really calm and serene in nature - making her the ideal llama for displays and shows as she is less intimidating for people who have never met a llama before. She had her first son, Dave with Eric in the summer of 2017 and now enjoys semi-retirement. Hattie loves people and enjoys a new challenge, so will often join in with off-lead agility sessions.
Born 17th July, 2007
Sire: Felix Dam: Molly
Lady Jane "Appaloosa Llama"
Lady Jane joined us in the summer of 2017 with herd mates Jenny, Misja and Ezra. They were part of a larger herd, dispersed by the RSPCA after their previous owner ceased giving them the care and attention they deserved. She has a very gentle nature and is fully halter-trained. She is very laid back and is happiest lounging around in her field on a hot summer's day. Her dappled coat means she is an appaloosa llamas, believed to be a genetic throwback to the llamas' wilder cousin, the guanaco.
Born 2010
Sire: Warrior Dam: Louise
Misja "Champion Llama"
Misja joined us in the summer of 2017 with herd mates Jenny, Lady Jane and Ezra. They were part of a larger herd, dispersed by the RSPCA after their previous owner ceased giving them the care and attention they deserved. Misja has an absolutely stunning grey fleece, which gradually turns browner over the summer months. She is a tall and majestic llama and has been crowned the 2016, 2017 and 2019 National Champion Llama. She was Reserve Champion in 2018. Misja loves attention and loves people, although she isn't particularly keen on the fuss and grooming that is involved with getting her fleece into championship standard! She is fully halter-trained and will have a go at agility, but isn't renown for her sporting prowess!
Born 2010
Sire: Max, Dam: Susannah
Fizz "Drama Llama"
What can I say about Fizz? She is the original Drama Llama! Everything is too much trouble and she doesn't like people very much! She hates being groomed! She knows she's very beautiful and I suspect there's more than a little bit of guanaco in her genetics! She does however, love her little sister, Emily and the pair of them can often be found together, no doubt complaining about the weather, the quality of her hay and the injustice of having the peace of her afternoon shattered by me turning up to check on how she is!
Born 15th May, 2011
Sire: Felix Dam: Alex
Ollie "Famous Llama"
Ollie, who had to be hand reared after his Mum died, is super tame and loves showing off! He has been on TV, in a film and countless promotional shoots. He absolutely loves attention and has been the British National Agility Champion llama, three times - most recently in 2019. He has also been the national egg and spoon race champion! He can often be found dressing up, but is equally at home behaving more responsibly by carrying his bespoke pack, full of post, down to the local post box. Yes! the Hill House Llamas are eco-friendly!
Born 22nd May, 2011
Sire: Felix Dam: Molly
Jenny "Bossy Llama"
Jenny joined us in the summer of 2017 with herd mates Lady Jane, Misja and Ezra. They were part of a larger herd, dispersed by the RSPCA after their previous owner ceased giving them the care and attention they deserved. She has developed into a stunning llama with a huge personality. Her previous lack of food means she treats every mealtime as if it may be her last. She hums continually if food is about and tries to snatch every last morsel (her history means she is not very good at sharing). She even managed to train her horse-owning neighbours into bringing her slices of carrot by running to the shared fence-line whenever she heard them arriving and shouting at them continually until they handed her carrots over the hedge! She is one of the more dominant herd characters, but despite her background, still loves people.
Born 2011
Sire: Warrior Dam: Quilla
Emily "Timid Llama"
Our youngest female llama, Emily was our last female cria to be born into the herd. Her Mum, Alex became super-posessive of her and actively fought off any human who came anywhere near, 'her baby'. This was quite funny to begin with, but caused issues as Emily grew up. She is a lovely, gentle llama - but is quite fearful of humans and will rarely interact with them. She is best friends with older sister, Fizz and the pair of them are often off on their own little adventures, well away from the rest of the herd.
Born 19th May, 2012
Sire: Felix Dam: Alex
Eric "Woolly Llama"
Freddie's younger brother! He came to live with us on 27th July 2013 after his previous owner decided he didn't want to keep llamas any more. He immediately formed a strong bond with Ollie and for several years the pair of them were inseparable. In the summer of 2017, Eric went 'on holiday' to a separate paddock with Hattie, Fizz and Emily. Both Fizz and Emily rejected his advances, but a year later, he and Hattie became the proud parents to Dave! Eric couldn't cope with his new-found hormones, so in Autumn, 2017 he was gelded and has reverted to his previous gentle manner, with just a little bit of gentle swagger about him, which has completed his character perfectly.
Born 1st May, 2012
Sire: Drizzle Dam: Susannah
Ezra "Curious Llama"
Ezra joined us in the summer of 2017 with herd mates Jenny, Misja and Lady Jane. They were part of a larger herd, dispersed by the RSPCA after their previous owner ceased giving them the care and attention they deserved. Ezra is a gelded male, who has been halter-trained, although his previous treatment means he is naturally quite wary of people. If you ignore him in the field, he will follow you around for ages, staying a couple of feet away, quietly observing what you are up to. Curiosity always gets the better of him and he'll edge closer and closer to get a better view of what you are doing - he is fascinated by mobile phones, particularly if they are ringing or making a noise! If you try and stroke him however, he's off in a flash and that's the last you'll see of him for that day!
Born 2013
Sire: Drizzle Dam: Heidi
Freddie "Guard Llama"
Freddie came to us on 27 July 2013 after his previous owner decided not to keep llamas anymore and broke up the herd. He gets bullied by the other llamas, so often hangs out on his own. He is totally wild and untrained, but very timid so I always have to keep back a few treats especially for Freddie, handing them to him when nobody else is watching or they would steam in and steal them from under his nose. Poor old Freddie not only puts up with this treatment, but is the herd guardian - always on the lookout for danger and sounding the alarm call, warning the others as soon as anything is amiss. Ezra is the only one to ever spend time with Freddie, they usually spend a few hours each day together, before Ezra heads back for a chat with the main herd. Being a very woolly llama, Freddie is shorn once a year and his fleece is absolutely amazing to spin with.
Dave "Baby Llama"
Dave was born here on 6th June, 2018.
Sire: Eric, Dam: Hattie