Caring For Your Llama
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Llama Care

      Learning the basics about llama care and management should make your llama shopping and eventual ownership pleasurable experiences.  And they truly are a pleasure to own.  

   Some of the care considerations that you should investigate are housing, worming, inoculations, shearing and toenail trimming, as well as hay supply and type in your area.

   Depending on where you live, adequate housing can vary from a 3 sided shelter to a large barn that you can close up during extreme winter conditions.  In the South, you'll want to install misters and /or fans for relief in hot weather, as llamas are prone to "heat stress" and must be protected.  Other measures such as shady wet sand pits or kiddy pools have been utilized.

   Worming and inoculations requirements are also dependent on your location. In certain parts of the country with high densities of white tail deer and a prevalence of meningeal worm, dectomax injections every six weeks is recommended.  Most people also use more than one type of wormer because not all parasites will be killed by any one wormer.  A good idea is to run fecal checks with your vet or to do them yourself, to find out exactly what parasite you might be dealing with.  With good pasture rotation practices and not overpopulating your pastures, sometimes worming can be kept to a minimum.  Again, fecal checks will determine how often and what to use. Drawing of Tapeworm Inside Intestine(this is a type of worm from llamas)

 

     Shearing is done in the mid to late April here in the South, usually a little later in the North.  This is a must to prevent heat stress.   Llamas are not "thrown" and shorn as sheep are.  Some people use hand clippers, others use electric clippers, and others might use both in various instances.  That's something to inquire about when you visit farms during the search process, especially if you think you wouldn't want to tackle the shearing yourself at first.

     I have a professional to come out every spring to shear my llamas, and I invite the owners of llamas I've sold to bring their llamas here for the event.  With my longer wooled llamas, I feel this is beneficial to cut off any bad mats or felted areas that prevent air flow, and I do this every 2 or 3 years.

     Another consideration is keeping the toenails trimmed if the llama requires it.  Whether they need it depends on your terrain, and the genetics of the llama. Some lines do not ever seem to need toenails trimmed while others need it several times a year.  Often rocky terrain or walking over concrete slabs is enough to keep the toenails trimmed.  However, if the llama needs it, a consideration when looking at llamas is whether the llama has been trained to let you easily lift his feet calmly.  With a properly desensitized llama, this is no problem.

    The proper lama formulated mineral/vitamin supplement for your area and feeding program should be available to your llamas free choice.  We have used both Winners Edge and Stillwater Minerals.  In the absence of good browsing/grazing, clean hay should be provided.  This is another question to ask at llama ranches you visit. What kind of hay has the llama been eating and how easy is it to obtain?  Depending on the condition of the llama, supplemental feed can be provided, especially in the winter months or for late gestational or nursing mothers and growing crias.  I've settled on Mazuri Llama Chews, approximately 3/4 pound per adult llama. The pellets are larger and so far I have not experienced any choking, which can happen with smaller pellets.

     Are there negatives to llama ownership?  Yes, llamas will spit.  Unless a llama has been terribly ill treated, and raised not to respect people, it is only at each other to establish the "pecking" order, or to warn another llama that it is too close to his feed bowl, or getting too personal.  Often crias will try to sneak milk from the wrong mom, and learns in a hurry that's not acceptable.  You usually would not want to walk among your llamas with an open bucket of feed. That's inviting trouble!!  The pushier ones would soon be firing warning shots and you just might get hit.   Spit does have a distinct odor for while, but it does wash off.

     I must discuss a condition that can occur with llamas that have been raised improperly, called Aberrant Behavior Syndrome.   This happens most often with young males, when he is raised without the companionship of another llama, preferably a young one his age, and he becomes improperly bonded to his human caregiver.  Young llamas need their play time, a time to wrestle and chase and chest butt each other.  If another young male is not available, the youngster will attempt to play with the humans present.  Oftentimes, new owners, unawares, will think this is "cute" in the young weanling and encourage the interaction. Later, when the youngster is approaching 250-300 pounds, and becoming territorial to boot, this is not so "cute" and in fact becomes dangerous.  Proper education, which should begin prior to purchase, will help new owners learn how to interact with young males to keep them easy to work with, but not dangerous to be around.  Reputable breeders would never sell a young, or preweaned, bottle fed llama to unsuspecting folks.  A weanling needs to be a minimum of  6-7 months old and sold with the understanding he will have proper companionship.  A good site to visit to understand more about this syndrome is John Mallon's site.  

     Bottle fed males or females can become too pushy and possibly dangerous, if they are raised improperly.  Sometimes bottling is unavoidable, but this is not something that should be done to make cute pets. 

 

Housing
       Llamas have minimal housing needs. Depending on the area in which you live, they generally require shelter from rain, snow and heat. Our llamas have 3 sided pole barns. Barbed wire fence should be avoided. We have had the best luck with 4 foot tall no-climb horse wire with a string of 1 x 4's mounted at the top of the fence. If you'll have females near your studs, you may want to go to a 6 foot tall fence to avoid the males jumping over it and breeding your females, or leaning on top of it and breaking it down. Remember, you are fencing predators out as well as fencing your llamas in, so that may have a bearing on the fencing you choose.

Feed


       Feed for llamas includes forage, (in our area we like coastal hay), minerals, and electrolytes during the hot summer months, and depending on the needs of your herd, specially mixed grain formula or other llama safe grain mixture. We feed coastal hay free choice. Until recently we fed a feed without enough minerals so we dressed each feed bucket with a special mineral supplement. We add a sweet feed, corn/oats/barley mixture, or chopped corn for lactating females, growing crias, and breeding males. We also add chopped corn to the dam's feed 3 months prior to parturition. The feed and hay should be low protein due to the llamas special digestive system. High protein foods can cause problems such as heat stress and ulcers. We also dust their feed with equine electrolytes during the summer months to help them deal with the heat. Some people add this to the water buckets instead, but the water has to be replaced daily. Llamas should not eat grain made for horses due to high levels of some elements such as copper.

Medical Care


       Llamas require yearly shots as dictated by your area and your vet. These usually include CD&T. Our vet also treats for rabies, black leg, and lepto vibrio. Our vet gives crias their first shots at 3 months of age.

       Parasite control differs between owners. Some owners worm every 3 months, rotating between Panacur and Ivomec (or other cattle or equine wormers). Some owners worm only when fecal tests indicate that it is required. Owners that live in areas with white tail deer often treat with Ivomec or Dextomax monthly during the summer months since white tail deer are carriers of meningeal worm. Meningeal worms are extremely dangerous as they enter the spinal cord and quickly cause paralysis and death. Always consult a llama vet in your area for a proper worming program for your own llamas.

Heat Stress


       If you live in an area with summer heat, special precautions must be taken to avoid heat stress since llamas are not naturally adapted to exposure to extreme heat and humidity. Heat stress symptoms include inability to stand, uneven gate, drooping of the lower lip, trembling, weakness, difficulty breathing, or not eating. (Of course those same symptoms could be indicative of other illnesses too.) We minimize handling or training of our llamas during July and August to avoid exacerbating the stress. The sum of temperature and humidity over 150 is considered dangerous for llamas and special precautions should be taken to help avoid heat stress.

       Since we live in southeast Texas, we take heat stress very seriously. We always shear every April. We run several large drum fans and Arizona misters 24 hours a day during June, July, and August. We have wading pools and lots of shade. The llamas love to stand under the misters and in the wading pools. Two of our females will even lay down in the wading pools. I also spray their tummies and legs with a hose every two hours or so, as required by the temperature on that particular day. They line up for their "tummy spray" and love it. We keep lots of cool, fresh drinking water available to them and dust their food with an equine electrolyte, such as Electrodux.

Down Llama


       A down llama probably indicates a serious condition. Llamas like to sleep in the sun with their tummies toward the sun, but I check them fairly often and make them get up so I know they're ok. If a llama won't get up to come eat, they may be ill. A vet should be called immediately if there is any doubt in your mind. Llamas have a great deal of pain tolerance and are extremely stoic. However, most of them are also chow hounds, so lack of desire to eat could indicate an illness.

Crias


       Crias are born after a 11.5 month (350 days) average gestation period. They are born precocious and will normally be up and nursing within two hours. It is critical that they obtain mother's milk within the first several hours for the antibodies in the colostrum. If the mother does not have milk, the baby must be tubed or bottled with goat's colostrum. (Again, consult a vet.) They will generally start eating grain at about 3 months old and should not be weaned until about 6-8 months old. Average weight at birth is 20-35 pounds. They should gain about 1/2 to 1 pound per day. Crias that have been bottle-fed and not properly handled when young (especially males) can become aggressive when they are older, a condition called aberrant behavior syndrome, so care must be taken to not excessively handle or hug them. Do not purchase a bottle fed cria, or one too young to be weaned unless you are experienced enough to handle the problems that can arise.

Grooming


       We shear our llamas every April due to heat stress concerns. I think the llamas are particularly pretty shorn, as it shows off their good conformation. There are professional shearers, or you can purchase your own shears and do it yourself.

       Toenails should be trimmed before they start to curl over. The frequency varies depending on your terrain and the particular llama.

Predators


       Llamas are "prey animals" and must be protected from large predators. Domestic and wild dogs are the biggest predator problem. Precautions should be taken to minimize strange or wild dogs breaking into the areas where llamas live. There have been many documented cases of dogs maiming or killing a llama. Other dangerous creatures in our area include rattlesnakes. Llamas are extremely curious and will try to sniff the snake. We have known of cases where one snake has bitten 4 llamas. The snake venom destroys the llama's nasal tissue and the bacteria present from the snake bite is a serious concern. Llamas will die from a snake bite if adequate medical treatment is not administered immediately.

Uses


       The second most asked question is "What do you do with a llama?". Our first answer is "You love them". Llamas are shown for conformation, public relations, obstacles, packing and showmanship. Because they are so gentle, they are the perfect animals for children of any age to show. Their fiber is popular to spin then weave, crochet, or knit. The fiber is generally soft and strong. The finer the fiber, the more desired it is by spinners.

       Some adult geldings and females with the right disposition are used to guard livestock such as sheep, goats against coyotes and small predators. Guard llamas bond with their charges and defend their territory. Since we have had the llamas, the coyotes have quit taking the ducks off our pond.

       Llamas make good pack animals because they have soft pads on the bottom of their feet that don't damage the environment. Once trained and conditioned, they can pack about 25% of their weight during cooler weather (sum of temperature and humidity less that 120).

       Llamas are used for therapy, especially for pediatric and geriatric patients due to their gentle and calm nature. Many llamas love to visit nursing homes and the residents love them.

       Llamas are also used as driving animals pulling carts. There are several types of carts and harnesses designed specifically for llamas.

       Llamas have been trained and used as golf caddies. Something for the avid golfer that loves animals.

       There are so many things to learn about llamas that there is no way we could cover them all here, but we'll be happy to show and tell you more if you visit us. Come meet these wonderful creatures that have captured our hearts. If you love animals, there's no doubt they'll capture your heart too.

from aloha llama.com