The Llama Brigade

Happy misadventures from a llama farm in rainy Washington.

[llamaruminations]

This is Commander-120 pounds of fierce livestock guard dog (LGD). He is a Komondor which one of many breeds bred to protect livestock like sheep, goats, llamas, and alpacas. Most LGD's have thick coats because they live outside full time with their herds. His job it to keep predators at bay, especially away from young crias or old and frail moms. Don't tell anyone, but Commander's preferred method of attack is death by licking- however, he does have a ferocious bark!

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The boys enjoyed their lunch and some pre-springtime afternoon sunshine.

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Llama cart driving.

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Llamas can take baths! Winnie the llama prefers Pantene shampoo followed by Glide & Glow to make her beautiful locks flow. We don't bathe llamas unless it is warmer than 60-65 degrees F outside with good weather conditions- we wouldn't want them to freeze! It is good to bathe your llama the day before shearing and let them drip-dry in a clean stall. It is also important to not agitate their hair during the bath or else it can turn into one giant felted mass. In general, full fibered alpacas should not be bathed but do enjoy being sprayed with water in hot weather. 

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Llama babies, called crias, should weigh 22-30 pounds at birth.

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Llamas and alpacas alike can be transported many ways, but my personal favorite is via mini van. Once you get moving, the animal will assume the cushed position and sit quietly while you drive to your destination. Rides that last more than an hour or so may require potty breaks along the way, and you will always attract a lot of attention at rest stops!

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French the Llama enjoys his breakfast. (12/23/13)

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Buster and Taz are good at sharing. 

[demonteeth]

Hey guys! I never thought I’d be doing one of these, but here I am.

As many of you know, I work with alpacas and am in an alpaca-oriented 4H group. Recently an alpaca was born, named Sabrina(who is the little one laying down in the picture), and she’s been having a lot of difficulties. She’s bloated, has a fever, and this morning my 4H leader was informed that she has peritonitis, which is, from what quick research I’ve done, an inflammation of the inner abdominal tissue, which can mean a number of bad things.

I’m going to keep this short as to not clog dashes but as you can imagine, her vet bill is getting very very high at this point. So high that they’re not sure they’re going to be able to pay.

And that’s where I ask the help of tumblr. This isn’t my animal, but I would be forever in your debt if you could donate just a little bit. Every bit counts. Even signal boosting helps!

You can read more about it and donate to her vet bill HERE.

[archiveiuts]

Hey so, though I’ve never met the people who own these alpacas, we are facebook friends and they are very active members of the online alpaca communities. They are the most knowledgable people out there and never hesitate to lend their expertise to another llama or alpaca owner with any sort of situation. All of their animals are lucky to be in their care, many owners would have given up on this girl after all she’s been through. Her bill is totaling over $6500 now so if you have it in your heart/your wallet to donate to her recovery, the link is above. I know the internet loves cute little pacas, so do your thing, tumblr. 

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[llamaruminations]

Baby llamas and alpacas are called "crias."

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Human hair vs alpaca hair- this is why alpaca is so soft! The fibers have a very small diameter.

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People always ask why we leave a poof of fiber on the side of the llamas. The answer is simple: we shear our llamas every year to harvest the fiber and to keep them cool during the summer, but our show season spans from about March through about October. Since a primary use for llamas is fiber production, the quality of an animal's fiber can be an important factor in making breeding decisions and when we leave a small swatch as a sample, the judge at a show can still asses the quality of the best fiber on the animal and compare it against other llamas at the show. This type of judging is called "fleece-on" or "walking fleece" because instead of judging shorn fiber, the judge is looking at what the animal is currently growing.

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People always ask if they can ride my llamas. The answer to that is a firm "No." Llamas aren't built the same way as horses which can carry a couple hundred pounds on their backs. A llama is built to carry weight on its sides in the form of a pack, and they can generally carry 25-30% of their own body weight depending on how fit they are. As I've said before, llamas can pull carts instead.

Some South American peoples did ride llamas, but people in the Andes are generally smaller due to the little amount of oxygen in the atmosphere. Regardless, of their size, it still isn't good to ride a llama because they will sustain spinal damage if pressure is applied to their spines. Llama packs and harnesses nowadays are designed with this in mind.

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Llamas generally don't like having their faces touched, and understandably so. You can see from this skull (of a baby alpaca) that there isn't much bone covering their nasal cavities and on a live llama, there is just soft cartilage there. Horses and the like have bone that extends much further down which is why they can wear loose halters. Llamas must wear properly fitted halters that aren't too big or else the nose piece could slip down, crush the cartilage of their nose, and suffocated the llama. Llamas are acutely aware of their faces and many fear suffocating when random people touch their noses. A llama must be desensitized to allow people to touch its face.

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Llamas, like ponies, can be trained to pull carts. They usually need a cob-sized cart with 60" shafts and 26" wheels, and it helps if the shafts are bent so that the llama can turn the cart better. 

Unlike horses & ponies, llamas do not wear a bit when they pull a cart. This is because llama mouths are very soft and using a rigid noseband is much more effective as llama noses are very sensitive so they easily learn how to interpret ques from light pulling on reins attached to the noseband.

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Llama meets Pug

Unless they are properly socialized with them, most llamas will react poorly to dogs and the like. Many llamas are used for their guarding abilities and since dogs can be a major predator for young or frail llamas, a guard llama will be instinctually aggressive toward dogs. It is even possible for a llama to kill a small dog or coyote by crushing them to the ground, but they will try to chase the predator away first. I socialize all of my animals with the farm dogs so both dog and llama understand that they should be friendly towards each other. The llamas will also be friendly towards dogs they see while on a lead rope with me but are not expected to be friendly toward a stray dog in the pasture.

[llamaruminations]

Booties (pictured at top) was infected with a parasite called "Barber Pole" worm or Haemonchus contortus, as a baby. This parasite is nasty because it lives in the animal's abomasum and feeds off its blood and it is becoming resistant to dewormers.

Signs that an animal has this parasite are: pale mucous membranes (eyelids)/anemia, rapid weight loss, dehydration, and diarrhea. It is a quick killer.

Booties came from a farm that hosted a sire from the east coast that unknowingly brought a spat of Barber Pole with him. As a cria, she wasn't strong enough to fight it but ended up surviving almost a year after infection. She came to a point where she was so anemic that her eyelids were white- that's when Buster (pictured at bottom) came in to donate some spare blood (he didn't need it, right?). Booties improved and nearly recovered, but her growth was stunted, she had trouble gaining weight, always foamed at the mouth when she tried to eat, and ultimately died last Thanksgiving. 

Rest in peace, cutie.