Posted on 07/13/2015 8:15:16 PM PDT by ETL
You’re welcome. If it holds up that these drawings predate the existing lines by two centuries, that would be really significant.
Oh, you lucky thing! I want a couple of llamas so bad. (Both girls, not to raise them)
Not Alpacas?
vvery ccool.
Ha take a right at the hummingbird, follow the straight track for 125 miles, when you see the flame signs your getting close, so slow down. If you pass the llamas you’ve gone to far.
No. I might be the only person in the world who doesn’t think Alpacas are cuter than Llamas. Everything about them just screams adorable at me- their ears, their expression, their whole posture. I just love their personalities. Llamas would always have their hands on their hips if they were human. I like a little sass in my critters. (Males can have a little more sass than I think I could handle.)
May I dare ask why then?
i’d like to keep them as pets (maybe do the cart thing). I’m not interested in breeding. Or growing a herd.
I see. Thanks.
Translation:
Tina, get some ham!
In before Greenpeace destroys them!
Thanks ETL.
“Alpacas are cuter than Llamas”
Obviously, those Peruvians didn’t think so either...
Both are found in the rural area I live in, some of the neighbors on this and the next road have one or two watch Llamas as pets-they are great guard animals for livestock and property, just like donkeys are-and like a donkey, they will run down, bite and kick an intruder or a predator-to death, if they can.
I don’t think the Alpacas are cuter-they are just smaller-they are just as bad tempered and dangerous-especially when someone tries to get them on a shearing table-but they aren’t as badass and brave as the Llamas...
The Alpacas are kept in herds on places of 20 acres or more by a few people who believed those TV infomercials about buying a bunch of them, making a fortune easily from shearing and selling their wool-not true, since there are plenty of sheep and Angora goats around here-cheaper, better temperament, smaller and there has been an established wool market for them for well over a century-so most of the Alpaca owners are stuck with a bunch of bad tempered animals whose wool isn’t all that profitable-if I were going to have a pet like that, I’d get a Llama...
They are great guard animals- esp for goats. LOL most critters are pretty good judges of character, too, wrt to 2 legged critters. The males can be aggressive if you don’t- or don’t know how to, establish personal space or whatever. (I don’t & don’t want to mess with it) Obviously, they’re big enough, that it could be dangerous.
Llamas are pretty easy going, as far as camelids go. Like any animal, it probably depends on how much a person interacts with them (which ought to be a lot). & they have personalities, just like dogs, cats, horses, whatever.
The worst thing about them is that they spit & it’s extremely gross, but as long as you don’t irritate them…They spit at each other more than at their owners (lol well, mostly) You can usually kind of see it coming.
Ugh. That’s a bummer about infomercials. Shearing & trimming hooves is just maintenance stuff that has to be done- esp in Texas. They can die from heat, so provisions have to be made for that. There are a few people around who raise herds who will shear them for a fee. And probably people who will scoop poop, too (or add ons that you can put on an ATV or lawn tractor to do that). But anytime animals are “marketed”, it just seems like an invitation to idiots who think “Oh, I’ll just…”, turn them out, & blow them off. & the animals suffer.
It’s not a “piece of cake”. Especially early on.
IIRC, there are “mini” Llamas out there. I don’t think they’re that much smaller & in the case of dogs, genetically altering them for certain traits (like size) hasn’t worked out so well. I’d be leery. I’d rather just have them as they are. Texas has Llamas all over the place. & 2 separate rescue branches. If we’d made it outta town, we would already be there. Someday...
The Llamas here mostly guard the goats for my neighbors-I intend to get a couple or three-goats, not Llamas-when I get enough acreage-there is a good market for goats’ milk products here in gone galt land, along with all other natural things. I’ve been spat on by a Llama owned by one particular neighbor-that Llama-a neutered male that guards a herd of 8-9 fancy dairy goats-runs to the fence as soon as it sees someone hiking on the trail nearby and when you go up to the fence to see the pretty Llama, it drenches you in reeking spit-fortunately, the river is steps away.
I’m leery of down-sized animals, too-no matter how cute they may be, I’ll stick with the full-size creature-those miniature horses are notoriously bad tempered and unpredictable, but people line up to pay as much for one as you would for a “real” horse-just imagine a mini-Llama that kicks and spits without warning.
Having grown up on a small family ranch in SW Texas, I don’t understand people who buy into something like the Alpaca scam without considering that owning livestock means extra work and expense-stock animals are not dogs and cats, and you really need a barn/shelter and enough acreage to provide a fenced pasture for stock to roam around in-confining them to a yard seems cruel to me-even the chickens out here have plenty of space to run around in.
A couple of years ago a frustrated scam victim got busted and fined because he reported his Alpacas stolen/rustled and tried to collect money, but the amount was enough that the insurance carrier got suspicious and started poking around-it turns out the guy had gotten a friend to load the critters into a stock trailer in the dark of night, and cart them off to his place three counties away...
I’m sorry you’ve had such a bad experience with them, Texan. They really are cool animals & not inclined to be bad tempered in general. lol Yeah, you want to avoid getting spit on. I haven’t had the misfortune. It looks- & smells, pretty unpleasant. (it did give me pause about giving vacs & stuff like that- what if they have a spitfit at the worst possible time? Ya may just have to wear it for awhile. urg but that’s living with animals.)
ps We had a Long coat Chihuahua like that Llama. Beautiful dog. People couldn’t resist petting her & she looked so friendly. Then, they were bleeding.
Somebody up by Wimberley (I think) who has Llamas & goats, also sells cheese. Goats are pretty cute- esp Spanish goats. I love animals, but we’re getting older, so want to *try* to keep it simple/ not bite off more than we want to chew. I definitely *do not* want to be having babies. They’re precious, but it’s too stressful.
Nor do I, but there are halfwits out there who will fall for any get-rich-quick scheme they hear about or buy fad pets without doing any research at all on the breed. That’s disturbing about there being infomercials for this. WTH?
Yes, at least a 3 sided shelter is imperative & a way to keep them cool in the Summer (they have convenient potty habits & can be brought inside the house for awhile if all else fails). IIRC, the standard is 1/4 acre per animal-& they need a pal, so 1/2 acre minimum. That seems pretty skimpy to me. Also, there are many poisonous plants/ weeds that you have to watch out for/ control. I like to keep my critters within line of sight, but they need space. And then, there’s the bean pile that needs to be away.
Both of my maternal grandparents grew up on ranches, one on the Guadalupe; which stayed in the family (Merino sheep & cattle) & the other in NE Texas (cattle, I guess. I don’t honestly know)- so it’s not really foreign territory.
I’m sure there would be an adjustment/ learning curve. Exposed is not experienced.
wow. Husband is an insurance adjuster, P&C, but not SI or agriculture. I haven’t heard about anything like this before, but I guess I’m not surprised, really, either.
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