# Basics on llama care?



## RunningRunning (Oct 22, 2012)

Due to some unfortunate circumstances, we were adopted by our neighbor's llama (named Llama of all things lol) . He (along with his late parents) was purchased by them to be a protector for their goat herd but circumstances have lead him to our pasture.
He spends most of his time with our horses (one of which did belong to the same neighbor, unfortunately).

I know nothing about llamas. 

My family has never had a llama. We've been treating him like one of the horses and he seems to be fine.

For his feed, he was getting tiny bits of alfalfa (which I later read is bad for them) so we got him grass hay, which he ate fine for a while. Now we've 'blended' his grass hay with bits of alfalfa to keep him eating.

Am I doing any of this right? Wrong? Horribly wrong?


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## harleybarley (Sep 15, 2014)

Llamas are prone to getting fat. If your boy is a wether, alfalfa might (might) make him prone to calculi.

Ours gets grass hay, pasture, and llama feed. We're not llama specialists either, so we figure some llama feed should help balance out nutrients, even though they supposedly survive fine on "poor browse." The challenge with llamas is that it's hard to do body condition scoring, but ours has held up 2 years with stolen goat food when she can, grass hay, stolen alfalfa when she can, and llama food once a day (about half a lb, but check feeding instructions on the bag). We give them the same loose minerals we give goats. The copper is theoretically too high, but research on sheep shows many of them tolerate higher copper, so we tried it (because of barberpole worm) and it's worked so far.

That's your basic protocol. Llamas are relatively easy day to day. Camelid breeders tend to give annual coccidistat and quarterly - to - annual worming (we don't, but breeders surely know better than we do). They need hoof trimming, check at least quarterly. Shave before hot weather. Annual vaccines. Do body condition scoring every time you catch him for other treatments unless he's a rare love-bug who lets you handle him regularly. They share parasites and a lot of diseases with goats (CAE, CL, etc.), so test as you would test a goat, and put the llama into whatever worming protocol you have for your goats (testing, routine worming, monitoring signs, whatever). A lot of discarded llamas have bad teeth; if the front teeth overgrow, you'll need to file them down with a dremel or the llama won't be able to eat. Male camelids grow fighting teeth and you'll want to keep those trimmed down. If he's halter-trained, you'll want to practice with him to keep him halter-trained (one walk a month or so should keep him trained).

If he's "intact" he might try to breed your goats and that can injure the goats.

Hope that helps!


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## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

Harley pretty much covered it! We have a couple and they just stay with the horses or the goats depending on time of year. They get fed whatever anyone else is getting.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

The no alfalfa is mainly because of higher protein making their fiber more course. You do have to watch that they don't get too fat. So he can have alfalfa. Be careful with the goat minerals. I know the copper in my mineral would be too high.

CDT once a year is all they usually need but whatever vaccines you are giving the horses, give to him since he is living with the horses. They can also pick up some horse diseases.

Shear once a year in the spring. Trim nails at least quarterly.

I would Ivomec monthly from September to January by injection if you live in a whitetail deer area. It would probably be good to give a coccidia treatment in mid to late spring since coccidia will easily take them down and emac coccidia can kill them. Otherwise worm as needed.


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## RunningRunning (Oct 22, 2012)

harleybarley said:


> Llamas are prone to getting fat. If your boy is a wether, alfalfa might (might) make him prone to calculi.
> 
> Ours gets grass hay, pasture, and llama feed. We're not llama specialists either, so we figure some llama feed should help balance out nutrients, even though they supposedly survive fine on "poor browse." The challenge with llamas is that it's hard to do body condition scoring, but ours has held up 2 years with stolen goat food when she can, grass hay, stolen alfalfa when she can, and llama food once a day (about half a lb, but check feeding instructions on the bag). We give them the same loose minerals we give goats. The copper is theoretically too high, but research on sheep shows many of them tolerate higher copper, so we tried it (because of barberpole worm) and it's worked so far.
> 
> That's your basic protocol. Llamas are relatively easy day to day. Camelid breeders tend to give annual coccidistat and quarterly - to - annual worming (we don't, but breeders surely know better than we do). They need hoof trimming, check at least quarterly. Shave before hot weather. Annual vaccines. Do body condition scoring every time you catch him for other treatments unless he's a rare love-bug who lets you handle him regularly. They share parasites and a lot of diseases with goats (CAE, CL, etc.), so test as you would test a goat, and put the llama into whatever worming protocol you have for your goats (testing, routine worming, monitoring signs, whatever). A lot of discarded llamas have bad teeth; if the front teeth overgrow, you'll need to file them down with a dremel or the llama won't be able to eat. Male camelids grow fighting teeth and you'll want to keep those trimmed down. If he's halter-trained, you'll want to practice with him to keep him halter-trained (one walk a month or so should keep him trained).


Before we got him he was never overweight. All the food he ate was what he could get on their property (they had about 40 acres but also 100+ goats) which wasn't a whole lot sometimes.
But he gets a quarter flake twice a day which is a combination of alfalfa and grass hay and all day in the field/pasture.

Our neighbors never caught their llamas for any kind of treatment. He's never been sheared (even though our summers can get up to 110 degrees), he's never had his nails trimmed (but we have a very rocky terrain), and he's never been wormed.

To halter train him, is it a lot like halter training for a horse? 
Do they freak out at all with shears? Nail trimmers?

He's about 8 years old and has never been handled in anyway, shape, or form.


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## RunningRunning (Oct 22, 2012)

ksalvagno said:


> I would Ivomec monthly from September to January by injection if you live in a whitetail deer area. It would probably be good to give a coccidia treatment in mid to late spring since coccidia will easily take them down and emac coccidia can kill them. Otherwise worm as needed.


He's never been wormed in his life. He's never been treated for anything in his life, and we do live in a whitetail deer area. Should I just start as soon as possible?


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

You could start with a fecal. I wouldn't worry about starting it now. 

What type of wool? I can't imagine never shearing a Llama but if he is a true light wool llama then he may have been ok.


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## RunningRunning (Oct 22, 2012)

I don't know the wool type (I didn't even know there were different types!) but I looked it up (and after reading comparison articles) it looks like he's a light wool. I'll see if I can't get him to sit still long enough for a photo tomorrow.


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## harleybarley (Sep 15, 2014)

Do you know anything about herding or handling llamas? My husband does okay grabbing our alpacas by the neck (they're pretty wild; our llama is a little better), but a treatment chute would be a big help. 

Will he eat from your hand, or from a bucket in your hands? If not, that's your first step - get him to let you close enough to look at his feet, build some trust. Grab some poop for a fecal, observe his mouth when he eats - that will tell you if he needs anything urgently.


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## harleybarley (Sep 15, 2014)

Oh, and watch out for the kick. If they feel like you're violating their space, they kick. My alpacas were horrible about that when they were new here - their "space" was an acre in every direction!


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## RunningRunning (Oct 22, 2012)

I know nothing about them in anything lol.

He is eating from our hands (very graciously I might add!). I've only touched him to get him to move since he likes to block the gate (a nudge here, nudge there). I can _kind of_ touch him and what started out as a ears-back-getting-ready-to-spit-at-you moment, he now just gives a 'look' and moves over.

It's progress, but a long way to go.


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## harleybarley (Sep 15, 2014)

You're doing great with him, then. They don't like being touched, and they're afraid of hands because hands touch. If he's eating from your hands, he'll be a lot easier to manhandle for care. Or you can have a vet call and find a shearer.

When he's eating, look at his toenails. Do they look uncomfortable? Try to run a hand across his backbone lightly as you pass, and work up to feeling his spine. Look up BCS on llamas for pictures of the ideal shape; not a sharp triangle and not a flattened squishy donut.

What I do to treat them is we herd them into a corner, calmly and gently (or lure with food), and one of us sidles up, puts a (strong) arm around their neck (1-armed hug); then move up the neck to hold their head. Look up t-touch for a picture; it's one hand under the jaw and one behind the ears; a gentle hold. The 2nd person stands to the side give shots, inject, whatever, body-blocking as needed. If I HAVE to do it alone, I just use the one-armed hug.

Our vet uses a harsher approach that might work better for you for toe-trimming. They put on a harness and pull the head up really high so the llama can't really move. Shearers use that or they hog-tie the legs. Llamas like to lay down (cush) in defense. That works fine for giving shots or shearing the top side, so we let them. Don't stand behind, because they tend to kick straight back; when working the front end, keep an eye on the shoulders in case he tries to kick with his front feet (ours have never done it). When you release, push him away from you.

A handling chute is calmer for the llama, so you might look for pictures and see if you could arrange gates or fencing to simulate one.

Camelids are "driven" using sticks (wands) held out past outstretched arms to steer them. They tend to move away from hands/wands, so the sticks waving behind them move them forward, wave to the left to steer them right - remember that they move away from the sticks. It can be done very calmly and gently, so no harm in trying it just for practice. I grab what's handy and light - a broom, shovel, or step in fence post.


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