Buying a Llama

A Brief Guide to Choosing a Llama

Buying a llama is a major commitment 
and should only be made after 
doing some research.
 
In selecting any llama you must consider:

  1. Health  
    Does the animal look healthy? Ask the owner if he has records of the animal’s breeding, vaccination and worming programme.
          
  2. Conformation
    3. Look for a straight back with neck and tail set on at a good angle. Observe the legs. Ideally, they should be straight. The ankle joints should be close to vertical and not dropping towards the ground.
            
  3. Temperament
    4. Generally, llamas are calm and intelligent. Temperament is partly hereditary and partly learned. Therefore , it is important to see how the owner handles the llama. Warning: Be wary of over-friendly young males. These boys, that may been over-handled, can develop "male beserk syndrome" which is when a male llama has no respect for humans. This can become frightening and dangerous.
            
  4. Training
    5. Find out if the llama has been trained. Can you put a halter on it?   Can you groom it?   Can you take it for walks?  
    It takes time and experience to train a llama, don't assume you can buy an unhandled llama and just win it over.
            
  5. Wool
    6. This is particularly important if you are a spinner or breeding for fibre. However, even if you aren’t interested in using the fibre, you want a llama with a healthy coat.
*Remember, all baby llamas are cute!  Be sure to see the parents if you want to know how it will probably look as an adult.

*Particularly for first time buyers, always purchase a llama from someone you feel you can call on if you have a problem – an "after sales service guarantee".
    
*Our policy is not to make a "For Sale" list but rather to find out a potential buyer’s needs and then try to find the most suitable match amongst our 50 lovely llamas.
  
*Llamas are like people. Some you immediately take a liking to and others you just don’t have a rapport with. It is important that the llama’s and the owner’s temperament compliment each other.