Llamas
Llamas are gaining popularity. They have been raised for wool production, herd guarding, and for meat. There are two fur types for llamas. Huacaya wool is the traditional poof and Suri gives us the locks of long hair. Too my surprise the huacaya looks a lot larger than a suri but after summer shaves they are the same size.
Our Breeds
We currently have two llamas, one huacaya and one suri. They have the same father but different mothers.
Purpose
The idea of llamas was introduced to me for the “Guard” aspect by my wife. Christine always loved llamas and was very excited about the possibility of use raising some. She promised me that they would keep the predators away and our birds would be safe. This would be true, if the llama pasture was shared with the coops and the birds didn’t free range.
We keep llamas for companionship. They make a great pet and fun to watch. We take the llamas for walks and they get very excited at times. Some of the times Tulio and Miguel want to race. Or people driving down the street yelling “We love your llamas!” with their phones out taking pictures. But one of the best things to do is to watch them roll around in the sand and give themselves dust bathes. Tulio loves to sit in front of the fan in the stall. I peak my head in and he gives the slow turn of his head with a smile. Miguel is the most curious one. He loves to come up to you and see what you are up to or chase the birds and cats in the pasture.
Llama manure is a great fertilizer. Tulio and Miguel’s manure piles are found in the stall. Llama’s have a communal bathroom. This makes for a quick clean up and a great additive to the compost. Since this is a cold manure, we can apply and use there manure immediately in the gardens.
Entertainment
Tulio and Miguel are fun to watch. Firstly they enjoy rolling around in the sand. Since they also find funny ways to popup out of nowhere to say HI! So, anytime when I am in the barn I will get the feeling of being watch and I look over there is Tulio staring at me form the stall through the window.
They have cat like personality. While, both of them are very curious but once they get within arm’s reach they stop and play hard to get. They love to sneak up on the other animals. Tulio and Miguel love their yum yums, Llama formulated grain. They go crazy for it.