# Llama Yes or No?



## Stacykins

My aunt just sent this to me. She keeps llamas and alpacas, but this caught her attention, since I keep goats. 

"Elderly man who has an 11 year old (more or less) female guard llama that he would like to rehome. He is single, lives alone, and is having health problems. The llama is currently in with his goats and he said she makes an excellent guard. He lives just west of Menomonie off of Highway 29. She is registered (he is looking for her papers) and he recalls her lineage is of Chilean descent."

What is your opinion? I personally am a bit wary because of the age, I'd hate to get attached and then have her pass due to age. How long do llamas live on average? I'd also need to get much more hay, since a llama eats more than my small goats. I can get hay, it just won't be cheap.


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## ksalvagno

Llamas can live to be in their 20's. Most live around the 15-20 year mark depending on what they are used for. Really that would be great if she found a new home. I loved my guard llamas.


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## ThreeHavens

Make sure she has no diseases and that his goats don't have diseases either, then I would go for it.


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## fd123

The only bad thing ive heard about them...isnt really bad but quit funny!! One guy has one and he said when it gets mad at the goats it will spit on them...and sometimes it will chase them down and sit on them!! lololol.... Id love to see a video of that!!! But he says he wouldnt consider owning goats without one! He swears by them!! I have a Great Pyrenees for my herd protector...if i didnt have the dog ..ID DEF BUY ONE!! (if for NO other reason to get a kick out of it doing the funny things they do!) Like what WOODHAVENFARMS mentioned above >>
If its healthy, and the goats it was previosly around are..>> ID GO FOR IT!!!!!!!!!
POST SOME PICS WHEN YOU GET IT!!! and i CANT WAIT to hear some stories about it!!


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## RebelRidgeFarm

We had 3 alpaca and I always thought they could care less about our goats until we brought 2 new doe home. After segregation we put them in together and the head alpaca became so agitated and began chasing the new does only. He cornered them a few times but he only wanted to sniff them. It was kind of cute after he sniffed her but scared the heck out of me when it was happening. The alpacas ended up getting a little too protective (didn't like us in there) but that was also with 3 alpaca. Good luck!


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## 8566

I've heard they could be rough with your stock and even try to mount them when in heat.


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## fezz09

Well I am not a llama expert but my neighbor/friend raises and shows champion llamas and she has said she would never suggest an intact male with anything, I guess they have quite the libido haha but they will bind to their animals and people and they are literally the most dedicated guardians you could ask for! I have a llama named Fiona and I LOVE her! Their facial expressions alone are fantastic! They also learn very fast AND they make like two or three poop piles and use them religiously!! Makes for easy clean up! And they really don't eat hardly anything!









Fiona and her geese


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## ksalvagno

OP said it was a female that needed a home so the libido is not a problem in this situation.

But, you should never have an intact male whether it be a llama or donkey as a guard. They will try and breed the stock they are guarding. Strictly geldings or females. But never use a pregnant female either because they will protect their babies before they will protect the herd. So it does need to be non breeding animals.


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## KW Farms

ksalvagno said:


> OP said it was a female that needed a home so the libido is not a problem in this situation.
> 
> But, you should never have an intact male whether it be a llama or donkey as a guard. They will try and breed the stock they are guarding. Strictly geldings or females. But never use a pregnant female either because they will protect their babies before they will protect the herd. So it does need to be non breeding animals.


I would highly disagree with this (not the intact donkey part). It depends on the individual llamas. I have four llamas... an intact male, breeding female, their daughter, and then their suckling son. Mine are awesome and get along with the goats very well. They're with them 24/7...no chasing, no spitting, no rough housing. The llamas keep to themselves for the most part, but are protective of their herd and kind and quiet with the goats. I've had zero issues. Not all llamas are like this and I wouldn't necessarily recommend an intact male, but each llama is different and I trust all my llamas with my goats 100%. Our male doesn't notice does in heat either.

I've also found that if you can find a goat guardian specific pregnant/nursing llama...they are outstanding guards because they're overprotective. They just have to be proven guards and of course you'd need to moniter them with the goats before trusting them to be alone, but the right llamas can be awesome guardians.

Here are some photos of my llamas with the goats...

This below is Yzma, the daughter...









Kuzco below, our male...









Kuzco with Pacha and Yzma in the doe pen...









Kuzco in the doe pen...









Newborn Yzma with her mom and some yearlings checking her out. As you can see her momma isn't concerned with the goats...


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## keren

I think it also depends on the individual animal, they can sometimes break all those general rules. Like, I know someone who has always used intact male alpacas, never a problem with them whatsoever. 

Then, I got a real dud, I had a female (not pregnant or nursing) and she was great on foxes but would beat the crap outa my goats so I had to get rid of her. 

Since this one is proven, I'm sure you will not have any problems with her.


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## fd123

You have a BEAUTIFUL PLACE KW Farms! and some happy, and healthy looking goats, and llamas also!! VERY NICE!!!


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## Trickyroo

fd123 said:


> The only bad thing ive heard about them...isnt really bad but quit funny!! One guy has one and he said when it gets mad at the goats it will spit on them...and sometimes it will chase them down and sit on them!! lololol.... Id love to see a video of that!!! But he says he wouldnt consider owning goats without one! He swears by them!! I have a Great Pyrenees for my herd protector...if i didnt have the dog ..ID DEF BUY ONE!! (if for NO other reason to get a kick out of it doing the funny things they do!) Like what WOODHAVENFARMS mentioned above >>
> If its healthy, and the goats it was previosly around are..>> ID GO FOR IT!!!!!!!!!
> POST SOME PICS WHEN YOU GET IT!!! and i CANT WAIT to hear some stories about it!!


OMG !! I just about spit my coffee out reading this post !!!
Is that really true ?? Will a llama actually chase down a goat it is upset with and SIT ON IT ????? :ROFL: I can't believe it , so funny !!!!


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## llazykllamas

Laura, most likely, the llama is actually trying to breed the goats. Llamas breed while kushed. Llamas have actually killed goat trying to breed them because they crush the goats.


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## fibromom

I agree that each animal is an individual. We've had llamas and alpacas over the years and EVERY SINGLE ONE WAS DIFFERENT. The 1st 2 were retired, trained neutered pack animals... they were perfect in every way at about 15-20 years of age when we bought them! They protected our land, our dogs, our cats, our property and us (no goats back then) with their hypersensitivity to ANYTHING/ANYONE foreign on the land. They SQUEALED LOUDLY, sounding their alarms over anything that didn't belong (cars, too! We lived VERY remote!) They roamed the fenced area of our land and were tethered at specific locations. They were trained to "go to bed" at verbal command. Way cute! They died of old age and we gave them honorable burials. 

Later, we PAID FOR 3 "rescue" llamas obtained from some guy (we read about in the newspaper) who said he rescued them and had kept them on his land, taking "good care of them" for? about a year. He told us that 2 of the 3 were way laid-back and easy to manage. WHAT A DISASTER!!! They had apparently never been exposed to human contact. WILD is the word! They were paranoid of everything and unmanageable (I'm disabled so I need easy-going animals!) One always tried mounting me (to show his aggression!) Needless to say, we found them homes QUICKLY.

We now have an in tact alpaca who didn't show too much promise for anything but landscaping and poop-providing (we got him from a neighbor who got him from ???) The poor alpaca, "Camelot" we call him, is fearful of any sort of rope or lead. I've worked with him a lot... he'll usually come to a rattling bucket of grain in my hands. Sometimes, he'll eat out of my hand; other times he acts like he has no clue who I am. Other times, he will actually run TO me and cuddle next to me... no aggression... just comes and leans on me for comfort. I've wondered if he has visual problems. 

He has never sent out any warning sounds against anything. He likes being near the goats (he, like they, are herd animals.) He has never herded them..,. UNTIL the mean alpaca who lives a few acres away from us came through our fence a few weeks ago and picked a fight with Camelot! The neighbor alpaca, "Mocha," is about 2 yoa, in tact, WAY CUTE and WAY CRAZY! Even his owner, who is a sort of "animal whisperer" can't manage him. He's a menace to all of the horses around here, not because he necessarily will try to hurt them but he breaks through fences and chases them. Our nearest neighbor's horse was actually trapped in a barbed wire fence trying to escape Mocha.

Anyway, bottom line is: CAMELOT NOW GUARDS STUFF! Our Oberhausli/LaMancha goat, Ma'am, is the head of the herd, even of him!!! We were just about to find another home for him when Mocha changed Camelot's future!

YES!!!


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## Samantha Michelle

Yes they will try and mount/breed. This is my intact male llama Carl. Little to say he is getting sold. He mounted my doe and thankfully didn't hurt her, unfortunately he did try to mount my buck also and killed him.


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## ksalvagno

This is an old thread from 2013.


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