How To Give a Llama a Bath

1sickbastard

Seriously?
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Thanks to DerireeDiscrete for getting me this information.

Llama baths are serious business. If you use some grooming, it won't be necessary to actually bathe the llama. Just take some Miracle Groom or Llama Groom and spray every few days to keep the llama from picking up dirt. Dirt will shed much easier when heavy grooming starts if you have been spraying them frequently. Even in the off season, try & coat their wool at least once a month. Spray a mist over them and then lift areas of fleece and spray between the fibers. If you have time, use a blower to blow the grooming product in. You will get great coverage that way. Piece of cake!

Set up so that the event is not stressful to your llama. Have all your equipment out and ready to use. Try not to leave the llama tied up for too long at a time. Keep a buddy with him for moral support and try and limit sessions to 20 or 30 minutes. Work on one guy for a while then switch to his friend. Groom over several days instead of one marathon session. Offer treats, especially when you are doing “ouchy” things. If you start to lose your temper, quit for a while. You will be doing both of you a favor. Try and have him clean before you get to the show. The new location will be stress enough without having to groom at the same time. Just plan on touching him up, use your “free” time to have fun and sell llamas!

The first thing is blow the dust out of the wool with a Circutteer II Blower. Then take a curry comb & top brush all the leaves and “big stuff” off the outside of their coat. Next spray deep into the wool using Miracle Groom (or Llama Groom) sprayed into the stream of air from the blower. This disperses the groom into the hair and coats most of the fibers. At the same time the blowing loosens the chaff & dirt & blows it out. You might want to wear a dust mask & scarf, as this is a dusty job.

If you have a light colored animal you may want to wash them. That is the next step. The key to bathing is to get the hair completely wet before pouring on shampoo or conditioner & to rinse them completely. If the shampoo goes on dry hair it will “grab” & be really hard to rinse out. If you use a bluing shampoo you may end up with a lavender llama. Always premix the product in a bucket of water to dissolve lumps. Your llama will stand much better if you have access to warm water. Since it takes so much water to rinse them, many water heaters can’t keep up. If this is the case you might want to just bath half of the llama each day. A special sprayer called the Super Groomer is a real asset to bathing. It hooks to the water hose & has a reservoir that holds shampoo or conditioner. It automatically mixes it in with the water & lets you penetrate the whole coat quite easily.

After wetting the llama thoroughly, work the diluted shampoo (Rio Vista or Kentucky Gold) into the wool squeezing just as if you were washing a good sweater. Don’t use a brush & circular movement. That how we make felt! You may need to add water to get the soap to run down deep against the skin. Brighten light colored llamas with Quick Silver or Brite Lights Shampoo. This takes the yellow out & adds sparkle. After I get them sudsy I let them rest & do the second llama. This gives the soap a chance to work.

When it’s time to rinse use lots of water and try to squeeze out the suds. When you think you are done you’ll find that there is still lots of soap left so rinse again. With really long wool, use a bucket of clear water and lift it up against the llama so the wool can be “swished” around in it. This lets the fibers float free and the soap comes out easily.

Once they are free of soap, pour on the diluted conditioner. Rio Vista Conditioner works well. Use lots. Then let the guy rest for about 30 minutes while the conditioner does its job. Rinse out completely & let the llama drip dry. If it’s cold you will need to dry him using a blower. You can squeeze & towel large amounts of water off the llama. This will speed things up but you’ll find that wool dries pretty fast on its own. Just make sure he’s not in a draft if you let him drip dry. Putting them out in the sun is the best thing to do.
 
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Come on, you guys. Let's keep this thread to serious llama-bathing questions only, please.
 
What does Tdlr mean?:confused:

What if your llama has a mullet?
Play lots of QueensRyche when you're bathing it

What if your llama has a weave?
Remove the weave and hand wash separately. Wait until the llama is out of earshot before you laugh.

OH! I want a lavender llama!
Rit dye. That's all I'm saying.

What if your llama likes jasmine?
Let it watch the Disney movie, Aladdin while bathing it

What about alpacas?
Unpack'm before bathing.
 
Oh no!

For years I've just used a curry comb and a regular brush.... I've done it all wrong!
 
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