March, 2004
This document is availabe in PDF format.

Llamas come in many types (heavy wool, medium wool, light wool, suri wool, miniature), perfect conformation and size (show), from high maintenance (heavy wooled show animals) to low maintenance (light wooled), to sturdy (packing, guarding, carting), from horrible fiber to silky/suri fiber. Each type of animal serves different purposes.

• Guard llamas.
  • Low maintenance animals are best suited for guardians and it’s a good way to use males that are not suitable for breeding. And, because these animals are not likely to get a lot of handling, I’ve found it’s better to use light wooled animals as guards. This is because they don’t grow a lot of wool and if the owner didn’t shear one year, the animal wouldn’t really suffer. Also, the light wool means no briars. I’ve also found that many people looking for guardians are not very likely to offer fans in the summer to their animals and a light wooled llama is far less likely to suffer heat stress.
• Fiber animals.
  • If you are a fiber enthusiast, you would want an animal with the color and quality fiber suited to your goals.
• Show llamas and specialty breeds.
  • These are the most expensive. Halter show llamas have relatively perfect conformation, see ALSA standards. These animals will be registered or registerable. Specialty breeds are just emerging. Miniatures and “Argentines” are the latest rage. Last year’s focus was on the “suri” fibered llamas.
• Breeding animals.
  • Males
    • These guys are not fertile until about 3 years of age. Don’t buy one unless and until you can house him separately from your girls and you have some companionship for him. Intact males do not always get along with other males. Get the fighting teeth cut on all your males, especially any housed with the herd sire, or you run the risk of someone castrating him for you. Generally speaking, you want to buy the best quality you can afford. Don’t buy a male you intend to breed that isn’t blood typed so there are no surprises in his bloodlines. Don’t breed for the sake of breeding. Know what you are breeding for and target your intended use/customer.
  • Females
    • Generally, you can get away with a lower quality than your male. Don’t buy an animal intending to breed it until you are set up for breeding and care of newborns. Make sure your pastures do not have fescue or your dams will be poor milk producers. Make sure the dam isn’t too old to continue having crias or isn’t too young to breed. If the dam is already bred, make sure she isn’t due in the heat of summer as that dramatically increases the risk to both dam and cria. And get some history on the dam…how many crias, how many survived, etc.
• Performance (pack, cart, obstacle, public relations, 4H).
  • These animals are large, sturdy, and are used for work and pleasure.
• Pets.
  • If you are buying a pet, make sure it is comfortable being handled. Some llamas just don’t like being petted or kissed. Some llamas have boundary problems and don’t seem to know when to back off. Not every llama, just like not every dog, makes a good pet.
• Companion.
  • These are generally the lowest quality animals, used primarily to keep other llamas company. These are NOT breeding quality. The males should be gelded by age two.
• Color.
  • Dominant colors are reds and browns. I breed for grey llamas. White fiber can be dyed. Black fiber is highly sought as is grey.

Join a llama organization. Befriend a llama breeder; take a clinic on handling llamas; or start visiting local llama shows or other events. You’ll learn more than you can imagine. By immersing yourself in the community, you’ll get a better feel for what you want. It’s a great way to orient yourself. Be prepared to change your goals as your knowledge base expands. Many breeders will automatically enroll you in their llama membership if you buy a llama from them and you live within the area serviced by the organization.

Cost. Depends upon what you’re willing to spend and what you want. Can range from a few hundred dollars to $30,000+. Find out if the breeder will finance the purchase; many will.

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