Llamas and alpacas

[bill1953]

Has anyone got any experience of keeping these animals? Everything seems positive about them. Are there any problems? Would traditional farmers be wary of someone keeping them even though they have a good reputation for protecting other anumals from foxes and dogs.

[little blue duck]

I dont keep them but have friends that do..

... if you've got plenty of space, good fencing and good grazing, then it should be fine.
Be aware that they can carry tb and there is currently no compulsory testing

[bill1953]

I dont keep them but have friends that do..

... if you've got plenty of space, good fencing and good grazing, then it should be fine.
Be aware that they can carry tb and there is currently no compulsory testing

That;s exactly the sort of thing I was worried about and not a mention ofv this in the sites I had read so far! Thanks a lot !

[trinder]

I would not wish to be unhelpful. But I know of friends of friends who had a go at this as a business and I've not yet seen one succeed. For whatever reason they all stop. A bit like the Ostriches. There are successful business but start up's just don't seem to thrive.
On an animal note alpacas are renowned to be very nervous almost deer like in their timidity so perhaps a lot of time spend taming them is an issue because they do need to be handled for foot care vets and shearing.

[bill1953]

Thanks , that was all very helpful indeed. I think I will stick to chickens and bees. I gree that the Llama/Alpaca thing has lot's off similarities to the Ostrich thing.

[merlin]

Have you considerd goats, freindly, easy to keep, milk is easy to make into cheese (the Greeks call it feta) see us making it here it's dead easy http://inbulgaria.co.uk/ and apparently the milk is also in demand for babies that can not take cows milk, makes yummy yogart too, keeps the confounded weeds down and protects the chickens from foxes and pole cats (very popular here). They are cheap too

[Henwoman]

My goats haven't protected my hens and ducks from the fox I'm afraid. Neither did they manage to protect their own kid who had his stomach ripped out by something one night when he was six months old. Goats are lovely though but uncastrated males are very, very, very stinky. Once castrated they are fine after a week or so, but, of course you need entire males for breeding and therefore for milk production. I wouldn't be without mine especially now Basil has had the chop.

[bill1953]

Who is Basil?

[merlin]

Were they all in the same shed?

[Spinpup]

I'm a huge camelid fan but don't have room for them myself. I've done llama treks and they are fabulous.

Llamas are big (up to 400lbs!) but generally calm, easy to handle and mostly good around children. Alpacas are nervy and not easy to handle unless you have bred them yourself.

Llamas aren't difficult to shear if they are used to being handled but I'm told that alpacas are problematical. The best advice I heard was to buy/make a spit mask for them - you don't want to smell that stuff as it drips down your face!

My son has a friend in Peru who is a llama breeder and his tales make me want to have a boat-load shipped over!

They are supposed to be excellent at looking after hens - breeders sell castrated males specifically for that job. And you could sell their fleeces to hand-spinners, they are fabulous as llamas have a double-fleece.

[bill1953]

That's inteesting thanks. You're in a nice spot for self sufficiency! Ormskirk has lots of nice flat land doesn't it? I know that because my other cottage (the one I am selling) is in Wirral, England, not that far from you. I remember spending a night in Ormskirk in a b&b pub. Can't recall it's name but one I was in was called The Buck ith Vine or something like that.

[indy]

This has been a very useful thread, I have long been considering getting alpacas mostly due to their supposed ability to protect poultry and the such from foxes and ther mauraders, I had not realised they were nervy, am i then to understand that llamas are less nervy? I am slightly concerned about their size though