Customer Reviews

Storey's Guide to Raising Llamas: Care/Showing/Breeding/Packing/Profiting

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I first got this book when I bought my first llamas a few years ago. It was the one recommended to me by the breeder. Since then, it is the book I recommend to all those just starting out with llamas. It is also the book I recommend to those who just think they might want llamas. The book has information on everything, from basic conformation to packing and showing. What it lacks in depth of information, it more than makes up for in references. I still run to this book when I have questions, and have read it through several times. If you are thinking about getting a couple of llamas or a whole herd, read this book first!

I found this book to be somewhat helpful, but lacking in a lot of areas. For example they did not go into a lot of details on llama care. (i.e. worming schedules, types of wormers, shearing practices etc.) Good if you are into breeding. I am just an individual that has two llamas as pets and wanted detailed info. on their care.

Gale Birutta has put together a well thought out book, that covers all aspects to owning llamas for a novice.

Chapters cover selection, care, feeding, training, etc., each in enough detail to cover the topic, without becoming boring or overbearing. Quirks of the animals were covered ( they are head shy as a breed trait), that alone kept us from making mistakes when visiting llama farms.

The information in this book was invaluable to us when we began visiting llama farms. We actually knew what we were looking at and could ask intelligent questions of the owners !!

Well done, write another !!

This book is sort of the "Dummies Guide" to raising llamas. It not only covers common sense but also in depth topics. Before we purchased our llamas we did a lot of research and this is a book that we chose to keep permanently in our library. We are purchasing it for our local public library as a gift to all that may be interested in lloving llamas.

I have had alpacas for over a year now and llamas for a couple of months so while I'm still a novice I do have some experience. I feel this book is not suitable for novices because once you start finding inconsistencies in a book, it's difficult to have faith in the book as a whole.

Fertilizer: "Their communal dung pile makes clean up easier than it is with other livestock". No comment about the fact that not ALL lamas are like that. My boys have several dung piles all over the place.

Buying your first llama: Gale talks about buying "just one llama". While she does mention that they "can generally" be kept with other livestock she doesn't mention that they really do better in the company of their own species.

Horse Trailers: "You can leave llamas in ventilated horse trailers for several days when you are transporting them on a long trip. It is essential to provide fresh feed and water twice a day. You won't need to remove llamas from the trailer to walk them. ... have no problem staying in a kushed position hour upon hour chewing their cud". YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING! In the section on fertilizers she talks about how clean they are then she's telling you to leave them laying in their own sh*t! To NOT walk an animal who has been confined to a trailer is cruelty!

Number of animals to a space: "... 8 to 10 llamas in an 8' x 8' stall". Think about it for a minute that's less than 1 sq. ft per animal!

Fencing: One one page she says that 32" - 37.5" is too short then on the very next page she says that "a sheep containment height of 3 feet will be sufficient". 37.5" is too short but 36" is sufficient?

While well intended by a successful breeder, in my opinion, there are too many contradictions to make this book safe for novices.

We have gone through several copies of this book and require all our 13 and up 4-H kids to read it. Mostly, we use it as a reference manual and augment it with other sources of information from trade magazines and llama vet advice. This is a great book with some solid instructions on how to care for these wonderful animals.

I highly recommend this book to anyone considering llamas. It will provide you with a solid understanding of the needs of the species and the amount of work that will be required to tend to them. Like most things, it is always helpful to get information from more then one source.

As with all of their books, this one was extremely informative and easy to read.

This book is the best guide for beginning llama owners. I have learned more from the book than from other owners and books. This is a great gift for llama lovers and highly recommended for those interested in the llama business.

...this book gives a very good background on the animal, it's uses and how to do it. I bought it for basic info...our llamas are pets...they eat and give me fertilizer. Oh, and they amuse the goats and horse.

If you are thinking of raising a llama or if you have one, this book is a must. Just excellent information and very thorough.