Llamas, RVing and Scottish Highland Games - ''Facts For New Llama Owners''

Llamas and their relatives are no strangers to our land.
The camel family originated on the central plains of
North America and spent their first 40 million years
right here in our own backyard! Then, some three
million years ago, camels migrated to Asia and Africa,
while llama-like animals dispersed to South America.
Just 10,000-12,000 years ago, at the end of the last ice
age, the camelids became extinct in North America.
Meanwhile, in the highlands of Peru some 4,000-
5,000 years ago, llamas were domesticated, placing
them among the oldest domestic animals in the world.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, private animal
collectors and zoos reintroduced them to their original
North American homeland. Today there are an
estimated seven million llamas and alpacas in South
America (in approximately equal numbers) and some
115,000 llamas and 15,000 alpacas in the United
States and Canada.

BUYING AND VALUE
If you are looking for a pack animal, wool producer or
pet that is easy to care for, llamas are the answer. You
will generally find that females are more expensive
than males. Prices vary depending upon age, health,
size, wool, color, conformation and use. Llamas are
by far one of the easiest to care for of any domestic
livestock, and are an investment the entire family will
enjoy.

Before you buy your llama, visit with and talk to as
many llama owners as possible. Consult the
International Lama Registry (ILR) for those in your
region. Base your final selection on the animal(s) that
most appeal to your interests as an owner or breeder.
Be sure to ask the previous owner for the International
Lama Registry (ILR) certificate, or date of birth and
the names of its sire and dam. Contact the ILR if you
have questions regarding registration.

CHARACTERISTICS
Whether viewed in a pasture or glimpsed in the wild,
all Lamas have a striking beauty owing to their elegant
wool and graceful posture. Llama and alpaca wool
ranges from white to black, with shades of gray,
brown, red and roan in between. Markings can be in
a variety of patterns from solid to spotted. Little
variation is found in guanacos or vicuñas, which are
light brown with white undersides.
Mature llamas weigh an average of 280-350 pounds,
but range from 250-500 pounds. Full body size is
reached by the fourth year, and, while there are no
obvious differences between the sexes, males tend to
be slightly larger. They are long lived, with a normal
life span of 15-20 years.

Llamas have a unique digestive tract and are considered
a modified ruminant. They chew a cud to enhance the
breakdown of ingested forage. They have a hard upper
gum (no upper teeth in front), grinding upper and
lower molars in back, and an ingenious upper lip for
grasping forage in unison with the lower incisors.
Adult males develop large, sharp upper and lower
canines (“wolf teeth” or “fangs”) for fighting. You
should ask your veterinarian to remove these to prevent
injury to males pastured together or to females being
bred.

The llamas’ unique, specially adapted foot makes
them remarkably surefooted on a variety of terrain,
including sandy soils and snow. It is two-toed with a
broad, leathery pad on the bottom and curved nails infront.
The small, oblong, bare patches on the side of
each rear leg are not vestigial toes (“chestnuts” as
found on horses), but metatarsal scent glands, suspected
to be associated with the production of alarm
pheromones. An additional scent gland is located
between the toes.

HOUSING AND FENCING
Simple but necessary preparations should be made
before you bring your new family member home.
Fencing can be woven wire, cattle wire panels, wooden
rails or poles, chain link or electric. Barbed wire does
work but is not recommended. Your fences should be
at least four feet high and dog proof if possible. A
three-sided shelter to provide shade and protection
from extreme heat, cold, wind and rain should also be
provided. If you have severe chill factors in winter, a
completely enclosed shed is necessary. Heat stress
should be a concern if you have hot, and especially
humid summers at which time a sprinkler, wading
pool or small pond are helpful. If your animals are
kept in a large pasture, a small 12-20 foot square catch
pen will make it easier to catch them. Feeding and
watering troughs should be clean, high enough to be
free of possible fecal contamination, and spacious
enough to allow access by all animals. Fresh water
should always be available. Shearing of long-wooled
llamas and alpacas is recommended in excessively hot
and/or humid climates.

CARE AND FEEDING
If you are familiar with the care of other domestic
livestock, you will find llamas comparatively easy to
maintain, with a minimum of veterinary assistance
required. If you are uncertain of the health of your new
animal, consider isolating it in sight of but separate
from your other animals for the first two weeks to
prevent accidental introduction of any illnesses, and to
give you both a chance to get acquainted. Make sure
it is eating and ruminating, as well as eliminating
pelleted feces. If you have not already done so, this is
the time to locate a veterinarian in your area. If he or
she is inexperienced with llamas, information is
available through ILR to handle problems which may
arise. It is recommended that you have your veterinarian
give your newcomer a general health check, and take
a fecal sample to determine if worming is necessary.

Although llamas have long been arid land dwellers,
they thrive in the wide array of temperate environments
throughout the United States and Canada, including
Alaska. They are highly adaptable feeders, being both
grazers (grasses and forbs) and browsers (shrubs and
trees). Because of a relatively low protein requirement
due to their efficient digestive systems, they can be
kept on a variety of pastures or hay. They eat about 2
to 4 percent of their body weight in dry matter every
day. Without pasture, a 100-pound bale of hay will last
an adult llama around ten days--good news, indeed, to
experienced horse and cattle owners! If you’re going
to graze your llamas, plan on about three to five
animals per acre on a moderate-producing pasture.

When good hay is available, grain is recommended
only for working pack animals and nursing females.
Sheep mineral and salt blocks (with selenium wherever
necessary) should be available free choice. Granulated
minerals are somewhat more wasteful than mineral
blocks, but are easier to eat since llamas can’t lick.
High-protein grain mixes prepared for other livestock
should generally not be given to a healthy llama on a
good diet, unless it’s a female nursing or close to
giving birth. Llamas are not prone to bloat, but have
been known to do so if they get into a grain bin. Avoid
over feeding llamas.

Llamas require less water than most domestic animals,
but should have an unlimited, fresh, clean supply at all times.
They tend to drink less in winter and when on
lush, green pasture, and more when working or
lactating, especially in summer.

Llamas communicate their moods with a series of tail,
body and ear postures, and vocalizations. Learning
this llama language is one of the joys of ownership.
Humming is a common manner of communication
between llamas, and indicates a variety of moods from
contentedness to aggression. Another interesting llama
expression is the shrill, rhythmic alarm call emitted at
the sight of a strange animal (especially dogs) or a
frightening situation. Spitting, usually related to food
disputes, is seldom directed at people unless a llama
has been mishandled or become imprinted on people
through bottle feeding as a baby. As with bottle-fed
stallions, bulls and rams, bottle-fed male llamas who
have not been gelded at an early age can be dangerous
as adults, because they lack a normal fear of people and
regard them as competitors.

Llamas are remarkably clean, and even large herds are
quite odorless. Dung-piling behavior is an important
means of spatial orientation and territorial marking for
these historically open habitat animals, and a
convenience when you clean their pens. By taking
advantage of this habit you can encourage your animals
to establish dung piles in a new pen by “prebaiting”
four to five sites per acre with a shovel full of llama
pellets. You may frequently see your llama rolling in
the dirt, taking a dust bath to help maintain a healthy,
fluffy coat of wool.

BREEDING AND REPRODUCTION
Female llamas are good mothers, and there is nothing
as delightful as the sight of their babies playing and
romping. Though females have been known to conceive
as early as four to six months, they should not be bred
until 18-24 months, depending on size and
development. While males may be fertile at seven to
nine months, they aren’t fully dependable breeders
until three years old when they are socially and sexually
mature. Llamas breed in a prone position (male on
top), and copulation may take up to 45 minutes. The
act of copulation induces ovulation (i.e. they ovulate
24-36 hours after mating). Gestation averages 350
days and a single offspring is produced; twinning is
rare. The average weight of a normal newborn llama
is 25-30 pounds, but can range from 18-40 pounds.

Because they are induced ovulators, llamas can give
birth throughout the year. Depending on your climate,
you should plan breeding to avoid births in the extreme
heat of summer and cold of winter. Births normally
occur in the daytime. From the onset of normal
presentation (of both feet and head) to birth, 10-45
minutes may elapse. Unlike most mammals, llama
mothers do not lick their newborn nor eat the afterbirth.
Llama young, called “crias” in South America, begin
walking within an hour and should nurse in one to two
hours. The placenta is usually passed within four
hours. Females are normally bred back three to four
weeks after giving birth, and pregnancy can be
determined 21 days or more after breeding through an
inexpensive laboratory test for progesterone from a
small blood sample. Another indication of pregnancy
is the female’s refusal to breed when reintroduced to
the sire.

Llamas, guanacos, alpacas and vicuñas can interbreed
and should therefore be pastured separately. Males
not intended for breeding are gelded at about two years
of age, and males which have had to be bottle fed must
be gelded as early as possible, to avoid abnormal
behavior. Geldings can make wonderful, affectionate
pets.