The Llama Chute

Llamas are gentle creatures, prey animals rather than predators, and can be quite fearful , particularly when cornered or restrained , so in general they respond better to the carrot than the stick. Many llamas can be taught to calmly accept human intervention , and will actively enjoy interacting with us , which makes light work of basic husbandry chores such as grooming, haltering, and toe-nail trimming. There are some procedures however that will never be easy for the llama or his handler to cope with , such as taking a blood sample from the llamas neck, dealing with dental problems, or leg injuries. Even the gentlest llama can cause injury to himself or to his handler if he is really worried or in pain, and under these circumstances some adequate handling facilities are a very sensible idea. 

Here at Watertown Llamas we devised a llama chute which is adaptable to suit many different procedures and it enables us to carry out some of the more challenging tasks with minimum risk of injury to ourselves and to the llamas.

For tasks that require the llama to keep still for a reasonable period of time I use the yoke bars towards the front of the chute, which close on the llamas neck and prevent forward movements, and the four straps on the front frame clip onto his halter to stop him from backing up. These straps are easily tightened, although they dont need to be excessively taught which would tend to induce greater resistance. 

This arrangement is ideal for taking bloods for testing as there is excellent access to the llamas neck where the vein is, and we have found it perfect for the ministry vets to use as all our imported llamas have to be sampled on arrival here. It is also ideal for oral drenching as the llamas head is elevated , and there is no need to hold or touch the llamas muzzle which many do object to. If we need to perform an ultra-sound using valuable equipment the vet is much happier to do so because the llama is not in danger of damaging it when she is secured in this way. The chute also has the added safeguard of a withers strap that passes over the llama to prevent him or her from rearing up, and two belly straps that can be deployed beneath the llama to prevent kushing. The location and distances between these straps is easily adjusted according to the length of the llama, and just like the halter straps they are easily tightened but can be quickly released in an emergency. Toe nail trimming, injecting, vaccinating, micro-chipping, and shearing are all made easier using the chute, and of course topical treatments for mites, dressing wounds, taking temperatures, checking ears or eyes and pretty much any potentially tricky procedure can be much more safely undertaken.

For basic routine injections with llamas who are fairly relaxed about such procedures the yoke bars and halter straps are not always needed, so the other mode is to use the chute with a pair of gates instead. This is a quicker simpler method and does not require the llama to be haltered. 

For owners of both Alpacas AND Llamas the new ALPALLAMA CHUTE is the perfect solution ! The same size as a standard Llama chute , this version can be scaled down to Alpaca size by using the additional lower fixings for the halter straps and withers strap, and by the provision of an extra hanging position for the rear gate inside the chute in order to shorten it. As with the standard Alpaca chute there are drop on side panels for containment , and as with both the other chutes the positions of the belly straps can be adjusted to suit the length of the camelid in either case.