I often get asked why I chose to add llamas to our farm, and what I plan to do with them. I found my love for llamas by accident, and now I can’t imagine my life without them.
Here’s what happened…
I had heard some llamas that were good guards for goats. Well, we have goats and goats are basically a walking meal for predators. Especially fainting goats, who topple over at the first signs of anything scary. I did all kinds of research on llamas and figured that I could handle caring for one and have it guard my goats. Enter Banana. Banana was our first llama that I purchased from a farmer through a Craigslist ad. As far as llamas go she is basically the WORST animal I could have gotten as a new llama owner! That whole “hindsight is 20/20” thing can be annoying. Banana is crabby, spitty, hard to handle and hard to halter. Let’s just say that I got baptized in llama spit early on. I also found that Banana was a good guard, only because she is territorial and not because she ever bonded with our goats. In fact, she barely tolerated the goats. They annoyed her ! I love that llama though…maybe because she is such a cranky animal and it’s sometimes amusing!
Fast foward a couple years and I have obviously added to my llama herd. I’ve learned by trial and error how to manage the Banana’s of the herd, and also the super easy going girls like Princess. The more I learned about llamas, and the more I had an opportunity to do hands on work with them, I found them easier to keep as pets. No amount of reading books, or blogs, or videos could really help me prepare for llamas other than just learn as I go.
They are very unique animals, and different than anything else I’ve ever worked with. They kind of remind me of cats in larger bodies – sometimes with a feral attitude, and ALWAYS judging you. They are incredibly smart animals, and I’ve even had to learn to how to move around them in a way that will allow them to trust me.
Up to this point our llamas have been the most useful for us to chill with, and for our farm promotion. Llamas aren’t a common thing around our area. There are several alpaca farms near us, but once you’ve been up close to both alpacas and llamas you can definitely feel the difference between the two. Alpacas usually go about 150#, whereas our llamas range 250-350#, so they are much larger than an alpaca. Since llamas are unique to our area people are interested in learning about them and being able to be up close to them and experience them. The highlight of any of our farm tours are when guests have the opportunity to get kisses from one of our girls, and are able to touch their soft coats. It’s hard to describe how it feels to be amongst a herd of llamas while they just do their own thing. It’s very rewarding.
On the list of llama usage is using them as pack animals. All over the world they are used as beasts of burden. They have become very popular for large game hunters in the western United States to help carry out supplies and animal meat from mountainous areas. Some llamas are good for guarding herds of goats or sheep (although NOT Banana 🙂 They are also used as show animals, and for breeding. In fact, the more I’ve learned about llamas I’ve found that showing and breeding is actually an incredibly popular thing in many parts of the country. People are very serious about their llamas, and travel all over the country to show them and win championships to showcase their farms. I hadn’t been exposed to it because it really isn’t a thing in our area of Wisconsin.
Breeding llamas for conformation (how their body structure is) and color, and especially for disposition is a serious undertaking. Well bred llamas can command high prices, and ones who consistently show well and produce high quality offspring are extraordinarily valuable. There is a lot of research that goes into breeding, including researching bloodlines. Reputable breeders aren’t breeding llamas just to sell them. High quality and well bred llamas are registered with the ILR (International Llama Registry), which provides a map of each llama’s family tree back for generations. Breeding requires thought into what you are looking for in your herd. I have found that every breeder has different opinions what their herd should look like, but the one thing they all seem to agree on is the disposition of the animal. As a llama owner I am still deciding on my preferences for fleece structure and body conformation, but I am pretty set on disposition. I want animals that are easy to handle, good mothers (if used for breeding), respectful of humans, and easy going. Other than Banana, all of our llamas have been registered with the ILR. It has become an important aspect for us as owners.
I’ve gotten to know some of the breeders in the llama world in the last couple years. Everyone has been incredibly helpful in me learning how to care for my animals. It’s immediately obvious that these people care about the welfare of their animals, and helping others to provide the best as well. They also care about llamas in general. Every reputable breeder is always trying to improve their llama herd in their breeding, and not out to make a quick buck. The llama world has been a very welcoming one, which I have greatly appreciated.
In spring each year we shear(shave their fleece) our llamas to help them stay cool through the summer. Shearing also helps me see their skin and body condition a little better, since their coats can be pretty thick. We have a shearer that comes to our farm and does each llama according to my instructions how I would like them to look. He also trims their toenails for us, and if any vaccinations are needed I give them at the same time since they are confined during the shearing process. Depending on the coat, or fiber of each llama I can get up to a contractor sized bag of fleece off of each one. The fleeces are very different on each of our animals. We purchased some llamas with fleece that is softer and longer in length. LLamas with this kind of fleece are known as “Suri” llamas. The fiber is long, soft, and curly and almost looks like dreadlocks on the animal. It sits flatter to the body and can create a beautiful yarn. Our Suri llamas are Princess, Prince, and Kisses. Because the “loft” or how it sits on the animal it doesn’t provide as much warmth to the animal in the harshness of winter. I purchased coats for our Suri llamas for the worst part of winter to ensure they stay warm enough. Our higher loft animals have more traditional coats – really fluffy and extends off the body which makes the llamas look even larger than they are. Our llamas with this kind of coat are Cloud, Banana, Pearl, and Peach. Generally these llamas are a little better in winter at handling the elements. In fact, on snowy days in winter they will sit out in the pasture with a blanket of snow on their backs. They are so well insulated that the snow doesn’t even melt. I do have blankets ready for Peach and Pearl this year though. Peach is an older gal, and age hasn’t been kind to her. Because of her elderly status I might have to blanket her depending on how cold it gets. Pearl is still just a baby, so she will likely get a coat during the deepest parts of winter this year because of her age alone. She has a fine “baby” fiber yet, that has to thicken up with age.
Our daughter Aubrey is enamored with the llamas. If anything has become the importance of these animals it’s that she has had her hands in helping care for and raise them. In the last couple years she has joined the local FFA (Future Farmers of America) group through her school, and looks forward to being able to show a few of our llamas in upcoming fairs. Both Nick and I have been very proud of the Aubrey’s work ethic for our animals. It’s also important to us as parents that she has the opportunity to grow up learning how to care for other beings.
Aubrey has been learning how to care for our llamas right alongside me, so it’s been an adventure for us both. It’s been enjoyable for me to learn so much about llamas! I’ll never know enough – each day brings something new to handle and learn from.
I am hopeful that the future of Black Frog Farm will include being able to breed llamas, and do our part in contributing to the improvement of the species. I also look forward to educating people about llamas, and sharing our love of them. We have people stopping along the road sometimes just to watch them play, or even try to figure out what they are.
