# Looks like we might be getting a llama



## FreckledFarmer (Oct 27, 2012)

In a very strange turn of events it looks like we are getting a llama. I posted a few days ago about how the breeder of the GP puppy we had reserved emailed me saying that 3 of the almost 5 week old puppies had past away that week but that we still had 4 females to choose from. I posted on here because that just didn't seem like something that should happen and I was questioning the health of the remaining puppies. That post is here if you want to read the whole story. Later that day I called our vet because I needed her to come out for some routine stuff for the goats anyways and I talked to her about the situation. She thought something was really off as well and just felt like the puppies where being mismanaged and that I should likely pass on the puppy because I couldn't be sure of the puppy's health. I asked based on her experience with farms in my area if I REALLY needed a guardian and she said yes that we have coyotes and many hunting dogs... which I already knew but I guess I just needed to hear it from her. I asked her what we should do and she said that she really feels like a llama is a better fit for our farm since their care is almost exactly like our goats, are generally good guardians and they have the added benefit of fiber (I'm a fiber artist). She also knew of at least one farm that would give me a gelding for very cheap, if not free. She came out yesterday for the goats and gave me a number for a llama farm that she thought would have a perfect fit for us. They are very health (she had given them vaccinations on Wednesday), well cared for and are easy to handle because they have handled quite a bit (I was worried about handling an animal of that size and she said the owner is smaller than me and they work very well for her). The couple who owns the farm is trying to retire and place all of their animals and would likely give me a gelding for cheap since they are hard to place. I looked at their farm's website and they are selling champion intact males for 4 and 5 thousand dollars. I talked to the farm owner and he said he would give me a gelding for $100. He was really trying to convince me to take two because he wants them to have each other.. I told him I was worried this would keep them from bonding with the goats. He said he understood. They have several different "breeds" of llama including siri.. which he thinks I will really like the fiber of. He says it's almost as fine as alpaca (which is the fiber I am currently using). We go on Saturday to see if we like llamas... because really I have never even considered getting one so I need to make sure I like them before committing to anything. I have a feeling that I am going to fall in love because I am already super excited about it and have been researching nonstop for the last two days.

I contacted the puppy breeder and expressed my concern and stated that I felt like the fact that she could not ensure we got a healthy puppy broke the contract and entitled us to our deposit back and she said she would give us a refund. I feel terrible but can't afford to bring a puppy onto the farm that I am not sure about. I hope she finds her a good home.


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## Texas.girl (Dec 20, 2011)

Not far from town I see several llama's grazing with a herd of goats. I always enjoy seeing them, but then I always enjoy seeing animals grazing in the fields no matter what kind of animals they are. Hope it works out for you whatever you decide on.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Actually, if they are guard animals, 2 llamas would be great. I had 2 guard llamas for my alpacas. One would stare down the threat and the other would herd the alpacas back to the barn. There is also a sheep farm down the road from me that uses 3 llamas for guarding their sheep. Never lost a sheep. I had good fencing so my alpacas weren't as threatened.

I hope they work out for you.


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## FreckledFarmer (Oct 27, 2012)

Thanks! We have really good fencing as well... 5 foot tall no climb horse fence. We don't have anything under the fence or on top of the fence like many people do and coyotes can jump a 6 foot fence so I know I am not 100% protected. 

You don't feel like the llamas will only bond to each other and protect each other rather than the goats? That's what my research keeps telling me... but then I am seeing a TON of conflicting information.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

That really depends on the llamas. My girls were actual guards. So they guarded their alpaca herd. Also those 3 llamas at the sheep farm always position themselves so that they can watch from every angle to protect the sheep.

What about seeing if the llama farm would let you take 2 on a temporary basis to see if they would work out. If both aren't working out, to return one of them.

The conflicting information is really based on if the llama is a guard or not. Not all llamas are guard animals. If you get actual guard llamas (and the guarding part is a natural instinct), then they will protect the herd. If you just get a couple of llamas, then they will probably just stick together and not guard.


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## FreckledFarmer (Oct 27, 2012)

Is there something I should be looking for with the llama that will tell me if they are a guard or not... behavior characteristic? This is just a llama farm. As far as I know there aren't any other animals.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Honestly you wouldn't be able to tell unless you put them in with something and see if they guard. If you could get them on a trial basis to see if they are actual guards, that would be the best solution. You would have to give them some time to get used to their new charges.

If the llamas start attacking the goats, then you know right away that they won't work out. Although it might be good to put them in a pen next to the goats to see what they do and then slowly introduce them to the goats.


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

I had a friend that was loosing goats all the time, so she got a LLama. No problems at all since.

He son decided to do Llamas as a 4H project, and they ended up getting a couple more llamas. We were all afraid of the same thing, they would bond to eachother and not take care of the goats, but that was not the case at all. The goats werre able to go out in a 40 acre area and thellamas had them covered.

They were told that most all llamas will be great gueard animals, but there is laways that exception.

If I ever was going to get a guard animals I would of gotten a Llama for the fiber use also. 

Good luck, I am sure you will find the right one(s)

Also, I wanted to tell you that it sould like you have a wonderful vet.


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## FreckledFarmer (Oct 27, 2012)

Thanks. She is a wonderful vet. She has been very supportive. 

I really have to go in the with mind set that I am getting one and not two.. or else I WILL leave having purchased two. Currently we have 2 goats and 2 more coming in a few months. Our current 2 will be breed in the fall and we will likely keep any females from those kidings. Our herd will grow fast but right now 2 seems like overkill. I am excited about the fiber though... I'm going to turn into a horder if I'm not careful


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

If that is all the goats you have then I agree.  

 Did you know that the Llamas will poop in ONE place? It is awesome, I wish goats did that. It makes it so nice to clean the barn.

 I understand why they want you to have to so they stay together; I do the same for my goats. I want them to go with a buddy, but if it does not work then they will be fine by themselves with their new goat friends.


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## Texaslass (May 15, 2013)

This has been a very informative post! I'm looking to see what's the best guardian for our goats, and I think im beggining to lean towards llamas. I love to knit and crochet, so I would be REALLY excited about the fiber angle. And we already have one dog; I don't think we need another yet, plus we don't have time to train one. Donkeys sound too noisy for us. Someone nearby has a donkey, and it will never shut up! It's annoying even a quarter of mile away! I know they are not all that bad, but I don't think we'd want to take that chance. So it's really between a llama and an LGD. I'm thinking llama right now.


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

Llamas are great!


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Llamas make wonderful guard animals. Just make sure it is an actual guard llama and that it likes goats.


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## Texaslass (May 15, 2013)

Thanks,
I don't think we're quite ready to get one, but I'm doing the research anyway. We keep getting more goats, and by the time it's winter (when the coyotes are more of a problem), I'd like to have some kind of guardian out there. We still may consider a dog, but I think it would be hard to find one that's trained already. And I like the idea of a llama.


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## Honeysuckle (Apr 11, 2013)

Llamas are awesome. I have a stud llama that I've been keeping with my goats and he thinks they are the best. I love to watch him with the kids. They play king of the mountain on his back. I know people say not to put a stud with your goats, but I raise registered show llamas, and I had to put this stud somewhere and the goats needed a guardian, but I've bever had a problem with him. A lot of times when the goats get in a fight, butting heads or something, he'll run up there and get between them. He's hilarious. 
I'm fixing to get rid of most my goats, and I'm going to get a unrelated stud because this guy has too many girls too closely related, so I'm having to sell him. If you hear of anyone in Oklahoma needing a guard animal, let me know! He has sooo much more potential as a guard than he does a stud.


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## TOU (Aug 18, 2013)

Okay I have a few quick questions. Can you put in a guard llama WITH a Great Pyrenees LGD? Will they work together? Can they get along as goats do with dogs when bonded? What if the GP's were young? I may have a chance to get a couple of 4 month GP's from a couple moving out of state and thought about them. Would the llamas kill these pups?


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Llamas and dogs are not a good mix. The llama's natural instinct is to kill the dogs. I would do one or the other. Depending on your predators, the dogs would be a better choice. Llamas can't stand up to a pack of dogs or coyotes and can't stand up to larger predators like bears.


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## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

Texaslass said:


> T. Donkeys sound too noisy for us. Someone nearby has a donkey, and it will never shut up! It's annoying even a quarter of mile away! I know they are not all that bad, but I don't think we'd want to take that chance..


I love my burro boys. I adopted 2 burros from the BLM (wild burros) They don't bray...at all. Brighty started learning to bray when JJ was here, but after 3 years of owning them, I've heard Brighty bray...maybe 5 times...total. I have them out with my horses and even tho we have a mountain lion that travels thru here, I never worry about my horses. I can always tell if we've got a lot of predator activity by the way the burros act. Wish I could figure out a way to turn them loose on the farm right now because we have something coming and taking our birds...lost all our geese and at least one peacock so far (think it's fox since the RR disturbed their dens) They are super careful when the goats get out and never seem to mind the babies bouncing around underfoot. The burros will also learn if a dog belongs or not and will tolerate them, so you could do both. LLama's will almost always go after a dog regardless of how long they have been around each other (in my experience...we had llama's for a while)


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## FreckledFarmer (Oct 27, 2012)

I would NOT put dogs in with a llama. Llamas dislike dogs and their natural instinct is to kill. 

We have had our llamas for almost a year now and we love them. They take their job VERY seriously. They were not raised to be guard llamas so I was concerned that they would not do the job but the llama breeder said that they will naturally protect the pasture... wether or not they are actually protecting the goats they will not let anything come into the pasture... and if they didn't seem to be doing their job he would trade them out (you test them by bringing an unknown dog onto the property). Luckily ours love the goats (and me) and are extremely protective of all of us. We haven't had anything come into the pasture, but I have heard great stories of llamas' protecting their herd. We have had dogs come up the fence and our "main" guardian (the one who believes he is in charge) has run full force towards the fence screaming. The dogs always run away with their tail between their legs. I hope that if anything were to try to come in the pasture (we have a 5 foot, no climb horse fence) that Afton would scare them away before they could ever get in.


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## TOU (Aug 18, 2013)

Hey All,

Thx so much for your input & have decided that a Guard Llama probably will not work for me so and in the end I decide to pass. If for no other reason I have a prized and very precious to me purebred hunting stock English Springer Spaniel that accompanies me to feed the goats 50% of the time as well as on all hikes and campouts...she also hunts for me.



Anyway, I just feel that I can't take a chance on a rogue Llama that can't work out a relationship with her the way the goats have with her.

What I did instead is I came across a sweet deal on two 3/4 Great Pyrenees 1/4 Komondor puppies (4 months old) that are brothers that needed a working home since their owners are moving back to the city & can't keep them. I picked them up last night & I think they are going to work out great. (Great BIG too. LOL) BTW...they are already bonding to my Tess & the goats.

Thx again!

TOU


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Sounds like you made the best choice for your situation. Good luck with them!


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