2LearnLama glama
Llama
The llama is the largest South American camelid, domesticated in the Andes from the guanaco as a pack animal. It is also kept for fibre, and geldings are often used to guard sheep and goats from predators. Well-raised llamas are calm, independent and easy to…
Keeping
How it is kept
Kept for
- Draught work
- Fibre
- Guarding
- Temperament
- Calm and independent; watchful as a flock guard
- Mature weight
- 130–200 kg
- Lifespan
- 15–20 years
- Gestation
- 350 days
- Forage
- Grazers and browsers that need good grass or hay, clean water and a mineral supplement made for camelids.
- Housing
- A simple field shelter and good fencing. A single gelding kept as a guard lives with the sheep or goats it protects.
- Good to know
- Llamas work as pack animals and as guardians for flocks. Like alpacas, they should not be raised to treat people as herd mates when young. They are shorn or brushed for fibre and need their toenails checked regularly.
Breeds
Llama breeds
Loading breeds
Share
Know a breed we’re missing?
Local and family strains are exactly what no registry records. Tell us its name and what kind of animal it is — a moderator adds the rest before it joins the library.