We would especially like to thank Jana Johnson of Angel's Way Llamas, for allowing us to take photos of her Bonnie, who had been very ill and under intensive veterinary care. Sadly, Bonnie's recovery was cut short by a tragic accident and she was lost. We dedicate this page to her memory.

One of the most difficult skills for llama owners, rescuers and veterinarians to learn is how to accurately body condition score a llama. Heavy wool, different body types and bone and difficulty in handling all contribute to this difficulty. We body condition score (bcs) on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being very thin and 10 being very fat. Just like people, many llamas just tend to be a little heavier or lighter than others, so we don't expect every llama to score a 5. Very athletic llamas and older llamas will often score a 3, and in some cases this is just fine for that llama as long as it stays a 3 or above. Other llamas seem to get fat on air, and keeping them in the range of 6 to 7 can seem like an accomplishment. The most common symptom of "neglect" in all of our rescued llamas to date is poor condition, either too thin or too fat.

To body score a llama one must look at and feel three different areas and combine the results. Only evaluating one of these areas can lead to a mistaken conclusion about the llama's true condition. These areas are along the backbone and ribs, the chest, and the thighs. A llama with large bone may feel like a "5" along their backbone, but the chest and thighs can reveal a lower score and must be taken into account. Similarly with weighing, two llamas of the same height can differ in weight a great deal according to bone density. For example, SELR took in two llamas who were the same height and both had a bcs of "1". However, their weights were different by about 70 pounds!

For example, Donner is a sturdy llama with large bones. He is in good shape and he weighs 305 pounds.	Magpie Bent is a light boned llama. She is the same height as Donner, but he has a more compact build and bigger bone. In good condition, Magpie weighs 260 pounds.
Both of these llamas bcs 5 at the time they were weighed, but their weights differ by 45 pounds!

Another mistake to avoid is in confusing bcs with "fill." If a llama has not eaten, or not eaten well in the past 24-48 hours, you will see a hollowness in the tummy area behind the ribs. This can indicate that the llama is ill, or for some other reason just hasn't eaten well, but it does not mean that the llama overall is thin. In this picture you can see the hollowness in the llama's tummy. Most likely this is because the picture was taken late in the day on a very hot and buggy day, and she had chosen to stay in the barn rather than go out and eat grass. Her fill will return to normal in a few hours after she's had some time to graze. BCS is much, much easier to do if the llama is fully shorn. We recommend shearing llamas if at all possible because it has several advantages. One is being able to easily see BCS, fill and injuries that can otherwise go unnoticed under a lot of wool. We hope that these pictures will help give you a sense of what you are feeling under the wool, if you cannot shear the llama you are bcs.

Most llamas will let you feel their back bone from front to back.

Penny body scores an 8 on her backbone. She has copious fat deposits all along it which make her back round like a soccer ball. You must press down hard to feel her backbone and ribs through the cushion of fat.	Bear's backbone is prominent and my hand makes about a 45 degree angle resting on his backbone. I can easily feel his ribs and backbone under a slim layer of muscle. Bear's back scores a 5. He is a pack llama and is in top condition for his light-boned frame.	Bonnie's backbone is extremely prominent. If she were to let me put my hand on her back just behind the withers, I would measure an angle of about 30 degrees. Bonnie's back body scores a 1. There is no palpable muscle or fat, especially just behind the withers where the shoulder muscling should be.

It can be difficult with untrained llamas to feel their chests and thighs without getting kicked, especially if they have copious wool.

Penny's thighs show quite a bit of improvement over when she came to SELR at 443 pounds. At that time she body scored 10. Now she weighs 365 pounds, and most of the extra weight is carried on her back and shoulders. Although there is still quite a lot of fat in her thighs, you can see the definition of muscling starting to show.	In comparison, Bear's thighs are well muscled, carrying little fat. There is a space between his thighs at the top, and you can look through and see his stomach. His thighs don't rub together.	In comparison, Bonnie's thighs show no muscle or fat at all. They form an upside down "u" shape and there is too much space between them, due to the lack of muscle.
Penny's thighs score a 6.	Bear's thighs score a 5.	Bonnie's thighs score a 2.

The chest can be the hardest part to evaluate (and to photograph) so we usually use this as a "tie breaker" for the other scores.

A llama in good condition has a visible and palpable sternum, and visible muscle bulges along the forearms. This llama scores a 4 on his chest condition.	In comparison, Bonnie's forearms are straight shaped rather than rounded with muscle. There is a distinctive gap between her forearms and her sternum. Bonnie's chest body scores a 2.

Looking at the llama overall and averaging the scores of the three parts, we have:

Penny, BCS 7	Bear, BCS 5	And Bonnie, BCS 2