!!Congratulations!!

You are now a llama owner! Let us hope you will find, as so many others before you have found, that, with the arrival of your first llama your life will be changed for ever! Some new owners experience uncertainties with their new charges and it is to those and to help ensure a happy, healthy, long lived llama relationship, that these few basic comments are offered.

General

Spend as much time as possible getting to know your  llama. Each one is an individual, just like us humans, and, like us, has its own ways  of dealing with life’s oddities. Take your llama walking and handle it so you can pick up feet, play with its ears, and touch any part without stress. 

Feeding

Feeding is a matter of experimentation but a varied natural pasture is best. The llama’s three chamber stomach, however, may have trouble with richer pastures and ideally the grass should not be more than 150 mm high  as their teeth are designed for short cropping and the stems of longer plants can get in their eyes. In the case of richer pastures supply oaten hay  and equivalent  by way of roughage. Various processed foods can be offered and there are specially formulated llama/alpaca pellets although standard lamb and ewe nuts are fine. Lucerne hay is usually appreciated but, again, it is worth experimenting.

Llamas are browsers as well as grazers so watch some of your trees: roses they love. The plants that can be dangerous to llamas are likely to endanger other animals eg: any of the rhododendron family. If your pasture is deficient of trace elements such as selenium, iron, copper etc mineral blocks obtained from your local produce store can be effective substitutes. 

Dung watching can be rewarding in determining whether you are doing the right thing! Dung pellets should be individual, hard, shiny , and black.

Hand feeding has some useful side effects. It helps to cement the bond with your new friend and it is a form of security because if the llama likes being hand fed and does not eat  you will be warned something may be wrong . Also if you want to take it to some place where there is no natural feed you will have no trouble satisfying its hunger.

Medical

Llamas are basically hardy and healthy creatures but regular inoculations are essential as prescribed by your vet in accordance with whatever parasitical problems there are in your area. A 5 in 1 formula is basic in the livestock industry nationally but may need to be expanded for your area. Worming drenches such as Panacur, Ivomec, Fasinex, may be required at the start of winter, spring, and summer but before administering any of these collect samples of their faeces and have your vet test them. 

Like all of us llamas have their off days. Learn to recognise the signs – listless, sitting unusually often and alone, eyes dull, not eating, not defecating or defecating fluid. Learn to recognise the unusual. 

Teeth

As they age llama front teeth may need leveling off to assist their feeding. This can be done with surgical wire or the circular grinder used by sheep breeders. In males three years old the canine fighting teeth can cause some concern and some breeders cut these as a matter of course. They use surgical wire.  If they are not fighting or hurting themselves  they can be left. Some breeders never remove them: by ten years old they may have broken off anyway. 

Feet

Llamas have two soft pads for each foot covered by 2 protective birdlike nails. These nails may grow long and need clipping so that the underside of the nail is flush with the pad. You can do this with sheep and goat clippers available from pet

Fencing

A llama frightened or a male with high libido in chase of a female , or a reluctant female in retreat from a male, may jump or scramble over or through a fence. However, as a general rule llamas do not jump fences and the average 1100 mm fence is adequate to contain them. Five strands of plain wire are sufficient but never use barbed wire. In the case where the llama refuses to be contained consider how he negotiates the fence  and act accordingly. If he jumps make it higher. If he scrambles through use netting or wire droppers. If he goes underneath stake the fence to the ground. Electric fences  can work well but sometimes unknowingly they are turned off, and, conversely, deaths have occurred  from entanglement with them. If electric fences use coloured wires to clearly identify them. 

Shelter

Llamas in the normal course of their lives do not need man made shelter provided there is shelter in the form of trees, shrubs, hills, and in fact prefer the open spaces. However, there will be many occasions when you will want to ‘work on them’ in sickness, shearing, general maintenance, or engaged in some training programme, or even for the purpose of mating. A shed with independent pens becomes invaluable.

Natal

If your llama is a female you will be considering  birthing. It is wise to be on hand just in case of difficulty. Healthy llamas rarely have birthing difficulties but there is always a first time. To help you llamas virtually always give birth in daylight most frequently around midday. It is impossible to calculate the time exactly right but the llama will have got daily bigger, and her udder will have filled often with swollen veins radiating from it along her stomach. Her teats will be swollen  and dried milk will hang like caps on her teats. On the final day she will probably sit by herself and look uncomfortable.  

You will know the birth is going well when you see the head of the cria appear accompanied by two front feet. From the first sight of these up to 45

minutes may elapse before the birth is complete. Llamas do not lick their cria which should begin walking within an hour by which time they should also be suckling. Once you see the new arrival suckling you can be reasonably sure you have a strong, healthy cria. From then on mother knows best! The placenta is usually passed within two hours. 

By the way, llamas will usually have their cria outside.  Offer them shelter but do not be offended if she does not accept! She has probably long since decided where she wants to birth.

By (another) way if you want to find out if your female is pregnant introduce her to a llama male. If she spits at him and will not let him mount her she is probably pregnant. Its not a 100% test but close and reliable. Your vet can do a clinical test later. 

Shearing/Fibre

Llamas are blessed with two fibres, one for soft jumpers and the other for coarse hats, belts etc. There are specialist llama shearers but you can get any shearer to shear your llama. On the other hand you  may find it rewarding if you have a very few llamas, particularly if you are a spinner, to comb them yourself  as this will simultaneously card the fibre, groom the llama, and get it being used to be handled. Shearing is usually carried out once a year.  

Transportation

Llamas are easy to transport and owners use everything from horse floats to custom designed small trailers and vans. They usually travel sitting quietly for the duration of even the longest journeys. 

Llama Registration

The Llama Association of Australasia runs a llama registry through the Victorian Agricultural Society. Details available - LAA Secretary Diane North, Ph: 07 3355 3297 or you can email her at rdnorth@hotkey.net.au

The association website is at www.llama.asn.au 

Insurance 

If you only have a very few animals you may wish to insure them. A lot of animals can be rather expensive. A good deal for insurance will be obtained  from  

David Rowntree Livestock Insurance Brokers Pty Ltd. Toll free: 1800 251 900 

Fax: 02 93624039

Rowntrees have been insuring camelids in Australia since the beginning of the industry.