The quality of the stud male is all-important in any good breeding programme as he can pass his qualities on to many offspring each year, whereas the female llama can pass on her qualities to only one offspring annually. 

Thus whilst any entire male can be used a stud  we believe only the best should be considered for serious breeding. 

This means having excellent conformation, top quality fibre, and a lovely temperament. 

In addition to these quantifiable basics, before we will use a llama for stud work, we look for  the much less definable and often elusive quality of a strong "presence".

It should be noted that stud Llamas do not smell like billy goats, are not ferocious like a bull, do not present danger like a rutting deer ...
...In fact a well chosen stud llama should be as easy to halter, lead and groom as a gelding.

Llamas tend to be used for breeding around the age of two in the UK and USA, which is rather earlier than in South America where a start at the age of three is usually reported. It has been known for llamas to be fertile as early as nine months but these are the exception. 

Maturity is often confused with fertility. Males are not fully mature until they are between three and five years of age.