Llama
Bigger than an alpaca and bred to carry rather than to shear. Llamas are used as guard animals for sheep, because they will face down a dog.
Overview
Llamas are the larger of the two South American camelids kept here, running 280 to 450 pounds against an alpaca's 106 to 198, and they are kept for different reasons. Alpacas are a fleece animal. Llamas carry loads, and they guard.
Guard llamas live full time with a flock of sheep or a herd of goats, and both males and females do the job. They will charge and intimidate a fox or a single dog. What they cannot do is handle a pack of dogs, a cougar or a bear, and expecting that of one gets the llama hurt. They are herd animals themselves and do poorly isolated, so a guard llama is placed with stock rather than kept alone.
Temperament
Confident, aloof and more independent than an alpaca. A llama will approach on its own terms and can be trained to lead, load and carry, which is why they were pack animals long before they were anything else.
Spitting is aimed at other camelids far more often than at people, and a llama that spits at a person usually learned it from being handled badly as a youngster. Screaming at intruders is normal and is part of the guarding.
Care and grooming
Pasture, hay and a camelid mineral. Body condition is judged by palpating the spine and ribs and scoring 1 to 5, aiming at 3, because fleece hides the truth here just as it does on an alpaca.
Toenails, teeth and shearing are the routine work. Heat stress is the emergency to know about: a heavy coated camelid in hot humid weather can go down quickly, and shade, air movement and cooling the underside are the responses.
Living and exercise
About an acre carries up to five, with shelter and shade. Fencing is straightforward compared with goats, since llamas respect a boundary.
If the llama is working as a guard, one is placed with the flock rather than in its own paddock, and it needs to be introduced to the stock rather than dropped in. A llama that has bonded to a flock will position itself between the animals and whatever it is watching.
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