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Foundation
Llamas
Visit Timi
(our parrot)
Timi
at 2 years old
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Llamas are members of the camel
family and are native to South America. They have been domesticated for over
5,000 years and make excellent pack animals for back-packers and hikers. Today, there are well over 50,000 llamas being
raised on farms and ranches in the U.S. and Canada.
Llamas are gentle and
enjoy hiking in both woods and mountains. They have a unique two-toed
foot which is specially adapted for surefootedness on a variety of
terrains. They are hardy animals and have very few problems with either their general health or disease. Most llamas inherit a very docile nature,
an attribute which makes them enjoyable and relaxing to just be
around, to train, to work-with and to raise.
In addition to our back-packing and hiking
activity, we train llamas to travel in many varieties of
trailers, trucks and vans, to pull carts, give small
children rides, to guard sheep, and sometimes do tricks - just for fun.
Many llamas make excellent 4-H projects, you should look for a llama which
demonstrates a natural curiosity, good disposition, high intelligence and
easy manageability in a variety of care-management situations. ... e.g. does
the llama remain calm when you: brush the fleece, can you pick-up each
foot, catch and halter, etc.
Llamas are
ruminants. The veterinary needs and husbandry are similar to those for cattle, sheep or horses.
Llamas are highly
social animals and communicate with various tail, body and ear
postures, plus vocalizations. Mature llamas will average about 45 inches
at the withers and weigh 300-400 pounds. Their life span is over 20 years.
We feel that each llama needs the companionship of at least one other llama.
It's also nice for them when they can go hiking in pairs or larger groups which
we term "strings". It is our experience that geldings make the
best activity and pack animals. The endogenous cultures of South America
refer to llamas as our "Speechless
Brothers".
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