Llamas lovers I need your help!

[randomchick]

Hey there, a few months ago I was given 2 baby llamas. Just weaned from their mothers, non related. Well we put them in an empty stall in the barn and have slowly gotten them to trust us enough that they will come up and sniff/kiss our necks and face. My husband is able to pet one on the back, and the other lets me pet him on his back and sides, though we have to corner them slightly to do this. We have halters ordered and on the way.

Help me with the next steps to getting these llamas to trust us and eventually walk on a lead, perhaps one of them to cart.
I need all the advice I can get.

 

[ksalvagno]

I would strongly suggest Camelidynamics by Marty McGee Bennett. You can google that and find her website. She has a great method for working with llamas and alpacas. She also has clinics which are wonderful to attend. There is also Gentle Spirit Training by Cathy Spalding. That is also a great method. Cathy also holds clinics.

congratulations on your new llamas. I'm assuming they are both males? If not, they will need to be separated if they are over 6 months old.

 

[randomchick]

Thanks for the websites. I will have to check them out next. As for the both male question, I think they are both female. Does that make a difference in keeping them together. Silly as this may sound I have never checked. They were a gift from family and she said she thinks I got 2 girls. They had a number of babies that looked alike so I hope she got that right.
I better go to the barn and lift some tails.

 

[ksalvagno]

2 females or 2 males are fine together. If you have a male and a female, you will have problems because the male will breed the female and if they are young, she will be bred too young. Males shouldn't be gelded until at least age 2 so their bones will be fully developed. If you cut off the testosterone too soon, the bones grow long and thin and then easily break.

You should easily see if they are males. They are usually pretty well hung.