All About Llamas

The llama has a long graceful neck, erect ears, and large doe-like eyes. The upper lip is split, with lower teeth in front and grinding molars on the top and bottom jaws. They have a keen sense of hearing and sight. The llama is a two coated animal. Its’ fine, downy undercoat gives protection from cold and heat. The second coat is crimpless guard hair that allows moisture and debris to be shed. The length varies from 3 to 10 inches on an adult. There is no hair on the inside of the leg, belly, or tail. Colors range from white to black and include everything in between. They produce a high quality specialty fiber that comes in a variety of colors, contains no lanolin, and dyes well. A llama yields from three to four pounds of wool per year. It currently sells for approximately two dollars or more per ounce. The llama has a split toed foot that is divided by a cleft and consists of a hard nail on each toe and a large, soft pad on the heel. This allows them to be agile and sure-footed on the most rugged terrain. Adult llamas stand three to four feet at the shoulder, five and a half to six feet tall at the top of the head, and weigh 290 to 450 pounds. Llamas typically live 15 to 25 years, with some individuals surviving 30 years or more.

Llamas appear to have originated from the central plains of North America about 40 million years ago. They migrated to South America about three million years ago during the Great American Interchange. By the end of the last ice age (10,000–12,000 years ago), camelids were extinct in North America. Today, Llamas living in herds are native to the bleak and elevated parts of mountain ranges bordering the region of perpetual snow, amidst rocks and precipices, occurring in various localities throughout Peru, in the southern part of Ecuador, and as far south as the middle of Bolivia. Llamas were first imported to the U.S. in the late 1800s to be shown off as "oddities" in zoos.  As of 2007, there were over seven million llamas and alpacas in South America, and due to importation from South America in the late 20th century, there are now over 200,000 llamas and 140,000 alpacas in the United States and Canada. The name llama (in the past also spelled 'lama' or 'glama') was adopted by  European settlers from native Peruvians.  

Llamas, which are well-socialized and trained to halter and lead after weaning, are very friendly and pleasant to be around. They are extremely curious and most will approach people easily. However, llamas that are bottle-fed or over-socialized and over-handled as youth will become extremely difficult to handle when mature, when they will begin to treat humans as they treat each other, which is characterized by bouts of spitting, kicking and neck wrestling. 

Under normal circumstance, they will not bite, kick, or spit.. Llamas are very social herd animals and prefer a herd or companions., however, they  do sometimes spit at each other as a way of disciplining lower-ranked llamas in the herd. A llama's social rank in a herd is never static. They can always move up or down in the social ladder by picking small fights. This is usually done between males to see which will become dominant. Their fights are visually dramatic, with spitting, ramming each other with their chests, neck wrestling and kicking, mainly to knock the other off balance. The females are usually only seen spitting as a means of controlling other herd members. 

They have an aristocratic bearing, but have a cooperative and gentle disposition. Because of their curiosity, they have a delightful habit of coming close to sniff strangers. They are calm and stable companions. While the social structure might always be changing, they live as a family and they do take care of each other. If one notices a strange noise or feels threatened, a warning bray is sent out and all others become alert. 

The sound of the llama making groaning noises or going "mwa" is often a sign of fear or anger. If a llama is agitated, it will lay its ears back. One may determine how agitated the llama is by the materials in the spit. The more irritated the llama is, the further back into each of the three stomach compartments it will try to draw materials from for its spit. Llamas aren't the type to bellyache. Owners must check them carefully to see if they are hurt or sick, because llamas are so stoic they seldom complain. Mama llamas often hum to their babies. It helps them learn to recognize each other. Llamas also hum when they're anxious, tired or just curious. That's not the only unusual sound they make. When a male is interested in a female, he'll often make a gargling noise, called an orgle. Female llamas also make clicking noises. 

Llamas are clean and essentially odor free. They defecate in one or two areas and  

Options for feeding llamas are quite wide; a wide variety of commercial and farm-based feeds are available. The major determining factors include feed cost, availability, nutrient balance and energy density required. Young, actively growing llamas require a greater concentration of nutrients than mature animals because of their smaller digestive tract capacities. 

A llama’s diet is simple and inexpensive. They require good quality grass hay (where there is no pasture), fresh water and a salt mineral mixture. One bale of hay will last an adult llama 5 to 7 days. They are both grazers and browsers. They eat approximately 2% of their body weight per day. They have a complex stomach with several compartments: the rumen, omasum, and abomasum that allows them to consume lower quality, high cellulose foods. In addition, the llama (and other camelids) have an extremely long and complex large intestine (colon). The large intestine's role in digestion is to reabsorb water, vitamins and electrolytes from food waste that is passing through it. The length of the llama's colon allows it to survive on much less water than other animals.

Females are fertile at about twelve months and usually bred for the first time between 20 and 24 months. They are induced ovulators and will breed at any time of the year. There are no outward signs of estrus cycle, but the male seems to know when the female will accept him. Females can be receptive ten days after giving birth and have regular intervals of receptivity. A female remains fertile up to 20 years, if in good health. Males are fertile between 18 and 24 months of age, but are not dependable until they are over two years old. Once fertile, a male can service several females a week.

Llamas mate with the female in a kush (lying down) position, which is fairly unusual in a large animal. They mate for an extended time (20–45 minutes), also unusual in a large animal. There are three techniques used for breeding. In harem mating, the male is left with females most of the year. For field mating, a female is turned out into a field with a male llama and left there for some period of time. This is the easiest method in terms of labor, but the least useful in terms of prediction of a likely birth date. An ultrasound test can be performed, and together with the exposure dates, a better idea of when the cria is expected can be determined. Hand mating is the most efficient method, but requires the most work on the part of the human involved. A male and female llama are put into the same pen and mating is monitored. They are then separated and remated every other day until one or the other refuses the mating. Usually, one can get in two matings using this method, though some stud males routinely refuse to mate a female more than once. The separation presumably helps to keep the sperm count high for each mating and also helps to keep the condition of the female llama's reproductive tract more sound. If the mating is not successful within two to three weeks, the female is mated again 

Llamas should be tested for pregnancy after mating at two to three, six and at least 12 weeks. 

1. For "spit" testing,      bring the potentially pregnant dam to an intact male. If the stud attempts      to mate with her and she lies down for him within a fairly short period of      time, she is not pregnant. If she remains on her feet, spits, attacks him,      or otherwise prevents his being able to mate, it is assumed she is      probably pregnant. This test gets its name due to the dam spitting at the      male if she is pregnant.
2. For progesterone testing, a      veterinarian can test a blood sample for progesterone. A high level can      indicate a pregnancy.
3. With palpation, the veterinarian      or breeder manually feels inside the llama to detect a pregnancy. Some      risks to the llama exist, but it can be an accurate method for pregnancy      detection.
4. Ultrasound is the most accurate      method for an experienced veterinarian, who can do an exterior examination      and detect a fetus as early as 45 days.

Spit testing with an intact male is generally free and is usually accurate. However, some hormonal conditions in females can make them reject a male when they are in fact not pregnant, and, more rarely, accept a male when they are pregnant. Progesterone tests can give a high reading in some females with a hormonal problem that are in fact not pregnant. Neither of the previous methods, nor palpation, can give a reasonably accurate idea of the age of the fetus, while an ultrasound procedure can. In addition, an ultrasound procedure can distinguish between pregnancy and misleading physical conditions, or between a live and dead fetus. The disadvantages of an ultrasound procedure are cost, some training in the use of ultrasound equipment is required, and not all veterinarians have the equipment needed to perform the examination. 

Llamas generally have one baby birth after an average gestation period of 350 days. A cria (from Spanish for "baby") is the name for a baby llama, typically born with all the females of the herd gathering around, in an attempt to protect against the male llamas and potential predators. Llamas give birth standing with the presentation being front feet first and head next. Birth is usually quick and problem-free, over in less than 30 minutes. Most births take place between 8 am and noon, during the warmer daylight hours. This birthing pattern is speculated to be a continuation of the birthing patterns observed in the wild. Dams (female llamas) do not lick off their babies, as they have an attached tongue that does not reach outside of the mouth more than half an inch (1.3 cm). Rather, they will nuzzle and hum to their newborns. Crias are up and standing, walking and attempting to suckle within the first hour after birth.  Weight of a normal baby varies between eighteen and forty pounds. Crias are partially fed with llama milk that is lower in fat and salt and higher in phosphorus and calcium than cow or goat milk. A female llama will only produce about 60 ml (2.1 imp fl oz) of milk at a time when she gives milk, so the cria must suckle frequently to receive the nutrients it requires. Babies begin to eat roughage after several weeks and can be weaned at six months of age.