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Hi:
Is it o.k to feed my llamas treats like apples, carrots and
stuff? Karen |
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Go
ahead but do chop them to manageable sized pieces first. We find our
young llamas tend to ignore these treats whilst older ones love
them. We give most of our vegetable peelings (cabbage, cauliflower
etc) as well and some even love banana skins...
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I
have been offered a neutered male llama (to buy) who is a very
handsome creature but has never been halter trained. I understand
the current owners tried to train him but couldn't. I don't
particularly intend to take him for walks so does it really matter?
A.J |
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If
he will be a single llama without company of other field animals he
will be lonely which is a factor you need to consider whether he can
be handled or not.
That said, the llamas that we
re-home through help-a-llama often
are not halter trained or are difficult to handle and this need not
necessarily be a problem. One such llama is living in our yard at
the moment, waiting to go to his new home. He wanders around as
though he owns the place, sits regally against our stud male
enclosures giving each other company, and is just beginning to
accept food from my hand. We greatly enjoy having him around and
will miss him when he goes.
How well such a situation will
work for you will depend on your set up, whether you will need to
move him around etc.. Remember he may need veterinary attention
occasionally and this will be more difficult/expensive if he is
unwilling to be examined. You can get over any worming problems by
putting worming granules in his feed.
Think carefully before you take him on. I assume you are getting him
at a lower than market price and you may feel it worth paying the
extra for a trained yearling that has had a good start in
life..
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Misky
my female llama had her calf the other day. I saw the birth which
went like a dream, absolute magic and her calf a girl we've
not named yet is so beautiful and such fun to watch. My question is,
Calum, her father has not bothered mum at all although gives her
rear end the occasional sniff and is very tolerant of baby but
should we separate him from them? Victoria S. |
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Wonderful
news, well done Misky! (great name).
We keep all our females due to calve in a field apart from our stud
males and then put the female (with calf) back to a male about 18
days after the birth, leaving them together for several months. We
have no fear for the calf at this stage as all our stud males are
very tolerant of the babies which often pile on top of the stud
whilst he is mating a female!.
In a single pair situation, however, it is very common for the male
to be left in with the female all the time. As in all things risk
has to be balanced with practicality and in view of the fact
that all is well I would leave them together. Calum may mate Misky a
bit early, but then this is as nature would have it.
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I
am planning to buy a pair of llamas, a stud male and female and
the owner is suggesting I take a gelding male too to act as a
"teaser" to encourage the stud to mate the female. Do you
agree this is a good idea? R.B |
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No!
Geldings are sometimes used in this capacity but I would not expect
you to need one when starting off. If your proposed pair are adults
then the suggestion puts into question whether the male has shown
himself to be up to the job. If they are youngsters then there is
really no reason to assume he will not perform properly at the right
time without this extra incentive! If they are adults and the
gelding already lives happily with the "pair" as a trio,
then you may wish to keep them together but do not feel you need to.
If they are youngsters you may find the one selected as stud male
will no longer accept the other male, when mature, even if gelded.
This is really a move to be considered very carefully by an
experienced breeder and usually the "teaser" would be in an
adjoining paddock, not in with the stud male.. Remember too that
your pair should start producing calves before too long and you may
have a male calf that you wish to keep. By then you will have
the benefit of some experience behind you.
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I
find the information about llamas absolutely fascinating and I
would love to own some one day. Reading about the many uses of
llamas in your section "Why Llamas" especially your recent
addition (see I visit your site often as a substitute for the real
thing!) about Security Guards (sorry I can't draw to do your
cartoon) made me wonder what other things people use llamas
for that perhaps you do not know about. How about asking on your
TalkingLlamas page. E.W |
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We
will! But first in case people do not know what you are talking
about here's the links to Why llamas
and Llamas as Security
Guards and Cartoon request!
Now, can anyone reading this give us some other things
that are not list on the Why Llamas page and for which llamas are
truly -if not seriously - used!
I did, incidentally read an article which I cannot find right now in
my mile high stack of llama clippings, about llamas being used in
the South of France as fire fighters - they eat the dry
vegetation that is most likely to catch fire...
Recently our friends at Brit Valley Llama
Trekking took their four llamas into the local town and
spearheaded a litter campaign, picking up all the litter and taking
it away in the llamas' packs...
Any more offers?
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In
answer to your request for unusual uses of llamas... it is not
only people that make use of their assets. Where I live all the
birds nests in our hedgerows are lined with llama wool! Teri |
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Nice
one!
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I
wonder if you would kindly tell me the names for a male, female
and baby llama for a project that my local brownie pack is doing.
Thank you, your website is very interesting.
Brown Owl |
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As
you know llamas come from South America but the terminology for them
has not really travelled very well. Many owners will refer to their
llama calves as "cria". but the males and females as...
well, males and females or studs, geldings and females! In
South America, terminology for the adults varies according to the
region they come from and the community they are owned by.
Machos (males) and Hembras (females) are my personal choices if
using the "local lingo".
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I
wonder if you can give me some advice about my alpacas? I bought two
girls about eighteen months ago. One was a bit stand-offish and
the other very sweet. Now the one that was stand-offish is really nice,
halter and leads well etc and the one who was very sweet has become really unpleasant.
Some times she can still be really sweet but mostly every time my
daughter or me goes to see them she barges us and sometimes looks as
though she's going to spit too (but hasn't yet). If I need to go into
their paddock, one of us has to distract her by throwing food in far
from the gate in case she tries to knock us over. She was lovely when we got her as a youngster but now we
can't enjoy either of them because of her behaviour. G.G |
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I'm
afraid this is a growing - but entirely preventable problem.
Camelids are wonderful, gentle, easy-going animals, providing
they are correctly reared.
To those intending to breed camelids but who have not got there yet - do
not "over-handle" the offspring when they arrive.
And to potential
buyers, do not buy youngsters when they present themselves as truly cuddly.
They will most certainly grow into the pests that this lady describes
and - if male - will become total nuisances, possibly dangerous
ones too!.
I regret that to get your alpaca
to revert to "normal" behaviour will be difficult, and depending on how ingrained it is,
may be impossible to achieve.
As a calf she was (possibly
inadvertently) encouraged into the belief that people were part of her
group, and, as a calf, she accepted that she was below you in the
pecking order. Now, as an adult, she still thinks you are one of the
herd but wants to go up a couple of notches and be above you in the
pecking order! So...
You need to persuade her to
completely re-assess your relationship and learn that you are not
part of her group.
Firstly, keep a stout stick with you
and use it to deter her charging at you by waving it vigorously around
you if she tries to barge you (never, of course, use it to
hit her). Start ignoring her totally, and when she does leave you alone
do not try to make contact with her. Never try to hand feed her. If - in
fact especially if- she is being "good" or "sweet"
and comes to you, then most firmly keep her away from you at
arms length - insist on your own space and do not show pleasure in
her arrival.
Depending on how entrenched the
problem is, this may take a long time to have effect and may not help in
the end, so consider the alternative: take her back to the breeder and
demand a full refund and demand that he/she deal with the
problem.
Finally some people like to put names
to problems. This is, or was, called Berserk Male Syndrome but as it
occurs in females too, political correctness has changed it to Aberrant
Behaviour Syndrome. Please note, however, that as far as I am concerned
the aberrant behaviour is that of the person who reared the poor
creature originally. ABS is a product of nurture, not nature, and its
problem is entirely human; so to anyone new to camelids and considering
buying, fear not - just ensure the breeder you buy from really
knows what he/she is doing.
Other views or experiences of this
problem welcome and encouraged.
Contact TalkingLlamas.
P.R
I agree absolutely with your (TalkingLlamas)
view and just wanted to re-inforce it. Never, never believe that the
cute and cuddly hand-reared or over-friendly (running up to you and
snuggling into you) youngster that you have met is just too sweet to
ever become a problem. It will, guaranteed - problem female,
seriously problem male. T.P, Hants.
Don't be put off newcomers! Just
don't buy an alpaca that treats you like an equal. Alpacas and
llamas are superior to us human beings and should show this in a
degree of aloofness. S.A, Washington.
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I
am interested in buying a couple of llamas from you but your
literature seems to suggest you will only supply them when they are a
few months old or older and I want them as babies. Will you
supply them as babies when they're born this Spring and - sorry for the
question - if not can you recommend somewhere that sells them as babies?
D.R.R |
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To
answer your two questions - No and No!
See above and please understand that no responsible breeder will sell baby llamas because it is too important
for them to be mother-reared.
If they grow up being hand-reared they will see you as one of them and
become extra cute and cuddly for a few months - until they mature. Then,
considering you as a member of their group, they will want to sort out
the pecking order and put you somewhere below them. Watching llamas do
this among themselves may seem fun but when they try it on with humans,
it becomes unpleasant at best, dangerous at worst.
Buy your llamas at the
recommended age and you can look forward to many years of
enjoyment of your llamas as delightful companion animals. If you are
buying a breeding pair you will soon have babies to watch and enjoy - in
the right circumstances.
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Urgent
help please: I am frantic about my five llamas I bought from you as
there is an abattoir not far from where I live that has had fmd. Can my
llamas get it? Should I inoculate them? I.C |
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Llamas
are considered to have low susceptibility to FMD and they are
unlikely to catch the disease. FMD mostly affects cloven-hoofed animals such as pigs, cattle, sheep and wild
cloven-hoofed animals too. Technically llamas have toes not hooves but
this does not save them from being classified as fmd susceptible. . All sensible precautions should be taken
and these are detailed on a separate FMD
page..
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I
bought a pair of halter trained llamas in September which have
been grazing in my paddock through the winter but when we brought them
in the other day to take them for a walk, they were really unco-operative
and we had to abandon the excursion. Will we have to retrain them or did
we make a mistake in our handling or even with with our choice? D.S.L |
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Don't
despair! It is true that the advantage of llamas is that you can leave
them to graze "for ever and a day" (providing of course they have food,
water and a watchful eye upon them) or have fun walking and trekking
them etc. However it is a little unreasonable to expect them to jump
from one to the other at the flick of the lead. Firstly your llamas will
get to enjoy their freedom if left out for long periods, and secondly
whilst they are out in the field they are getting very little from you
in the way of bonding. Thirdly - depending on their ages which you did
not give but if, as I assume, they are youngsters - although trained
they will not have had a lot of walking practice compared to the
"practice" they have had at being free spirits. So...
We always recommend that if you have
llamas out at grass and plan to bring them in for anything (worming, vet
check, grooming, shearing, walking, or for friends to ogle and stroke
them etc), bring them in at least the day before. Better still if you
plan to walk llamas that have relatively rarely been walked, bring them
in a few days before and do a daily practice - even if only for five/ten
minutes each time! The haltering and leading out will get them back into
the routine and give you and them all-important time together.
I say bring them in... I assume you
have a closable shelter, stable , yard, whatever...
Whilst llamas do not need these things for their own survival/health, if
you wish to build a relationship with your llamas and do things together
then you do need to create some suitable facilities to work with them.
You will only get something out of the relationship if you are prepared
to put something into it, especially time...
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