• Llama Facts
• Specialty Feeding Chart

Llama Facts

• Life span: about 15 to 29 years
• Weight: 250 to 450 pounds
• Height: 36" to 47" at shoulder, 5' to 6'5 at head
• Average gestation: 350 days
• Llamas belong to a sub-family called camelids (as do camels, guanaco and vicuna).  They are one of the oldest domesticated animals in the world, originating in the Central Plains of South America about 10 million years ago. 
• Llamas can be bred at any time of the year.  A single baby ('cria') is usually delivered from a standing mother, normally without assistance.  Most births occur during the day's light hours.
• Llamas are very efficient converters of forages for they are ruminants that have only three chambers in their stomach.
• Like cattle and sheep, they chew their cud. 
• Due to a relatively low protein requirement and an efficient digestive system, they can be kept on a variety of suitable pastures or hay, with the supplementation of recommended vitamins, minerals and salt.  A llama costs significantly less to feed than other comparable sized animals.
• Llamas will spit at other llamas in order to establish the pecking order within the group, to ward off an unwanted suitor, or to say 'Stop It'.  A llama that has been mishandled or that feels abused or threatened may occasionally spit at humans.
• Llamas have the habit of defecating in a fixed area and avoid grazing around the piles, thus keeping parasite infestation low. 

Specialty Animal Feeding Chart