Why Llamas: A lot of people ask, "why llamas?" My favorite answer is that they make cool lawn ornaments. The reality is that they are interesting animals with individual personalities that have wonderful fiber and bring joy to those who have made them a part of their lives. For those interested in competition llama shows sanctioned by ALSA (Alpaca and Llama Show Association) are available in many locations throughout the U.S.

A baby llama is called a cria. It is impossible to accurately predict the color of a cria before it is born, although some colors are dominant and in some animals consistency in the color of offspring can occur. I am of the opinion that it is because of crias that people really keep llamas.

Llama Care: The intention of this page is to provide general information for new llama owners. These are things we have found over the years to work for us. They may or may not work for you and are offered as part of your educational journey into llama care and enjoyment.

Food - Llamas require pasture in the warmer seasons and hay in the colder seasons. Grain can be used as a feed supplement and should be determined by each farm's individual feeding program to ensure that animals are not over or under fed.

Fresh, clean water must be available at all times. Llamas drink a surprising amount of water in the winter time.

Salt formulated for llamas or sheep should be offered free choice at all times. Salt consumption will make them thirsty and drinking clean, fresh water helps them regulate their body temperature.

Shearing - Medium and heavy wool llamas generally need shearing in hot summer months. Lighter wool animals also benefit.  Make sure your shearing is done by June so that they have some growth by winter. We do either a barrel cut (the entire torso) or a show cut (barrel cut plus the sides of the hips around the tail). Once in a while we will shear the entire animal including the neck. Looks funny but keeps them cool.

Shearing can be done by a hired llama shearer or by the owner. Shearing equipment is readily available from farm supply places.  Shearing generally costs $15 - $25/animal. Shearing equipment starts at ~$100 and can go up to $300 or more for the shearing unit. Blades are $20 - $50each. One blade can shear 3 - 5 llamas depending on the cleanliness of the llama. Blade sharpening is $5 -7/blade. Blades can be re-sharpened several times.

Prices are estimates based on personal experience.

Heat Stress - Humidity adds exponentially to the potential for llamas to get heat stress. Heat stress can kill a llama. Dark colored animals have a tendency to be at a higher risk of heat stress than lighter colored animals. Pregnant animals in the latter part of gestation are also at higher risk. Heat stress can cause abortion in these animals.

If you see your llama exhibiting signs of heat stress such as stumbling or they won't get up on a hot summer day, call the vet immediately. We have successfully treated mild heat stress by hosing down the llama's underside (where bare skin is) for 20 minutes to cool the animal completely. This may not be enough for severe cases and electrolyte intervention and/or hospitalization may be necessary to save the animal.

Always provide shelter from the sun. Many people use fans to help cool their llamas.

What about the cold? Llamas need shelter from the bitter cold and wind. They should have a run in area in the barn where they can get away from all weather. Cold rain is particularly bad for llamas. They will get wet and cold and it takes a long time to dry all that wool.

Medical - Depending on where you live and what your philosophy is, llamas receive annual vaccinations for Clostridium Perfringens Types C&D and Tetanus. There is an 8 way vaccination that covers other types of organisms that is popular as well. Some people vaccinate new crias within the first month, others wait 4 - 5 months for their first vaccination.

Regarding worming - worming is dictated by geography. Anywhere there are white tailed deer, moose or elk, routine worming against meningeal worm is required. We use an injectable wormer in the Ivermectin family at 2cc/110 pounds and we worm every 6 - 8 weeks. This means that an adult llama weighing 300 pounds gets approximately 6cc every two months, generally speaking. If you don't have a scale to accurately weigh your llamas estimate on the high side. We worm pregnant females 6 - 8 weeks prior to their due date. If the female is in a very late term pregnancy we will wait as long as possible and worm anyway. We have not lost a llama or cria since implementing this worming program.

Once a year we might add a wormer from the fenbendazole family to catch something unusual that the Ivermectin doesn't catch.

There are as many opinions on worming program as there are llama owners. Do your homework and determine what's best for your location.

Toenails - Trim toenails as needed. You will see them curling under. If long toenails go untrimmed the llama may compensate by turning their foot out. If this goes on for too long it can strain the tendons and cause permanent damage.

We have found that the heavier wool animals require more toenail trimming than the medium and light wool animals. We have one male that requires trimming every 2 - 3 months.

Grooming - Grooming is necessary if you are going to show your animal or if you intend to use the fiber for spinning. We try to get away with a top groom to remove the debris. We will pick out what we can and lightly brush the rest. If you brush down to the skin two things happen,1) the structure of the fiber is destroyed and 2) it will be easier now for the animal to collect debris deeper down into the fiber.

Brushes can be purchased at llama supply places. We use a long wire brush to get out deep debris and a short wire brush to top groom.

You may choose to bathe your llama. This can be very interesting because most llamas hate it. But when they dry they are beautiful, shiny and clean and ready to show..... until they roll in the dust heap. So get your pictures quickly, it won't last.

How do you do all this stuff? Every serious llama owner at some point is going to need a chute to restrain their animals. These can be purchased from llama supply places, or if you are handy, you can build your own.

Injections, toenail trimming and grooming can all be done with the use of a chute.

Over time, since our llamas have learned to trust us, we find that there are only two or three animals in the barn that need the chute for injections and toenail trimming. Grooming is another story - we have two or three animals that don't need the chute for grooming. Like baths, llamas hate to be brushed.

We do not use a chute for bathing however I have seen this done at shows. We tie ours to something sturdy like the fence or the kid's gym set. Plan on getting wet. Very wet.

So, Why Llamas?? This probably sounds like a lot of maintenance to do on an animal. At first that is probably true because you will be on a learning curve with all this new information and how to apply it. After a few months it will become much easier as you learn from your experiences; your successes and your opportunities. And during all this learning you will be getting to know your llamas on a very personal level.

This is very rewarding.  Try it.