Lamoids Notes

The camelid family includes the camel genus (Camelus) and the llama genus (Lama).
- The camel genus has two members:
  - One-humped dromedary camel
  - Two-humped Bactrian camel
- The llama genus includes:
  - Guanaco
  - Llama
  - Alpaca
Physical description of camelidae:
- No horns/antlers
- Two-chambered forestomach
- Thick callus pads
Physical description of lamoidae:
- Alpacas and llamas are cousins, but not exactly alike.
- Alpacas:
  - Weight: $100-185$ lbs
  - Shoulder height: $36$ inches
  - Weight: approximately $150$ lbs
  - Soft, luxurious fleece
  - Very gentle and timid
  - Can learn tricks
  - Need protection
- Llamas:
  - Weigh over $400$ lbs
  - Coarse fleece
  - Very brave
  - Can carry heavy packs
  - Serve as herd guards
  - Weight: $240-500$ lbs.
  - Shoulder height: $40-50$ inches.
Llama behavior:
- Social animals
- Shy, independent, gentle, and curious
- Calm and easy to handle and train
- Communication through ear and tail position, body postures, humming sounds, and shrill alarm calls.
- Spitting and body charging are normal herd dominance behavior patterns.
Lamoids are communal dung-pile users, which marks territory and may help control diseases.

No organized breeding programs exist; bred like companion animal species using subjective criteria.
Two breeds of alpaca:
- Suri: produces long & wavy fiber
- Huacaya: more desirable, shorter, crimped fiber
In the United States, two llama types are recognized, but no breeds are recognized.
- Work llama: taller, heavier framed, and has shorter wool.
- Show ring: smaller, broader, and has a much heavier fleece.

General maintenance includes deworming and occasional foot trimming; issues with teeth.
Resistant, but NOT immune, to diseases; wide variety of diseases and parasites.
Stoic and show few signs when sick.
No specific lamoid vaccines.
Not well adapted to hot or humid climates; shearing is necessary, and they need means to cool themselves.
Enterotoxemia (aka, overeating disease):
- Frequent, especially in the young.
- Caused by toxins from Clostridium perfringens bacteria.
- Symptoms: Sudden death, abdominal pain, and diarrhea, sometimes with blood.
- Preventive success has been reported by immunization.
Meningeal worm:
- Nematode parasite that migrates within the spinal cord as well as other internal parasites.

Female llamas and alpacas are usually ready for their first mating at $15$ to $18$ months of age, but weight is an important variable.
Males (Studs) reach full sexual maturity at approximately $3$ years of age and can be mated at $2\frac{1}{2}$ years.
Induced ovulators (no estrus) - $26-45$ hours later.
Females should not be rebred until $14$ to $21$ days after the birth of a cria.
Sternal recumbency mating.
Average mating time: $18$ minutes for llamas and $20$ minutes for alpacas (range of $5$ to $55$ minutes).
Gestation: $350 \pm 2$ weeks for llamas; $335$ days $\pm 2$ weeks for alpacas.
Llama birth typically occurs between 9 am and 3 pm.
$2-3$ hours if had cria before

Cria will have a functional fermenter at 2 months.
More efficient at feed utilization than ruminants, especially in digesting and using protein and energy.
Camelids can be kept on low-quality pasture and range and stocked more densely than other species due to their efficiency in feed utilization.
General Feeding Recommendations:
- Good pasture, hay, or silage should meet most nutrient needs of lamoids kept in North America.
- Add alfalfa during late gestation & lactation & weanling.
- Overfeeding is consistently more of a problem than any other nutritional ill and results in a too-fat animal.
- Lamoids should be adapted slowly to new feed, especially if it has concentrates, to avoid acidosis.
- 1% of body weight as dry forage and increase, if necessary, to maintain body condition up to 1.5% BW.
- Grain is probably needed only in rare situations.
- Free choice water.
- Vitamin and mineral: requirements poorly known but do not lick mineral blocks.