The Reiland Farm and Shoppe

PARABLE (LW Strawberry Field x J-C's Picante) Our senior herd sire, Parable, is a friendly gentleman enjoyed by our many visitors, both young and old. He not only has gorgeous fiber and a wonderful personality, but also excellent conformation. Parable was Grand Champion male as a yearling at the 1998 Keystone Klassic in Butler, PA. With his Bolivian heritage, he is not only producing beautiful crias at our farm, but is also standing at stud for limited outside breedings. Llamas have an aristocratic manner about them. Because of their natural curiosity they have a delightful habit of coming close to sniff strangers. Despite your natural inclination to want to hug and cuddle them, they prefer not to be petted, except on their necks and backs.

LLAMAS When you visit the Reiland Farm for the first time you will quickly learn that llamas are clean, intelligent, and uniquely personable creatures. Whether you are looking to buy or to breed llamas, we will be glad to help you in any way we can. Our llamas are healthy and happy because they receive a lot of individual attention. While there are challenges with raising llamas, Don will be the first to tell you that raising llamas is a labor of love. If you are not already acquainted with llamas, you are in for a special experience when you get to meet our herd.

Llamas are highly social animals and need the companionship of other llamas. They communicate their moods with a series of tail, body and ear postures as well as vocalizations. Humming is a common method of communication between llamas, indicating a variety of moods from contentedness to concern. Learning this llama language is one of the joys of ownership.

Llamas have a striking beauty owing to their elegant wool and graceful posture. Llama wool ranges from white to black, with shades of gray, brown, red and roan. Markings can be a variety of patterns from solid to spotted. Mature llamas weigh between 250 and 450 pounds, with a lifespan of 15 to 25 years. Like goat and sheep, llamas are multi-stomached ruminants that chew their cud. A llama's unique, specially-adapted foot makes it remarkably sure-footed on a variety of terrains, including sandy soils and snow. A llama has two toes with a broad, leathery pad on the bottom and curved nails on the front.

Because llamas are induced ovulators they can give birth throughout the year. Gestation averages 350 days; single offspring are normally produced with rare occasions of twinning. The weight of a normal newborn llama is 25 to 35 pounds, but can range from 18 to 40.

Why Llamas?

This is an often-asked question from visitors at our farm. Every llama owner has his/her own reasons for raising llamas.

Here are a few of ours:

One of our favorite activities is llama watching. Llamas are very peaceful and have a way of bringing everyday life into perspective. It is a joy to watch how a baby llama (cria), at just one day old, mimics its mother - rolling in the same dusting spot or sniffing at the hay its mother is munching on - or how a mother will hum to her newborn to establish a bond.

We often just take a couple of llamas for a walk along a wooded trail to relax after a long day. We shear our llamas to make them more comfortable and for their beautiful fiber that can be spun into yarn. There are parades to go to and schools to visit and our llamas have even doubled in a Christmas pageant as their cousin, the camel (minus the hump, of course).

For the person that enjoys competition, there are many llama shows that have not only conformation classes, but performance classes as well. Llamas can also be trained to pull a cart and are now being used as 4-H projects as they work very well with youth. For the person who likes to backpack, how about a llama to carry your load and keep you company on the road?

On our farm, the llamas also have a special job helping to guard our sheep and goats from predators. While normally placid, are surprisingly effective. If a coyote approaches, a llama will sound a high-pitched alarm and will charge toward the intruder, chase, kick, or paw at it with front hooves, and spit.

Why llamas? The reasons are limited only by one's imagination.

Our llamas are all registered, and are for sale at reasonable prices. We invite you to stop by and see what we have to offer.

*The Reiland Farm is a member of
"Greater Appalachian Llama & Alpaca Association" and
"Pennsylvania Llama & Alpaca Association"

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