Baby Llama!

[JDacapo]

We have a few llamas, and a couple of them gave birth. The latest one is a boy, and incredibly CUTE! He's mostly white with a dark head. Have you ever cuddled a baby llama? I held him for awhile to try and get him used to being touched. We're gonna hafta fix him soon so he doesn't turn mean upon adolescence.

[MsScribble]

Awww, congrats!
I've never cuddled a llama, and suddenly I feel the poorer for it. Do you have pics?

[JDacapo]

Awww, congrats!
I've never cuddled a llama, and suddenly I feel the poorer for it. Do you have pics?

Not yet, but if I can get some pictures, I will. And you should definitely go to a petting zoo where they may have baby llamas. They're so soft and fuzzy, and they have the cutest faces! Also, the way they prance around and swish their tails is darling!

[iCad]

Oh, if you think baby llamas are good to cuddle, you should try alpacas. (We have both, and we have babies of both, ATM. :) ) Llamas generally grow up into less-than-pleasant creatures, as I'm sure you know, but alpacas...Sweetest things on Earth, and they stay that way. And they hum, too. :lovestruc I go out and sit amongst ours (We have about 20 at the moment, including this spring's newborns) and they just settle down around you and start to hum. Swear, I could sleep out there, with that sound. *sigh*

Good to know there's another llama-keeper around here, though!

[Phoeberg]

This is just too cute. I googled pictures of baby llamas and baby alpacas...ahhh :lovestruc. And sitting amongst the alpacas sounds so peaceful, iCad. I'd love to hear them humming!

[JDacapo]

Oh, if you think baby llamas are good to cuddle, you should try alpacas. (We have both, and we have babies of both, ATM. :) ) Llamas generally grow up into less-than-pleasant creatures, as I'm sure you know, but alpacas...Sweetest things on Earth, and they stay that way. And they hum, too. :lovestruc I go out and sit amongst ours (We have about 20 at the moment, including this spring's newborns) and they just settle down around you and start to hum. Swear, I could sleep out there, with that sound. *sigh*

Good to know there's another llama-keeper around here, though!

Yup. My mum is planning on getting some alpacas. I've read that llamas can develop aberrant behaviour syndrome, especially the males, if they are improperly socialized. I would love to have some sweet alpacas to cuddle.

[iCad]

This is just too cute. I googled pictures of baby llamas and baby alpacas...ahhh :lovestruc. And sitting amongst the alpacas sounds so peaceful, iCad. I'd love to hear them humming!

It's an interesting sound, kind of like a cross between the lowing of a cow, the "bahh-ing" of a sheep and dolphin whistles. :lol: Here's a very short video I dug up on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8V7EQkhJ8Mc

That doesn't QUITE capture an extended humming session that a bunch of happy alpacas can make, but it'll give you an idea. (That hum sounds a bit more like the "nervous" hum they do.) One of these days, I should take some recording equipment out there.

But yeah, I like to sit amongst them and draw, listening to the sounds they make (They make many different ones, from the content humming to the terrified, ear-piercing, absolutely bone-chilling shrieking when they spy a mountain lion. :lol: ) and the wind through the trees. The llamas aren't nearly so vocal, which is a shame.

ETA:

Yup. My mum is planning on getting some alpacas.

Good! Not only are they adorable and very clean and sheep-like in their gentleness and you've never touched a softer animal in your life except maybe a rabbit, but they can also be very profitable, if you can find an outlet for the fiber. We sell mostly to people/companies who dye it and then spin it into yarn or weave it into cloth.

I've read that llamas can develop aberrant behaviour syndrome, especially the males, if they are improperly socialized.

And sometimes even when they ARE socialized, if they're alphas. Our alpha, The Admiral, is one nasty mofo. He kicks, bites, and is a dead-eye with the spitting. Right in your face. It's nasty, and some curious tourists who've stopped their cars to look at them and occasionally try to pet them have had some nasty experiences, DESPITE the fact that we've put up numerous signs on the part of our property that borders the road that have a big picture of him and that say, "We're pretty much OK to pet, if you want, but DON'T MESS WITH THIS ONE!" (And he's distinctive-looking. Large even for a male llama, and mostly black with a white face and white front lower legs amongst a herd of mostly white or brown-and-white ones, so it's not like you can mistake him for someone else.) We raised him from a baby. He's the son of our previous alpha who passed away a few years ago, so he's all kinds of socialized, but something clicked in his head that made him think, "I am God. YOU are a mere herd member, and I WILL discipline you." And he does so. He's taken on mountain lions single-handed multiple times...and has won every time. :) The only creature I've seen him back down from is a bear. But then, the bear wasn't directly threatening the herd; it just wanted to get at the grill to lick off the grease. :lol: The Admiral and I have had our encounters and I think I've earned his respect, but other people... :lol:

But then again, sometimes he gets in this really goofy mood where he just wants to moosh his face into yours and be kind of cuddly. And if you try to take a picture of him, his first impulse is to moosh his face into the camera lens. We all think he has a split personality. :lol:

Our beta and gamma males, The Commodore and The Captain, are nicer, though. But not NEARLY as nice as even an alpha alpaca. :)

[JDacapo]

Thank you for the info, iCAD! Anyway, by 'socialized' do you mean that he spent time with llamas and wasn't taught to think he's a human? Because with male llamas, it's not wise to bottle-feed them and cuddle them too much - they have to know that they are llamas and that humans are the bosses. If a baby llama nibbles on you, I've read that you should let it know that that isn't acceptable. If the baby stands in front of you, blocking your path, walking around it tells the llama that he or she is the boss. Instead, you should gently push the llama out of the way or pinch its front leg, sort of like how the dog-whisperer trains dogs. Though I could be wrong.

Our llamas are mostly for protecting our goats, because we got a few mountain lions and coyotes where I live. We used to have two male llamas, and one was kept in an enclosure, though he would sometimes try flirting with one of our females, an old girl named Freckles. He'd also get into standoffs with the free-range male, and they'd make those car-ignition sounds. Crazy llamas XD Anyway I hope we do get some alpacas - they sound like they'd be great pets!

[Phoeberg]

It's an interesting sound, kind of like a cross between the lowing of a cow, the "bahh-ing" of a sheep and dolphin whistles. :lol: Here's a very short video I dug up on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8V7EQkhJ8Mc

That doesn't QUITE capture an extended humming session that a bunch of happy alpacas can make, but it'll give you an idea. (That hum sounds a bit more like the "nervous" hum they do.) One of these days, I should take some recording equipment out there.

But yeah, I like to sit amongst them and draw, listening to the sounds they make (They make many different ones, from the content humming to the terrified, ear-piercing, absolutely bone-chilling shrieking when they spy a mountain lion. :lol: ) and the wind through the trees. The llamas aren't nearly so vocal, which is a shame.

I just watched numerous alpaca videos on youtube now, what a way to pass the evening! They have the happiest faces I can ever recall seeing on an animal. They really look as if they're all smiling! You're very lucky; I'd love to have one. I've actually always wanted a sheep as my mom used to have pet sheep when she was younger and tells the sweetest stories about them, but I have to admit, the alpacas do look friendlier than fully grown sheep. Out of interest, how long have you had your alpacas for?

[iCad]

I'm not entirely certain, but just going by our own experience, I tend to think that there's a huge difference in behavior between very domesticated "pet" llamas and less-domesticated herd llamas. The latter mimics their natural behavior more than the behavior imposed on them by domestication. Ours are about as "natural" as domesticated llamas can be. We have about 40 acres, about 30 of which is fenced as pasture land, with a smaller portion separately fenced and dedicated to horses. (Basically, it's the part where the grazing isn't as good. :lol: The poor horses don't get treated as well as the camelids. ;) We're thinking about getting some dairy goats, for their milk, but we haven't yet.) Both the llamas and alpacas roam freely over that area, with their natural sort of herd structure in place. So, when I say that The Admiral is socialized, he is llama-socialized. But he's also human-socialized, though never treated as a pet. (We tend to think of the alpacas as more the pets, although they do generate income for us. The llamas, on the other hand, are more or less strictly investments, although of course we love them, too.)

We DO human-socialize the llamas to some extent because we market and sell them as pack animals, mostly to dude ranches and trail-riding outfits in the area. (We live in the US West, rural southwestern Colorado, specifically.) They are very valuable for that because they can carry as much as a horse of larger size than they are AND they require less water than a horse and are naturally extreme-altitude-adapted, which is a good thing in our near-desert and high-altitude climate, which is about as close to natural llama habitat as can be found in the US. But since they are often used in conjunction with horses after they get to their new homes, we make sure that ours are also horse-socialized and we also do a bit of preliminary training. But no, they aren't pets. In The Admiral's case, he's just naturally an alpha, probably would be one if he was a wild llama as well, and so he acts like one. But I don't tend to think the instinct kicks in as much in males that aren't kept in an actual free-roaming herd. (Our herd numbers about 50, at the moment.)

But yes, you're right in that, as with ANY pack/herd animal -- be it a dog or a llama or a horse -- they absolutely need to be taught who's boss. This doesn't mean abusing them, of course, but it does mean that you need to make it clear that YOU are the alpha, and THEY are the beta, at best. :) Herd/pack animals psychologically REQUIRE clear hierarchy; without it they become confused and will exhibit behaviors like unnaturally intensified aggression. And you'd be surprised at what can make a llama think that THEY'RE the boss, not you. Like the walking around them thing you mentioned. That's what lower-ranked llamas do around higher-ranked ones. So it's definitely a better idea to shove them (Gently, of course) out of your way instead because that IS what they expect from fellow herdmembers of higher rank than they are. (There is nothing like human politeness and an "after you" mentality in a group of herd/pack animals. :lol: So it seems to me that you're doing a good job with your reading. Good on ya, and keep it up. :)

And yes, you're right in that llamas make wonderful guard animals. The males will actively defend from threats anything they see as part of their herd. (In our case, that's llamas, alpacas, the totally wimpy horses, some of the dogs, a few of the cats, and our immediate family as well pretty much any human child.) Many ranches out here use them to protect especially sheep. (Cattle can take care of themselves pretty well, but...Well, sheep are sheep. :) ) We've begun to market them as guard animals to area ranches as well. And the females, while not as protective, will make a hellacious amount of noise if there's anything threatening in the area. When we hear the llama girls freaking out, out we go with shotguns, in case they're necessary. (Like I said, we're very rural. And anything that makes a llama freak out is pretty much guaranteed to be able to kill a person. :lol: )

ETA @ Phoeberg: We've had alpacas for about...Um, eight years, I think it is. They are wonderful animals, if you're going to keep large-ish livestock. Probably the gentlest livestock animal that I know, even more than sheep (I've met a number of cranky ewes and even crankier rams in my day! :lol: ) I can only say good things about them. I mean, sheep are very sweet, but alpacas have some advantages. They're VERY clean, for one thing, using a communal dungheap rather than peeing and pooping willy-nilly. (The females all tend to go at the same time, even. They all wander over to the 'heap as a group and let loose. It kind of reminds me of how, when you're out with a bunch of gal-friends, you'll all tend to head to the ladies' room at the same time. :lol: ) Because of this, a good number can be kept on a relatively small amount of land. About 10 per acre is fine. Also because of this, they are far less prone to illness and disease.

Also, their feet are padded so they cause a lot less damage to the terrain than sheep or especially something big and hoofed like cattle or horses do. Their teeth are structured such that they cannot pull grass and other plants up by the roots, instead nibbling down until there's about an inch left, which also causes less damage and means that the grass regrows very quickly. They're natural lawnmowers. So, on smaller pieces of land, that means less supplemental feeding and, on larger pieces of land, perhaps no supplemental feeding at all, depending on what you've got growing. They are pretty low maintenance, too, only requiring regular toenail clipping and, if you want to do it, yearly shearing. They don't have to be sheared, but unlike llamas that were domesticated to be pack animals, their primary use in domestication has always been for their fiber, which is soft as soft can be and, because it has no lanolin like sheep wool, is more or less non-allergenic. If you don't shear them, they look like big balls of floppy fluff wandering around. Ours seem to enjoy being sheared, though, a task we just finished a couple of weeks ago. They prance around afterwards, even though they can look ridiculous after shearing. :lol: So...Yeah, wonderful animals that are very gentle, very "Earth-friendly," and they make wonderful sounds to boot. :) Oh, and they live for a long time, up to 20 years.

And yes, they do always have "smiles" on their faces. So do llamas, actually, but there's something about the alpaca face that makes it much more noticeable, perhaps because their muzzles are shorter. Or maybe it's because their eye level is more or less about the same as your average adult human's so you notice their faces more. I don't know. Whatever the case, they have adorable, teddy-bear like faces, with the sweetest eyes.

Of course, they do have the capability of doing the nastier camelid things, like spitting, and they can be camel-level stubborn at times, usually at the most inopportune times. But they're naturally non-aggressive, especially not the females, and they usually give you plenty of verbal and body-language warning that they're going to do something nasty, unlike certain much-stealthier llamas I could tell you stories about. :lol: