Q. Do llamas really love to kiss you?
A. Llamas frequently greet humans and other animals with their noses and exchange a gentle breath of air. Some llamas do love to rub their soft noses against yours, but most simply sniff and "check you out."

Q. What other animals are they related to?
A. Llamas are in the camelid family and related to camels and the other "new world" camels: alpacas, guanacos, and vicunas.

Q. Do they spit?
A. Llamas can spit, but rarely do at people unless they or their young are being threatened. Trust us, spitting just doesn’t happen without extreme provocation. The llama industry has joked about the expression "Spit Happens", but in all our animal years of experience, we’ve never had an indiscriminant "spitter". Llamas with those traits are primarily bottle fed or spoiled petting zoo type animals. We believe it is the breeding, proper handling and training that makes the difference. Seeing is believing. Come visit!

Q. Do llamas kick or bite?
A. Llamas can kick but rarely do. Their feet are padded and the blow does not hurt as much as kicks from traditional livestock. Desensitizing their feet is an important part of training. As llamas only have front teeth on their lower jaw, they really cannot bite like some other animals and never seem to try. Stud males do have fighting teeth after 2 ½ years of age. These are easily removed, and should be removed to prevent injuries to other males.

Q. Can you ride a llama?
A. Children and small adults can ride a properly trained llama although it isn’t a common training feature.

Q. Are llamas smart?
A. They are very intelligent and quickly learn basic techniques such as haltering, leading and loading. They also seem to remember these techniques readily when left alone for several months before moving on to the next training step

Q. Do llamas need to be around other llamas?
A. Llamas are herd animals and are happiest when around at least one other llama. A single guard llama does well with a flock of sheep and single llamas have been successfully kept with other animals.

Q. How much do they eat?
A. Llamas require forage or low protein grass hay. Llamas will consume less than 2% of their weight and a bale of hay will last an adult llama for 7-10 days. Small quantities of grains may be given for treats.

Q. How many acres of land do llamas require?
A. This depends on the type of forage. Several llamas can be kept on a few irrigated acres. We usually consider 4 llamas equivalent to one horse for nutritional calculations.

Q. Do llamas need special fences?
A. Llamas rarely try to escape perimeter fences – particularly if there are other llamas around. Almost any kind of fencing will do. Internal fencing separating the breeding males and females and newly weaned crias should be tight and at least 4 1/2 feet high. Barbed wire is not recommended for internal fencing.

Q. Can llamas handle cold weather? What about hot weather?
A. Llamas are naturally from the very high mountains in the Andes and do quite well in cold weather. Wind protection is recommended for extreme wind-chill conditions. Llamas are being successfully raised all over the United States and may need some cooling techniques in very hot weather such as fans. Shearing is definitely recommended in warm climates. More information about this is available in several llama publications.

Q. What color are llamas?
A. Llamas come in all shades of white, brown, black, gold and grey. They also can have spots and various patterns. It is very difficult to breed for a certain color, and that is part of the fun. You’re never sure what color or pattern the cria will have.

Q. Do llamas require a lot of veterinary care?
A. Llamas need very little compared with other animals. Vaccines for tetanus and clostridia are almost always recommended. Regular worming (ours are wormed twice a year) and hoof trimming, if needed, are about all the vet care required. Llamas are not "accident prone" and only rarely incur physical injuries.

Q. Do you shear llamas?
A. We shear most of the longer wooled animals now – primarily to keep them cooler in the summers, but also to harvest the fiber.

Q. How much do the babies weigh when born?
A. Llama babies or crias usually weigh about 28 pounds, but can vary between 18 and 40 pounds.

Q. When do you separate the babies from their mothers?
A. Our cria are weaned somewhere between 5 ½ and 6 ½ months.  We begin their training at that time.

Q. How much can llamas pack?
A. The load for a pack llama is primarily determined by the animal’s physical condition. Normally llamas pack about 25% of their weight. This is about 80 pounds for an adult trained llama. Llamas have been bred for pack animals for about 4000 years.

Q. How do llamas serve as predator control agents?
A. Llamas have a natural dislike for canines and with their acute eyesight see the intruding predators early. They approach the canine and unnerve it, occasionally kicking the predator with the front feet and propelling him backwards with the rear feet.

Q. Do llamas get along with family dogs?
A. After an introduction period, llamas get to know the family dogs and accept them. Our Great Pyrenees are reluctant to wander in the pastures alone, but will cuddle up with the llamas in the barn during a rain storm.

Q. Are llamas still very expensive?
A. Absolutely not! Llama prices start at a few hundred dollars. Their maintenance expenses are much less than those of most other livestock and pets.

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