Our new cria - born yesterday...

Dollys mama

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I cant wait tell my llama is old enough to get bred :D shes 8 months now and I have to wait tell November to breed her we are turning 14 same month :D I'm sorry you had to downsize your herd.
 

Chirpy

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Dollys mama said:
I cant wait tell my llama is old enough to get bred big_smile shes 8 months now and I have to wait tell November to breed her we are turning 14 same month big_smile
Congrats on turning 14 in a few months! I would highly encourage you to wait until your llama is at least 18 months old before breeding her. I never breed mine until they are two years old. They still have some of their own growing to do in the first two years and I, personally, feel that they should finish most of their growing before adding the stress of a pregnancy to their bodies.

I've also personally known of a couple of females that were bred before two years old and they each ended up smaller as adults than the llamas around them. ??? I attribute that to overtaxing their bodies before they were ready.

Another thing to keep in mind, I don't know where you live but planning ahead for a crias birth - if you bred in November you would have an October or November baby. I wouldn't do that here since we can easily have snowstorms that time of year with extremely cold weather. I like late spring or early fall births just because of weather issues.
 

terrilhb

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Oh how adorable. I want one. Wonder if I can talk my hubby into it.
 

ksalvagno

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Yes, I agree with Chirpy. Wait till at least 18 months and even better if she is 2 years old. She needs to be mature internally as well as externally.
 

Dollys mama

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OK thanks guys, I found a book that said 12 months and when my mom looked online it said 14 I think I'll wait tell shes 18.
 

ksalvagno

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That is good. I can tell you from personal experience that I have seen more problems with alpacas and especially llamas bred under 18 months. Dystocias along with very bad mothers or no milk. Not to mention pelvic area not being big enough to get a cria out.
 

Dollys mama

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Thanks, I'm kind of new to llamas and only 13 so yeah, I dont know that kind of stuff.
 

farmerJohn

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OMG, SO CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!, she is almost the spitting image of my little cria i was surprised with on sunday
 

Chirpy

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Dollys mama said:
I'm kind of new to llamas and only 13 so yeah, I dont know that kind of stuff.
only 13! You are already far ahead in knowledge and learning than many adults. You are asking for help and learning how you can be the best llama owner possible... GOOD for you!!

It does get frustrating when you read things and get different answers from different sources... you'll get different answers on things when you ask different people the same question too. Continue to do your research and then... make the decision that works best for your situation. I have found that when I get different answers to questions regarding my animals care - I try to always do what is best for my animal (not always what I want or seems best for me). For example - not breeding my llamas until they are two years old. I 'want' crias sooner but I believe that it's in my animals best interest to wait... so I have to have patience and wait to breed my girls and thus... wait longer for a cria.

You're doing a great job of being a wonderful pet owner... keep it up! :D
 

Dollys mama

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Chirpy said:
Dollys mama said:
I'm kind of new to llamas and only 13 so yeah, I dont know that kind of stuff.
only 13! You are already far ahead in knowledge and learning than many adults. You are asking for help and learning how you can be the best llama owner possible... GOOD for you!!

It does get frustrating when you read things and get different answers from different sources... you'll get different answers on things when you ask different people the same question too. Continue to do your research and then... make the decision that works best for your situation. I have found that when I get different answers to questions regarding my animals care - I try to always do what is best for my animal (not always what I want or seems best for me). For example - not breeding my llamas until they are two years old. I 'want' crias sooner but I believe that it's in my animals best interest to wait... so I have to have patience and wait to breed my girls and thus... wait longer for a cria.

You're doing a great job of being a wonderful pet owner... keep it up! :D
Thanks, I've been wanting a llama sense I was 8 I think... and done research on it. I'm reading Story's Guide to raising llamas right now the only book on llamas at our library. Figures I could find any llamas for sale near us either we had to drive to Penrose to get Dolly. And as far as I know Kiah (dont think I spelled that right.) Is the only other llama owner around.
 
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