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Miniature Llamas
LLAMAS TOOK NORTH AMERICA BY STORM in the 1970s as the exotic critter du jour. It wasn’t until the early 1990s, however, that breeders began developing llamas smaller than their standard-size cousins. In 1999 these breeders banded together to form the American Miniature Llama Association or AMLA (see Resources). Currently about 1,000 miniatures have been dually registered with the International Lama Registry (see Resources) and the AMLA.
Llama, Alpaca, or What?
The first thing prospective miniature llama purchasers should know is that not all sellers know the difference between llamas and alpacas.
To confound the issue, lamas (a catch-all term referring to all four South American camelid species: llamas, alpacas, guanacos [wild ancestors of llamas], and vicuñas [wild ancestors of alpacas]) are interfertile. Bred together, different species produce viable offspring, most of which fall into acceptable miniature llama parameters. These offspring include huarizos (llama sires and alpaca dams), mistis (alpaca sires and llama dams), paco-vicuñas (vicuña sires and alpaca dams), llamo-vicuñas (vicuña sires and llama dams), llamo-guanacoes or llanacos (guanaco sires and llama dams), and paco-guanacoes (alpaca sires and guanaco dams).
The good news is guanacos and vicuñas are still very rare in North America, so you’re unlikely to encounter any of their crosses. Alpaca-llama crosses are another story. As alpaca prices fall, especially for excess male alpacas, more backyard breeders are adding alpaca males to their llama herds. The resulting crias (baby llamas) are adorable and the adults nice indeed, but they aren’t miniature llamas.
Llamas and alpacas have noticeably different physiques. Llamas’ body parts (head, back, legs, neck, and ears) are longer and straighter than those of alpacas. Llamas are noted for long, narrow ears that curve in at the tips (“banana ears” in llama terminology), whereas alpacas have shorter, more triangular, pointed ears (“spear ears”). Alpacas’ faces are considerably shorter, too.
Miniature llamas (front) are much smaller than their full-size (rear) kin.
Llamas were developed in South America thousands of years ago as working animals, specifically to carry packs at high elevations, which is why their backs are straight and strong. Alpacas were developed alongside llamas but primarily for fiber, so straight backs weren’t important. Alpacas’ backs are gently rounded, and correspondingly, their tails are set lower than those of llamas.
Alpacas have a single coat, without the longer, coarser guard hair that overlays most llamas’ fleece; most (but not all) llamas are double-coated with varying amounts of guard hair over their soft, inner fleece.
To sum it up, llamas are streamlined, elegant beasts, while alpacas look cuddly and cute. Mistis (and much more rarely, huarizos) combine characteristics of both parents and vary widely in shape and size.
To avoid identification problems, don’t buy unregistered miniature llamas; registration papers that match the llama in question ensure you’re getting the real thing.
Llamas at a Glance
All South American camelids have certain features. They are all, for example, modified ruminants. They chew cud but unlike true ruminants, such as cattle, sheep, and goats, their stomachs have three compartments instead of four.
Like true ruminants, they have a hard upper dental palate but no upper teeth in front, and a set of upper and lower molars in back. All have a split, prehensile (adapted for grasping) upper lip that helps them grip forage in unison with their lower incisors. Mature males have curved, fanglike “fighting teeth,” too.
Bare, oblong patches on the side of each rear leg in both sexes are scent glands associated with the production of alarm pheromones. Llamas have scent glands between their toes as well.
Each foot consists of two digits with broad, doglike, leathery pads on the bottom and thick, down-curved toenails in front.
Llamas establish a hierarchy or “pecking order” in every group, be it 2 llamas or 60. Within this group they communicate through body language and through vocalizations ranging from gentle humming to loud shrieks.
Llamas usually rest in the kush (or cush) position (lying on their bellies with their legs tucked under their bodies) but sometimes lie on their sides or backs as well. They eliminate on community dung piles, and crias learn to use community potties within days after birth. When one llama eliminates, most of the rest of a group will line up to use the dung pile, too.
Except for females interacting with their own young crias, llamas don’t initiate close physical contact with one another in the manner of many other species. Unless habituated to it, they prefer that humans not touch them either. They look cuddly but aren’t, much to the disappointment of many first-time owners. Llamas can be likened to slightly wary cats. Most enjoy interacting with humans — but on their own terms.
Parts of a llama
Llama-Speak
The South American native tribes who developed them call llamas their “silent brothers.” In fact, llamas aren’t silent at all — they make a wide variety of vocalizations. These are the ones you’ll often hear:
Humming. Llamas don’t hum because they’re happy or content; they hum when they’re feeling lonesome, bored, overheated, cold, in pain, frightened, worried, curious, cautious, or distressed. A more peaceful hum is the gentle, low-pitched sound mothers hum to their crias (and their crias softly hum it back).
Clicking. Llamas click to intimidate other llamas, such as when telling a herd mate to “leave me alone.” They also sometimes click if they’re worried or concerned. Females click when their babies wander too far away or if another mom or cria ventures too near. Llamas snort in response to the same stimuli; clicks are sometimes interspaced with snorts.
Growling. Llamas growl (a rumbling sound made deep in their throats) to communicate a warning when they’re mildly annoyed.
Alarm calling. When a llama perceives danger, it issues a distinctive, shrill, undulating whinny to alert the rest of its herd. Some give an alarm call only occasionally; others give them many times a day.
Screaming. Llamas scream when infuriated. Males scream when battling one another or when warning another male away from their territory. Some llamas also scream when they’re deeply frightened or stressed.
Orgling. Males orgle while breeding. Orgling is a throaty, gargling sound that varies greatly from individual to individual but it always indicates mating activity. If one male orgles, all the other intact males in the area may orgle, too. Males orgle throughout the breeding process — from courtship through the final act — sometimes for more than an hour at a time.
Spit Happens
Llamas spit at one another for numerous reasons: to indicate displeasure or intense fear, to establish dominance over a herd mate, or to discipline her own or another female’s cria. The average llama, however, rarely (if ever) spits at human beings.
When a llama tenses, pins back its ears, and elevates its chin, it’s annoyed and could spit very soon. The mildest type of spitting is an “air spit”: the llama emits an explosion of air. Air spits mean, “Shove off!” or “I’m frightened (or annoyed).”
Then comes the “My mouth is full, so take this!” spit. This spit happens if a llama air spits while it has something in its mouth. The llama spews saliva, chewed grass, or dry feed. It means, “Keep annoying or scaring me and you’ll be sorry!”
Finally there is the true, hurled-from-the-depths-of-the-stomach spit that no human or animal wants to encounter — ever. Regurgitated stomach contents are slimy, stinky, and disgusting beyond words. After a regurgitated stomach contents spitting occurs, both the llama that spits and the one spat upon typically spend 15 to 30 minutes with their mouths hanging open in response to the terrible taste and smell. Try to avoid this spit if you possibly can.
Llamas come in several coat styles.
Fiber Types, Not Breeds
There are no separate breeds among llamas, be they standard-size or miniature; they’re categorized according to fiber type and sometimes by their ancestors’ country of origin (Argentine, Chilean, Bolivian llamas).
Although some call llama fiber “wool,” it’s hollow (true wool has a solid core), so it’s actually hair. Llama fiber is lighter and warmer than sheep’s wool, and it contains no oily lanolin, so it produces greater yields (more yards of yarn per ounce of fiber). Because it’s warmer, lighter-weight llama wool garments produce the same heat retention as considerably bulkier sheep’s wool items.
Like other fibers, llama fiber is measured in microns. A micron is 1/1,000 of a millimeter in diameter or 1/25,000 of an inch. Generally, alpaca fiber is finer than llama fiber (the lower the count, the finer the fiber), but there are exceptions. Alpaca fiber measures less than 20 microns (the standard grading system calls this “royal alpaca”) to more than 35 microns (classification: “very coarse”), while most llama undercoats measure from 20 to 40 microns. Yarn composed of more than 5 percent fiber measuring 22 microns or greater is too coarse and itchy to wear next to human skin.
Most llamas are double-coated. Fiber sheared from double-coated llamas contains up to 20 percent guard hair that must be picked out (usually done by hand) before the undercoat is processed into yarn. Removing guard hair is a nitpicky process so spinners should avoid llamas with an abundance of guard hair.
All llamas fall into one of several basic fiber types: classic, woolly, and suri.
Classic Llamas
Classic llamas are also known as ccara (pronounced CAR-uh) or ccara sullo (CAR-uh SOO-yoh) llamas. They have short, double coats. Guard hair usually accounts for 15 percent or more of a classic llama’s overall fleece. Classics have soft, semi-crimpy (minutely wavy) undercoats topped by guard hair, and short hair on their heads and legs, especially below the knees. These llamas shed their undercoats, so they needn’t be sheared or clipped; it’s easy to remove shed fiber from the tools used to groom them. Because classic llamas’ coats pick up fewer sticks and less debris than woolly llamas, they’re easier to keep clean, making them the preferred type for packing (even a miniature llama is useful on the trail) and public relations work.
Woolly Llamas
Most breeders simply refer to them as medium- or long-wool llamas, but there are actually several types of wooly llamas.
Curaca (cur-AH-cah) llamas have less guard hair (3 to 15 percent on average) than classic llamas have and longer wool on their bodies, necks, and legs. Like classics, they have hair instead of wool below their knees and hocks. Curaca llamas partially shed, but many require clipping or shearing every few years.
Tapada (tah-PA-dah) llamas have dense, sometimes silky, sometimes crimpy, sometimes loosely wavy coats, as well as wool (not hair) on their heads and below their knees. They have less than 1 percent guard hair and are considered to be single-coated.
Longer-coated tapadas are frequently confused with lanudas (la-NOO-dahs). Lanudas are single-coated, silky-woolly, long-coated llamas. They have wool-fringed ears and tails, woolly faces, and abundant fiber all the way down their legs to their feet.
Some tapadas and lanudas are referred to as silky llamas. They don’t shed, so they require full body shearing every year (and considerable grooming in between). Tapadas and lanudas yield the most, and usually the best, fiber.
Suri Llamas
A suri llama’s single coat of fiber grows parallel to its body and hangs in long locks of high-luster fiber. Fiber drapes down the sides of the suri llama’s body in twisted or flat locks that resemble dreadlocks, though the fiber isn’t actually matted. Locks are round, form close to the skin, and twist uniformly the length of each lock. Suri fiber is slick, soft, and shiny (used to make worsted cloth), and when the llama moves, its fiber moves freely. Suri fiber gives suri llamas a distinctive, flat-sided appearance. Standard-size suri llamas are comparatively rare; miniature suri llamas are rarer still.
Getting into Miniature Llamas
Not all small llamas are truly miniature llamas that have the potential to sire or produce miniature stock. Small llamas may actually be alpaca hybrids, and small may equate with lack of early care and proper feeding. The best way to check the authentication of the miniature llamas you’re buying is to look for the American Miniature Llama Association seal on a potential purchase’s International Lama Association registration papers. And even then, realize that miniature llamas are still in the early stages of development and they could produce offspring that are oversize but not as large as full-size llamas.
Aberrant Behavior Syndrome
Before buying llamas, in general, and breeding males, in particular, be certain you recognize aberrant behavior syndrome (ABS). Originally called berserk male syndrome (BMS), this dangerous behavior pattern is the result of mishandling young camelids of both sexes.
Overhandling, such as bottle feeding, causes baby llamas to imprint on humans; this is what triggers ABS. Llamas become aggressive and hostile toward people, spitting at and charging anyone who comes near them. Males are more likely to develop ABS, but females can be dangerous, too. ABS llamas and alpacas share some or all of this background:
They were separated from their mothers at an early age and bottle-raised
They were raised apart from other llamas (particularly adult role models)
They were handled by people unaware of normal camelid behavior (they were raised by inexperienced owners or displayed in petting zoos)
Thankfully, however, not every obnoxious llama is an ABS llama. Some are simply frightened or spoiled. Previously unhandled llamas are afraid of human contact and react, sometimes spectacularly, when subjected to scary procedures like being cornered and caught at toenail trimming time and when shorn. There is nothing wrong with these animals that patience and training won’t cure; they react the way they do out of fear. The experts at Southeast Llama Rescue (see Resources) say to expect untrained llamas to:
Swing their rumps or shoulders into people while trying to avoid being touched
Run into people with their chests when trying to evade capture
Swing their necks and heads around, especially when being haltered or touched on the head or neck
Kick
Spit
Fall on a person who is trying to pick up a foot
“Spook” at new stimuli while being led, dragging anyone holding onto the lead rope
When truly aggressive llamas hurt you, they mean it — and when crias are handled incorrectly, aggression can surface at an early age. Mild indications of ABS include:
Crias that greet people by flipping their tails across their backs and curving their necks into a U-configuration. This is submissive behavior to be shown to another llama; llamas should not consider humans part of their herd.
Any llama that positions herself to prevent people from passing by
Any llama that follows people within a 2-foot (0.6 m) distance without enticement such as food
Males that orgle at humans
If aggression isn’t nipped in the bud, behaviors intensify and may escalate to:
Screaming at or spitting on people without provocation
Charging at, jumping over, or trying to crawl through fences to reach bystanders
Charging into humans — ramming them with knees and chest and possibly stomping them after they’ve been knocked down
Rearing
Biting
Can these llamas be saved? Sometimes, but to do it you’ll need help to safely handle the task. Contact Southeast Llama Rescue (see Resources); they’ve successfully rehabilitated hundreds of aggressive llamas and can help you formulate a plan.
Keep in mind that the typical aggressive llama is an intact, hormone-crazed male, so the first thing to do is have him gelded. Then give him time for his hormone levels to subside. According to Southeast Llama Rescue, most of the time, males that are gelded and then rehabilitated are successfully retrained.
Nip aggression in the bud, however, by discouraging overfamiliarity in young llamas. It’s all right to interact with youngsters but don’t allow them to mouth your clothing, nibble your shoes or shoelaces, sniff your crotch, rub up against you, shoulder in to you, or wrap their necks around you — all of which are precursors to later aggression. Adult llamas don’t allow crias to behave in this manner, and neither should you.
Facilities for Llamas
Llamas, except for a few breeding males, are easy to contain. They are, however, extremely curious animals and notorious for threading their long, fragile necks through any opening their heads fit through. For this reason, the best fencing for llamas is woven-wire field fencing or cattle panels with small openings; this is especially important if you’ll be raising inquisitive crias.
Unless sheared late in the summer, llamas kept in field shelters or barns rarely have a problem staying warm. Staying cool in the summer is another story indeed, as they’re very prone to deadly heat stress. Pastured llamas need lots of shade where they can hang out during the heat of the day. Field shelters and natural cover such as trees are equally effective at shading and cooling them. Ventilation is as important as shade, so llamas kept indoors need fans.
One of the beauties of miniature llamas is that if you’re in reasonable shape, you probably won’t need a handling chute for routine procedures (a must when raising full-size llamas). Unless you can walk up to each of your llamas and slip on a halter without fuss, however, you will need a catch pen. This is a small, sturdy enclosure where you can herd a single llama to be caught. Four 8-foot long, 4ġ-foot tall pipe panels that are chained together (the sort used for making equine round pens) work well.
Feeding Llamas
Except for young stock and late gestation or lactating females, your llamas will probably only need quality hay and a good mineral mix formulated for llamas. Llamas wrest the maximum amount of nourishment from the feed they consume and, consequently, easily get fat. Don’t overfeed; fat llamas are much more prone to heat stress than trim, healthy llamas.
Keeping Llamas Healthy
Llamas, as a whole, are hardy, easy-care livestock. They’re susceptible to the same sort of parasites (coccidia, stomach worms, lice) and illnesses (enterotoxemia, bloat, colic) other barnyard species are prone to but usually to a lesser extent. And they require the same dewormers, vaccines, and medicines to prevent or cure them. There are, however, a few problems you are more likely to encounter when raising llamas, such as high stress levels, teeth issues, and high susceptibility to meningeal worm.
Avoid Stress
Llamas suffer terribly when stressed, and stress leads to serious medical problems. Signs of stress include humming, open-mouthed breathing, pacing, tense lips, “worry wrinkles” below the eyes, tail swishing, and refusing food or water. A solitary llama is invariably stressed: llamas are herd animals and they never like to be alone, so it’s kindest (and from a medical standpoint, best) to keep more than one. Other stressful situations include being caught when they aren’t used to it, toenail trimming, shearing, being separated from a favorite friend, being subjected to unpleasant veterinary procedures, and being hauled.
Weather extremes, especially blazing heat and humidity, head the list of long-term stressors. It’s imperative that you cool any llama suffering from heat stress as quickly as you can. A good way is to hose it down, saturating it all the way to the skin, using lots of cold water, and then place it in front of a fan to finish cooling off.
In hot, steamy climates, keep plenty of plastic milk jugs of ice-cold water and bagged ice cubes in the freezer at all times. Pack these under an overheated, kushed llama or hold them against a standing llama’s underbelly, armpits, or groin.
Indicators of heat stress include lethargy, drooping lower lip, staggering, open-mouth breathing, elevated temperature and respiration, and drooling.
Prevention is better than a cure. Llamas always need access to plenty of clean, cool water. Place extra containers of water in shaded areas, and when it’s really sizzling, periodically drop ice cubes in popular containers to cool the water. Use fans; even cheap box fans work for a few head of llamas. Don’t let llamas get fat; overweight animals are especially prone to overheating. Shear every llama, every year.
Trimming Teeth
At 18 to 24 months of age, intact male llamas begin growing six sharp fighting teeth or fangs, two on the top jaw and one on the bottom, on each side of the mouth; a few females and geldings get them, too. Unless these are blunted or removed, males use them when fighting one another, inflicting serious damage to their opponents.
Pulling teeth often results in serious jaw injuries, so fighting teeth are usually sawn off at gum level. Your vet can do it using a Dremel-type tool or flexible cutting wire designed to slice hard surfaces without damaging soft tissue. (It may be sold as OB wire.) You can also do it yourself, but first have a vet or experienced person show you how.
Aged llamas and younger ones with poor occlusion sometimes need to have protruding front teeth trimmed. A battery-powered Dremel tool with a diamond wheel does the trick. You can remove a lot of tooth without injuring the llama, but never grind all the way down to root level because exposed roots are prone to dental infections. Whether using OB wire to trim fighting teeth or a Dremel tool to grind back incisors, stop frequently to let the tooth you’re working on cool down. Never cut llama teeth with side-cutters or nippers — they will shatter!
Adult male llamas grow impressive fighting teeth.
Watch Out for Meningeal Worm
Llamas that share grazing and watering areas with white-tailed deer are at risk for meningeal worm, also called “deer worm” or “meningeal deer worm.” White-tailed deer are the natural hosts for this parasite. Ground-dwelling slugs and snails serve as intermediate hosts between deer and other species. Although this parasite doesn’t bother deer to any extent, in other species, such as llamas, alpacas, goats, and sheep, larvae migrate to the host’s spinal cord and brain causing rear leg weakness, staggering gait, hypermetria (exaggerated stepping motions), circling, gradual weight loss, and paralysis leading to death.
In endemic areas, many vets prescribe off-label, preventive ivermectin injections at 30-day intervals throughout the spring and summer months. Treatment is difficult and generally unsuccessful, so if you live where white-tailed deer are present, it’s important to discuss this serious problem with your vet.
Suspect meningeal worm any time a llama staggers or becomes weak in the hindquarters. If it happens, call your vet without delay because untreated infestation leads to paralysis and usually death.
Trimming Toenails
Trimming a llama’s toenails can be an interesting endeavor, because most llamas violently resist having their legs handled. They are prey animals and instinct tells them that if they can’t run when danger beckons, they’re toast. And male llamas, even geldings, fight (and play-fight) by biting at one another’s lower legs until one or both fall to their knees. Is it any wonder they resist at nail-trimming time?
You’ll need a good deal of patience, and unless you’re agile and strong, possibly a handling chute, to trim llamas’ toenails. It’s wise to wear spit-resistant clothing, too, including goggles.
Start with your hand on the llama’s shoulder or haunch and run it down the leg till you reach the foot. Give the llama a verbal signal (“Foot,” “Leg,” “Up”), grasp the lower pastern, and pick up the foot. If you practice before nail trimming day and reward your llamas for picking up their feet (hand over treats while the foot is in the air, not after you’ve placed it back on the ground), your llamas won’t object so much.
Use spring-handled hoof cutters of the sort used to trim the hooves of sheep and goats. Most farm stores carry them. Carefully trim the sides of each nail, avoiding soft tissue. Be conservative; if you cut into soft tissue, the nail will bleed. Then snip straight across the tip and shape the nail by rounding any sharp edges with a file.
Breeding Llamas
Females don’t come into heat; they are induced ovulators: the act of breeding causes the female to ovulate. In South American camelids, ovulation occurs about a day and a half after mating.
Females typically produce a single cria. Twinning is a very rare occurrence, which is surprising since nature provided llamas with four teats like a deer or a cow. Crias are nearly always born during daylight hours and delivered from a standing or squatting position. Llamas have attached tongues, so they can’t clean their newborns in the manner of other species.
Before Breeding
Don’t breed females until they’re physically mature — usually around 14 to 18 months of age. Llama gestations typically last 350 to 355 days, but normal crias have been born as early as 315 days and as late as 375 days after conception. Crias’ bodies, like those of most newborns, don’t thermoregulate very well, so you don’t want them born in the dead of winter nor in sultry summer’s heat.
During Breeding
A typical mating session begins with the amorous, orgling male pursuing the object of his affection, trying to convince her to stop running and lie down. If she’s willing, she does; if she’s already pregnant, she’ll “spit him off,” meaning she’ll repulse his advances.
If she’s interested, she kushes and he mounts, gradually inching his body closer to hers. When he’s close enough, he clutches her sides with his forelegs and snakes his long, thin penis through her vagina and all the way into her uterus, where he dribbles sperm until the mating ends. A typical mating takes 20 minutes or longer.
Sound (orgling) and stimulation (penetration and the tight grasp of the male’s front legs) causes the female to release hormones that cause her to ovulate approximately 30 to 40 hours after mating.
Most owners test for possible pregnancy after seven days by reintroducing the couple. If she spits him off, she’s probably pregnant. Further testing should occur at weekly intervals up to day 28 after breeding. At this point, if she’s still spitting the male off, she’s probably pregnant.
Two llamas mating
Ultrasound imaging is a more reliable method of establishing pregnancy. Experienced llama vets ultrasound between 45 and 60 days postmating, or a vet can run a blood test to check the female’s progesterone levels. Both tests work well.
After Breeding
Don’t let your pregnant female get fat. Almost 85 percent of fetal growth occurs during the last trimester of pregnancy, so females don’t need concentrates in their diets until then. Feed high-quality grass hay during early gestation, making certain the llama has a plentiful supply of clean water and a properly balanced mineral supplement available at all times. Unless she’s grossly overweight, begin feeding a small amount of grain about six weeks before her first due date.
Continue deworming, using safe chemicals such as fenbendazole and ivermectin. Don’t use Valbazen to deworm pregnant females; though it’s an excellent dewormer for non-pregnant llamas, it’s been strongly implicated in spontaneous abortions and birth defects.
Four to six weeks before her first estimated delivery date, give your female a CD/T booster, so she’s sure to pass antibodies against these diseases to her cria through her colostrum (first milk). A cria’s immune system doesn’t start functioning until it’s three or four months old, so it needs passive transfer of antibodies from its dam to survive.
Remove males from the herd during your female’s last trimester. As birth approaches, the developing cria’s placenta produces more estrogen, which sometimes makes the female smell as though she’s receptive. If mated (and even some geldings are very insistent), she could lose her pregnancy. It is especially important that no intact males be present for the birth. Males sometimes attempt to breed females in the act of giving birth and if that happens, her cria could be killed.
Before the Big Event
Although it’s not the norm, llamas sometimes give birth weeks before their expected due date, so during your female’s last trimester, stay alert for these signs:
Udder enlargement. Most females “make bag” two or three weeks before giving birth, although some hold out until the last few days.
Nesting behavior. A day or two before her cria is born, the typical female seeks out a place to give birth. Once she chooses it, she’ll return to that spot time and time again. She may roll more than usual, and when resting, she’ll probably kush.
Last-minute physical changes. As her body prepares to give birth, a female’s vulva becomes relaxed and swollen, with or without a bit of stringy discharge.
Isolation. A few hours before the big event, she’ll leave the herd, with or without a companion, and go to her nesting spot.
Keep in mind that nearly all crias are born between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m., but birthing can occur night or day.
It’s Time!
When the female goes into labor she’ll repeatedly lie down, rise, and lie down again. She’ll hum or even moan and make many trips to the dung pile where she’ll strain but make little if any dung.
As contractions come closer together, she’ll hum more stridently. She’ll continually drop, roll, and get up again, but while she’s up, her back remains arched and her tail up.
Most females give birth standing or squatting but a few prefer to deliver lying down. Crias dangle from their dams for what sometimes seems like an eternity (it’s usually 5 or 10 minutes, in fact) before plopping to the ground. Don’t panic; this is nature’s way of draining fluids from the cria’s airways and is an essential, albeit scary (for the owner!), part of birthing llamas. Apart from this, birthing llamas go through the same process as other birthing livestock; refer to chapter 11 for particulars.
Most llamas give birth while standing.
Some llamas construe eye contact as aggression, so don’t make eye contact with a female who has a newborn cria. Many females that would never otherwise spit at humans will do so to defend their babies.
Some authorities think handling suckling crias, especially males, leads to aberrant behavior syndrome, but judicious handling is probably all right. However, don’t let the baby push you around, mouth your clothing, or otherwise become a pest.
Healthy, well-grown crias can be weaned between four and six months of age. Remember that a solitary llama is a stressed one, so don’t neglect to give the new weanling a friend. Another cria or a friendly older llama of the same sex is best, but an amiable sheep or goat makes a fine pal, too.
Miniature Llama (llamas of any sex, three years of age or older, that measure no more than 38 inches [97 cm] at the shoulders)