4 Animals That Will Thrive on Your Small-Acreage Farm or Homestead

Llamas are great companions with a low-key temperament, friendly disposition, and easy maintenance. Still, it’s important to remember that they require a significant amount of space and can be costly to care for properly. Believe it or not, llamas are excellent guardians to protect sheep and other livestock. How often to shear a llama depends on each llama, the amount of fiber, and your local weather conditions. You may want to make the shelter warm and snuggly by adding soft bedding; however, bedding is rarely preferable.

In bear country, llamas offer protection from grizzlies, which are apparently so confused by the smell and sight of these large, strange creatures that they won’t risk a closer look. But even when there are no other big animals around, it’s nice to have a llama guarding your tent door at night. As we were preparing dinner, two young deer ghosted out of the woods to drink from the stream. When winter rolls around, many people who own outdoor animals fret about their wellbeing, llamas being no exception.

The conditions were not exactly what we’d had in mind for a two-night llama-packing trip in the Weminuche Wilderness. Researchers believe that alpacas were developed through selective breeding that was heavily influenced by the vicuna more than 6,000 years ago. Alpacas and wild vicunas are similar in size, fiber and dentition (teeth). Of all the animals found in the Americas prior to European colonization, llamas and their alpaca cousins had the most influence. Like the buffalo of the Great Plains, both species were a source of meat, fuel and hides.

While this works when it’s another miniature donkey, this type of playful behavior puts your goats and sheep at risk of injury or death. Read more about pasturing your miniature donkeys here. With that renewed perspective, I decided maybe it wasn’t selfish to bring our kids so deep into the wilderness after all. We may have only gotten one night in the wilderness, but it was a memorable one. The next morning, Bill drove us out of town past the Old Hundred Gold Mine where guides were already loading the llamas at Cunningham Gulch. About a dozen llama pack outfits scattered around the country offer three-to six-day group hiking treks through high-country wilderness areas.

Will filled the solar shower bag with lake water and set it in the sun to heat up. After lunch, we tried our luck at fishing, reeling in a big cutthroat trout to add a fish course to our evening feast. Then each of us took turns washing away trail dirt and sore muscles in a warm shower, sheltered against the wind on one side by a rain tarp and open to a view of the lake on the other. Dressed again, we slouched against sun-warmed rocks. I delivered Meka to the sheep ranch with the elderly lady with the pick-up truck late one evening.

Their toenails generally need trimming three to six times a year, depending on the weather conditions, the floor surface, and your llama. New llama owners can find it challenging to ensure their fluffy residents have healthy and happy lives after joining the farm. There are various aspects to consider that new owners, unfortunately, tend to overlook toxic and poisonous hazards. Llamas are easy keepers and therefore are, not surprisingly, quickly growing in popularity. If you’re keen on taking the unconventional route to add llamas to your small farm or homestead, here’s the ultimate guide to raising them.

Whatever your comfort level, there are breeders out there who would love to help you succeed. Jo and Huck each broke down in tears on the hike out—pushed to their limits, I imagine, by the long days of trekking and wet conditions. But toddlers have breakdowns even in pleasant weather, and thanks to the llamas, we had plenty of snacks and warm layers to cheer them up.

Your pet is also welcomed, no matter his pedigree. Although some llama packers serve more traditional trail food, the Gavins have sophisticated palates and like to eat well wherever they are. They produced superb meals out of seemingly bottomless coolers and packs for the duration of our trip. Breakfasts were damn-the-calories extravaganzas and lunches looked as if they’d been airdropped by a French cafe. At dinner, we were treated to entrees like beef stroganoff, chicken curry and fresh pasta, accompanied by vintage wines and followed by cheesecake, lemon mousse and the like. Llamas are generally easy and undemanding animals that thrive when given enough space to roam freely.

They’ve been bred for thousands of years to carry heavy loads up and down treacherous Andes mountain passes where cars can only dream of going. But while llamas are polite, they’re no pushovers. When effusive displays of human affection offend their dignity, they slowly back away several steps, flatten their ears and fix the neck hugger or baby talker with an archly disapproving stare. Luciano went to make sure that the cats and mice would be kept carefully separate and the Llama family took their places.

And unlike horses, which often balk at unfamiliar objects, llamas quietly negotiate footbridges and other trail challenges with enviable finesse. When we encountered a pack of horses and riders on the trail the first day, the llamas stood aside and watched as the horses shied wildeyed into the brush, their riders cursing and kicking them past us. Alpacas are slender-bodied animals with long legs and necks, small heads and large, pointed ears. They are covered in a soft fleece that is virtually free of guard hair and occurs in a variety of colors. Alpacas have soft, padded feet that leave even the most delicate grasses and terrain undamaged as they graze. Hydration is essential for everyone, and llamas are no exception.

Look, here’s a 5 day trip in the Rockies—we could hike with llamas on the Continental Divide in the high tundra with alpine lakes. History buffs will love this fiber art studio as much as knitters and animals lovers. Sweet Home Spun is built from the original timbers of the Six Mile Meetinghouse built by Dutch settlers in 1824. Sam and JoAnn Adams and their son live in an 1890’s farmhouse and are the fourth & fifth generation to live on the farm.

You’ll finally get the chance to thank those wooly creatures behind your favorite warm, soft, cuddly sweaters (and throws!) and see what they’re like up close and personal. Check this for Teeth of carnivores Alpacas, llama and sheep are gentle, curious and fun animals that will just love to get close to you! Cuddle up and read on for a few farms you need to check out.

The best herd size for llamas is four to six llamas. If the herd size increases and gets too large, they may form two herd groups. This is usually not a problem if given enough space, but if your pastures are too crowded, the herds might squabble and fight more. If you have a high-quality grass pasture, feeding costs will be relatively low. Four to six llamas can comfortably graze on an acre of good pasture without any additional feed. However, if your field is limited (especially in winter), your costs will effectively go up.

PLANET-SAVING OPPORTUNITIES Twin River Outfitters (canoevirginia.net), a local kayak-rental company, helps get the community together every October for the James River Regional Cleanup. It supplies canoes and trash bags, while volunteers provide muscle, removing tires and hundreds of bags of trash from the 45-mile waterway. To help keep the Upper James River Water Trail (upperjamesriverwatertrail.com) clean, Applewood guests can pick up litter all year. I was secretly impressed how fast she’d been hiking to keep up with the guides and the llamas, as the rest of us lagged farther and farther behind. As we clattered up over rocks and slid on loose scree, the llamas glided along tolerantly behind us, surefooted and graceful.

If a person does get hit it is usually because they got caught in the crossfire between two squabbling alpacas. A. While the future of an alpaca investment cannot be guaranteed any more than you could guarantee an investment in the stock market, it does appear to be more predictable. Population explosion is not possible because the registry for alpacas is now closed in the U.S. which means imported animals can no longer be used for registered breeding stock. In addition, alpacas have a long (11-12 months) gestation period and typically give birth to a single offspring. At this point, the industry remains healthy with demand for animals and fiber. You’ll want to find a veterinarian who is familiar with llama care.

However, they are sensitive around the back legs and will instinctively kick out if they sense a threat from the rear but they do have soft padded feet so injury is not likely. Donkeys are herd creatures, so adding miniature donkeys to your homestead means adding at least two mini donkeys to the farm family. No, other livestock won’t count as companionship—miniature donkeys want others of their kind around. Dinner this evening was another fantastic meal–chicken marsala, fresh salad greens, warm bread, veggies, Malbec wine and apple crisp with whipped cream. The guides were always working hard, whether it was collecting and purifying our water, preparing our meals, packing and unpacking panniers or tending to the llamas. It was nice to see them take a much needed break after dinner.

Just because llamas like being outside doesn’t mean they couldn’t benefit from having a shelter to retreat to when they wish it. A great way to help your llama in the winter – and all year round – is to give them a shelter. A barn or a shelter gives them somewhere to get out of the wind and snow and other elements, making them more comfortable. Llamas like to know where they can ‘escape’ from a building, so try to only close the windows and doors of your barn where the snow blows from.

A male alpaca is called a macho, and females are hembras. Offspring are called cria until they are 6 months old. They are “induced ovulators,” meaning that females have no regular heat/estrous cycles, but instead females ovulate after breeding with a male.

A key way to help your llama in winter is to ensure that they always have access to fresh, clean water. Eating snow won’t keep your llama hydrated, and if water freezes over or is too cold, it can be difficult for them to stay hydrated. A. Alpacas are naturally wary of members of the canine family but other than that they do fine with other livestock. They can be easily kept in the same pasture as sheep and llamas. Caution should be used when pasturing alpacas with horses and/or cows due to the risk of the alpacas being injured if kicked. It is our belief housing alpacas with goats is not ideal due to the fact they share the same internal/gut parasites as alpacas.