Wallace King always wanted llamas on his Montezuma, Ga. farm.
But he could never come up with a logical reason to buy some.

“They would have just been lawn ornaments,” he said.
“We couldn’t justify putting out the money to buy them when
we didn’t intend to show them.”

King and his wife Ila found their logical reason to buy some
when a South Carolina 4-H llama club leader invited them to a
llama show.

Georgia’s First 4-H Llama
Club

To the Kings, Georgia’s first 4-H llama club seemed a natural
next step. In January 2000, they began promoting the new club
to Macon County 4-H’ers.

Just two months later, the club walked away with 12 ribbons
in their first Alpaca and Llama Show Association event. By
October,
four students placed high enough at a Perry show to go to the
regional show in Gainesville. From there, one 4-H’er competed
nationally in Columbia, Mo.

Word is spreading. “We’ve had several people tell us
they’ve
been trying to start a club,” said King, now the Macon
County
4-H program assistant.

The Kings raise chickens, so caring for llamas was new. They
rely on books and on other llama owners for help. But King said
the llamas make it easy because they’re hardy and easy to care
for.

They Don’t Like Georgia
Summers

Llamas are native to cool areas
of South America. “We keep reading about llamas getting too
hot in the summer, but we haven’t had any problems,” King
said. “They lose their heat through their stomachs, so we
shear the hair off their stomachs and backs so they can lie on
the ground and keep cool.”

Llamas can be costly — “anywhere from $250 to
$40,000,”
King said. “We bought two to start up, and then one of the
local growers here sold us two at a really good price because
he knew they were for the 4-H club.”

Since then, a North Carolina woman heard about the club and
donated five. Then a 4-H’er bought four, and a couple from
Blairsville
donated one. The Kings’ farm is now home to 22 adult llamas and
two new babies.

The 4-H’ers are required to learn all about llamas. “4-H
is supposed to be a learning experience and be fun,” King
said. “They have to study the llamas and learn about their
anatomy, feeding habits, how they’re bred, the gestation period
and their bone structure.”

Llamas and Kids Make Great
Teams

The Kings learned at seminars how to train llamas. “We
teach the kids how,” he said. “All of our llamas have
been trained by our 4-H’ers. The kids really take to
them, and the llamas work better for the kids than they do for
adults.”

Working on a farm with any kind of animal was a new experience
for the club’s members. “Our group is made up of city
kids,”
King said. “Most of them were very scared at first, but
within
an hour or so they lost all their fears.”

King considers the llamas safe. “Llamas’ feet are
padded,”
he said, “so even if they did kick you, it wouldn’t hurt.
And they can’t bite, ’cause they don’t have upper teeth in
front.”

One Rude Habit

They do have one bad habit. “If they get really, really
annoyed, they’ll spit on you,” King said. “It’s their
only defense. I have one who spits when we try to halter her.
They spit on each other to establish dominance.”

King said the middle of these “spitting fights”
feels
like being sneezed on. “It’s annoying, but by no means
life-threatening,”
he said.

The 4-H’ers use their llama-training skills another way. The
llamas have entertained at two birthday parties, earning the club
$80. “We’d do more parties, but my wife and I just don’t
have enough hours in the day,” said King.