Llamas can be described as pony sized although much lighter in build, weighing circa 120-150kg. In South America the average llama is about 38” at the withers but if you were to take a young cria (calf) from South America and grow it in the UK, it would be likely to put on an extra 2-4 inches due to the more nutritious diet.

Llamas come in a variety of colours from black to white and many shades of brown in between. It is said that there are some 35 natural shades of llama wool.

Llamas…

• do not have hooves. Each foot has two toes with soft pads. The toe nails may need an occasional trim but usually wear down naturally.
• can be sheared annually or, more usually, every two years. Importantly, however, they need not be sheared at all if you do not wish to harvest the fibre, as it stops growing at a manageable length.
• have very soft, light and warm fibre which is described as alpaca if its micron count (thickness) is measured as 28 microns or under. It can usually be sold at a good price.
• are gentle, intelligent and highly trainable…
• are very hardy, having flourished for thousands of years in a climate where it can be freezing before sunrise and over 100F by midday,
• do not need to be exercised, nor do they need to be housed at night or in winter (although a field shelter or shelter is desirable and useful).
• calve easily, rarely requiring human intervention.
• eat less than sheep, cattle etc, on a weight ratio basis.
• do not need annual dipping as with sheep.
• are relatively resistant to most diseases found in European livestock. Although originating in South America, they do not suffer from any unusual of ‘exotic’ problems specific to llama or that region.
• Grass is the staple diet of llamas, although they will nibble on fresh hedges and tree shoots etc. They are not goat-like, however, in that they will not stay to strip a tree.
• A llama should not be kept on its own. If not kept in a pair or group, then other field stock such as sheep make good companions.