I actually just spoke with a lady about some and she was so sweet and I can tell that she really loves her llamas like we all do our goats.
I have read about Deborah's and I am certain some of the rest of you have them. I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT LLAMAS other than they spit! AND THAT THEY ARE SSOOOO CUTE!
I am curious about a few things like if one sex is sweeter or size difference etc. Care- anything that is different than a goat. This lady seems to feed hers about like a goat! Oh, and I know you have to strip there hair off once a year!
They really don't weigh anymore than a pony they are just tall and lanky under that hair!
Anyone give me an idea of what kinds of shots etc. are typical?
I am researching them on line too. I just wondered if anyone wanted to share, because I wouldn't want to make a huge mistake here. I realize we won't know til we actually have one and I know about the spitting but I WANT A NICE LLAMA! I don't want to get one and then have to go through what poor Dawn has w/ SERA!
Replies
Thanks, Diane, that is really sweet and I am absolutely not going to run out and get one this week after everything I am seeing I am a little scared to get one at all. I am so thrilled not only that you like yours but that you shared this with me.
I actually spoke to a lady yesterday who raises both llamas and alpacas in North Ala. /I am in South Ala. she obviously knows them well and has been raising them for a long time. Real sweet lady-I thought a gelding might be best and probably cheaper also. But she says that she actually sells her females that don't produce as cheap as she does the geldings. I wish I were sure I was ready cause she does have one gelding that I would really like to meet. It does seem from reading on the web-site that hers are pretty well trained. I know she told me that she can do her own hair cutting etc. on all of hers and she has 50 llamas and 50 alpacas. I think she shows them too.
I really appreciate all the advise and stories etc. I will continue to be reading, listening and learning etc. until I finally get llama ready one day!
Hi, Margaret! You're very smart to do your homework before you get llamas. I have two that I adopted from a sanctuary (a mother and her son), and I'm delighted to have them. They have never spit at me in the three years I've had them, and one had never really been handled at all, so I've put them through being sheared, getting shots and other annoyances without them ever behaving badly toward me. They are vigilant and will warn you by making a very strange noise if an unfamiliar animal comes onto your property. At the same time, they love the smaller animals they live with, which include sheep, ducks and chickens. Mine eat hay and a horse feed I get from Agway, although they could probably eat a basic goat feed. They do need their own minerals, which you can order online. They aren't snuggly and do prefer not to be touched very much, if at all, but they do like to have you around. You do need to shear them once a year, and if you find a good shearer, that person can probably also give shots and trim hooves. In areas where meningeal worm is common, they should get regular shots of ivermectin. You also need to be careful about the type of halter you buy for them - if it doesn't fit correctly, it can kill them by cutting off the airflow through their nostrils. You should probably try to find a local, knowledgeable, experienced llama owner and take a few lessons in handling and training. That person could probably find you a couple of nice, well-trained llamas. I can also tell you their very favorite treat in the whole world is Stud Muffins Horse Cookies. Even my shy, untrained llama will do pretty much anything for Stud Muffins.
Liver flukes are another bad parasite for llama's and Alpacas. The two llama's we had were brother and sister and complete opposites. The gelded male took care of the goats and was a sweetheart and the female would chase my husband around the barn and spit at him. If I got another one, I would have one that leads.
But don't buy a llama that was bottlefed. To learn why not, google "berserk llama syndrome" or "aberrant behavior" in llamas. Rather than thinking they're humans (like bottlefed baby goats), they think you're a llama, and that is especially bad with male llamas because they want to breed you and knock you down and chest bump you and dangerous things like that.
Llamas are not nearly as cute and cuddly as they look. They are kind of on the wild side. You really have to handle them a lot to get them trained and tame. Their care is actually similar to a goat, which is why I like them as guardians. They eat the same thing. They are semi-ruminants as they have two stomachs. The CDT vaccine works for them, and all of the dewormers are off-label, which is even more challenging than goats. Our shearer trims their hooves, gives them vaccine boosters, and deworms them when they shear them, so we don't have to do anything else the rest of the year. Some people give an injection of ivomec monthly if there is a big chance of meningeal worm, which goats can also get. It is transmitted to them if they eat an infected snail. We don't do the monthly dewormer for that because I don't think I've ever seen a snail here in ten years! I suppose they exist, but they are not plentiful. My advice would be that if you're considering a llama, go to meet it and see if you can handle it. Some are nicer than others. One of ours used to be a cart llama, and he is very easy to handle -- like a well trained horse. Some of the others are more challenging because they haven't been worked with.