Anyone know anything about Llama's?

[MoonandBean]

My boss asked me if, in all my dealings with pet lovers , did I know anything about Llama's? I told her I would be happy to post a question here. She wants to know this: compared to horses, how is the training of Llama's different?

Any input would be great! Thanks.

[Karen]

Llamas are very, very, very different critters than horses. What sort of training was she looking to do?

[lvpets2002]

I know they are Very Pretty && will Spit in your face.. Thats about all.. We have some in this part of the country..

[sasvermont]

For about three years, I had a field full of llamas next to my house. There were about 25 or 30. The owners kept the males apart from the females, for obvious reasons. So any grown male had its own pen and from time to time would father a new llama. The teenage males were sold, as well as many of the females, but they got rid of the males pretty quickly.

As far as I know, llamas are pack animals so you need more than one. I have neighbors with goats and one llama, so they can become part of a goat family too. Llamas and horses don't really mix.

Llamas are fairly easily trained to be pack animals, as in trekking through the woods with packs on their backs. You have to start with it when they are young.

From what I knew about the pack of llamas next door is: they were friendly once your face became familiar to them, they hung out together.....and would defend the pack if a dog entered the field.....they could get nasty and spit if provoked and they also pooped and peed in a certain area, not all over the place like cows and goats do........

They have hair that needs to be groomed or cut from time to time. They don't stink, that I know of.....they must be fed a couple of times a day.... Some love to be petted....some don't. They are fairly cheap to purchase.... I think they have pretty sturdy stomachs...... need to be vetted from time to time..... they have long front teeth..... they don't bite that I know of...... They need to have shelter from the cold in the winter, assuming you will be in a cold climate......

I rather liked them. They were very quiet and never escaped..... The two Morgan horses that shared the field next door, were kept apart from the llamas. Every now and then the horses would get in to the llama section and the llamas hated it. I would take apples over to the horses to get them relocated when that would happen when the owners were not at home.

It was fun having them around. They were all colors - black, brown, white and variations of those colors.

I give them a thumbs up.