Llamas raise

Physical Attributes

Llamas can live up to 20-25 years. They can be up to 1,75 metres high and weigh between 80 and 120 kilos. They have a rather funny neck and a relatively small head with big eyes and curved ears. Their body is covered by wool except for their head, bottom and legs, which are covered by hair. The thick wool cover help llamas resist cold, snow and rain, as well as dispelling heat in places where temperature is generally high. The colour of llamas’s wool varies as well as llamas’s physical conformation. These variations are related to type but not to breed. Llamas’s wool, as opposed to sheep’s, is light, colourful and free of grease. It is ideal to knit any piece of clothing. Llamas can be black, dark brown, maroon, white or a combination of these colours. They can be short, stout and woolly or tall, slender and have little wool.

Diseases and Parasites

Llamas are generally very healthy. However, they are prone to develop the same diseases and to have the same parasites as cows and sheep.

They can have either internal or external parasites. The most damaging internal parasites are the ones which affect the stomach and the intestine, such as nematodes, meningeal worms and tapeworms, among others. These parasites can be exterminated by using current medicines that are also used to treat cows and sheep. External parasites (such as ticks and lice) can be exterminated with any of the authorised pesticides normally used in this case.