Some owners choose to keep llamas of a uniform size, type and possibly colour, but recognising the wide variation that occurs naturally we enjoy breeding across the spectrum (within the bounds of acceptable conformation) and have a large variety of shapes, sizes and colours grazing our fields.

Llamas do largely look after themselves and the females make excellent mothers who almost invariably calve without help.  Looking back through our records we have not had a difficult birth or loss for the past ninety or so births and seeing your adult llamas grazing on their own one day and with a tiny cria at foot the next is simply magical!

What you do need to do is ensure that you have the space and facilities so that you can grow and manage your group properly. We will be happy to advise on this.

We find our female llamas who calve every year tend to have a shorter life span and we have lost a few now at around 15-18 years. With the first ones that appeared to be "fading away", we did call in the vet who would give them vitamin injections and supplements to boost their strength and stimulate appetite or make up for their lack of intake. Our feeling, however was that this was fairly pointless, that it could not reverse nature and only prolonged life by a few days. We have decided, therefore, that we will not interfere by bringing in vets, jabs and drenches but instead ensure that they are in the best environment that we can offer - good fresh grass, easily accessed water, gentle terrain and not too much herd pressure. This should make it easier for them to make the best of their last days, weeks or months. Clearly if any distress is shown or prolonged discomfort then calling in the vet may offer the best ending.

Keep an eye on Mantu's condition and try to run a hand down his spine occasionally to gauge weight loss (also visible from the thigh "cheeks" between his back legs). You could increase his concentrates but not by much. You could also add a little bran.

If he still won't allow you to handle him this is probably a good sign! When he gets really old you may find he can't be bothered to get up when you approach...

I hesitate to offer general accounting advice as this may depend on individual circumstances. There are, however, a number of incentives that are likely to be available to you and suggest you speak to an accountant familiar with stock farm accounting, or call us for a general discussion.

We prefer to look at the issue from the point of view of value. A "cheap" llama that you cannot handle is worth a tiny fraction of an "expensive" llama that is extremely biddable etc - in our opinion being easy to handle makes the "expensive" llama much better value than the "cheap" one.  A pet quality llama will cost a lot less than a stud or breeding quality female. A young llama will cost a lot less than a proven adult. A more unusual colour will add considerably to the price and a truly rare colour will send the price into orbit! Then there is fibre quality; really fine fibre on a llama is rare and worth a lot especially if on a quality breeding llama where it will be reproduced. Then most importantly and so often overlooked, there is "type". Talking llamas rather than type is like talking about dogs or horses rather than say Arab or Jack Russell. One breed of dog or horse will be worth much more than the equivalent quality in another. So it is with Ccaras and their far more valuable tampuli counterparts.

Here at Roseland we do specialise in rarities, colour, fibre quality and type, so our  llamas are priced accordingly! The best way to find your way through the jungle of cost and value is to decide what you want, then visit as many owners or breeders as possible and then visit Roseland. You can then decide based on a good understanding of what you will be getting...

If your interest is commercial or even semi-commercial then you might find adults worth considering and these are available year round..

For information about selecting a guard llama click on Guard llamas.