That’s what Ann Schneider does. Ann raises Boer goats in California’s San Fernando Valley and says her farm’s previous owner, who raised the same breed of goats, consistently lost numbers to coyotes.
Ann built an enclosure for the goats to sleep in at night, but she wanted to take extra measures to protect her animals. She did research online, discovered guard llamas, and decided her family needed one.
Also, getting Spinky home was considerably easier than she had anticipated.
“The man selling him convinced us that he would load and journey just fine in the back of our Honda,” Ann says. “Spinky hopped right in the back and laid down on the folded down seats. He traveled calmer than any dog I’ve had in a car.”
“They are very curious and very territorial animals, once they learn their territory,” Fran says. “Some of the success has to do with the personality of the particular llama, but generally speaking, llamas can perform the duties of guardian very well.”
But these camelids do have limits, Fran says, and going beyond those limits can get them seriously injured or even killed.
“Obviously, they don’t do well against a pack of coyotes or dogs or wolves. More than one animal against one llama probably won’t work,” Fran says. In addition, llamas shouldn’t be put in a situation where they would have to attempt to ward off large predators.
Some of the ILA’s guidelines for enlisting llamas to guard livestock are:
- A guard llama needs to be at least 18 months old.
- Male guard llamas should be gelded.
- Guard llamas should never be aggressive toward humans.
- Llamas that show little concern about surrounding activity or little interest when an unfamiliar animal approaches them may be slow to recognize the danger of a predator, and likely aren’t a good fit to guard.
- It’s important to match guard llamas with jobs they’re physically sound enough to take on. Larger flocks and open and rough terrain require greater physical demands, for which a llama may not be best suited.
“A guard llama must be healthy and active,” she adds. “Size and gender [are] less important than curiosity.”
However, Fran has a caveat when it comes to using llamas to guard poultry.
“They can successfully guard poultry such as chickens, turkey, or pea fowl, but llamas don’t consider them as being a part of their own herd the same way they do larger farm animals.”
Fran says for the most part, all the llamas she has placed have worked out. One in particular turned out to be hypervigilant.
“I have one that is guarding goats and he won’t even let the cats in,” she says.
Colleen Creamer writes about travel, farming, and health and wellness from her home in Nashville, Tennessee.
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