Pack llamas cost?

[Split toe]

Anybody know how much a pack llama cost to buy? Investigating possibly purchasing some.

 

[PNW bow hunter]

A buddy of mine breeds and sells them. When I talk to him about it, it sounds like there is tons of variables in pricing.

Buy a 6 year old llama owned by a well known packer with lots of experience, huge premium $6000-$8000 and up.

Baby from parents with a bloodline from large large built for packing with papers $3000-$4000

This year during elk season he had a couple llamas in the pack string that he bought from someone that just didn’t want them anymore. They weren’t registered with paperwork or anything. They were both smaller llamas as well. I think he bought them for $1200 each. Those two llamas actually did really well .

This is just different price ranges I have heard him talk about while we have chit chatting about it during elk season.

 

[PNW bow hunter]

.

 

[squirrel]

I just put an add in classifieds for 7 girls Ive gotta let go.

 

[Nbowlin]

Ive Payed from free to 3000 dollars for my boys. The more sweat equity you're willing to into them the less you will have to pay the premium for someone else's time.

 

[Fullfan]

Bud of mine rented 4 while in Wyoming this year, 3k for 10 days. This also included a trailer.

 

[Deadfall]

Holy buckets

 

[Nbowlin]

3k vs housing, feeding, training, equipping, vet stuff and original purchase price. Split the 3k up between the party and it’s not horrible

 

[Ucsdryder]

3k vs housing, feeding, training, equipping, vet stuff and original purchase price. Split the 3k up between the party and it’s not horrible

3000 for 10 days is “not horrible”?

 

[HighUintas]

I talked to a guy this year that owns llamas for hunting. He said it's likely cheaper to rent them depending on how many you need.

He said average for rental is about $500 for a week for one, not including the trailer rental if you need to rent it.

 

[Deadfall]

My GOD....I'm in wrong business!!!

 

[Deadfall]

So you could buy 2, 2 yr old mules for real close to what one llama costs. Little more money training and preparing the mule on front end. On back end the mule will out live and far outwork the llama. Mule won't quit on you when it gets tired. one mule will carry more then you can possible lift to put on it. Mules are great predator deterrents. You can use mules well into their 20's.

I've never owned either. Have been around both. mules more then llamas. Usually I see Llamas laid down on trail taking a break while owner is trying to figure out what to do.

 

[Nbowlin]

4 llamas worth of tack is 4K, llamas that are trained 4-6k each. Property and facilities to house them is probably free . If they cut out paying an outfitter and or paying some land owner fee. It’s a gross number but if broken down with a little bit of logic it’s not as bad as it looks at a glance.

If you don’t have the land to house the animals you have to play a different game.


I have 7 of them and know what I payed “, pay in feed, pay in time getting them in shape, keeping them healthy, equipping them etc…. Anyways

 

[Fullfan]

Bud of mine rented 4 while in Wyoming this year, 3k for 10 days. This also included a trailer.

 

[Ucsdryder]

You shouldn’t need to spend 3k on llamas to shoot rags.

 

[MountainMan83]

I was looking for llamas for a couple years before I finally pulled the trigger and got a few this summer. Pack llamas are not easy to come by. I have seen between 1k-10k for one 1-2 year old llama, with 2.5k being average for llamas bred from packing sires. I have a long-term knee injury which severely limits by ability to carry any seirous weight. For someone with limited livestock experience, llamas are way easier to work with than mules and horses. Having llamas will allow me to take my kids backpacking and still have a comfortable camp, as well as continue to hunt for many more years. While I could not afford renting on a regular basis, buying llamas is well worth the cost and is a long-term investment.

 

[MountainMan83]

Nice bulls! Looks like it was a great trip full of great memories.

 

[squirrel]

I've never owned either.

Let me separate the wheat from the chaff for ya...

Right now the llama market is as favourable to the seller as I have seen in 30 yrs of doing this. I called up a guy who sold a bunch at $4500-5500 and congratulated him for hitting such a great market peak with llamas ready to go to sales. The next spring they were a $1000 or so higher yet. It's a market, good luck on your prediction endeavours. My girls @ $2000-3500 are probably on the low side of their worth, at least that was my intention, but I want to sell them, not talk about selling them.

15 yrs ago llamas were free to a bad home, I grabbed a pasture full. Apparently others did not.

 

[Deadfall]

Let me separate the wheat from the chaff for ya...

Right now the llama market is as favourable to the seller as I have seen in 30 yrs of doing this. I called up a guy who sold a bunch at $4500-5500 and congratulated him for hitting such a great market peak with llamas ready to go to sales. The next spring they were a $1000 or so higher yet. It's a market, good luck on your prediction endeavours. My girls @ $2000-3500 are probably on the low side of their worth, at least that was my intention, but I want to sell them, not talk about selling them.

15 yrs ago llamas were free to a bad home, I grabbed a pasture full. Apparently others did not.

Holy buckets...Well..sounds bout like everything else right now...

 

[KurtR]

This was 5 years ago we rented 3 llamas and the trailer in idaho for a week for 1000 i think. best investment ever. They did their jobs great and were easy and a joy to be around. I have been around horses and mules enough to know i dont want to deal with them kicking, biting and bucking sob's. For some one hard core guiding or hunting weeks at a time i can see where the mules are the better pick for the once a year week long hunter llamas all the way