Greetings from Laughing Goat Fiber Farm! My name is Maya, and I am another one of the interns here for the summer. I came into this internship with some prior knowledge of and experience with goats that I acquired during my time at Rutgers University. But I had never seen an alpaca up close… until now!
Isn’t he photogenic?
I certainly love the goats and their individual personalities. They are, after all, the reason I was drawn to this internship! But the alpacas keep me curious with their elusive behavior. They do not typically come up to people as the goats do and they are far more skittish.
Alpacas are part of the camelid family, and they very much resemble their camel cousins. So you may be wondering, Do alpacas spit like camels? Yes, they do! Maya, have you been spit on by an alpaca? Yes, I have! But it wasn’t too bad, and it was an accident. The “spit” is more of a spray of air that an alpaca emits to tell another alpaca to back off. It happened during feeding time, and I was simply in the line of fire, and I do not take it personally.
The alpacas have what is called a “kush pool” in their habitat on the farm. “Kush”, also spelled “cush”, is the upright resting position for alpacas, with their legs tucked under their body:
The kush pool is a pool of water for them to lay in on those hot summer days to cool off quickly. They will even form lines behind the kush pool as they wait their turn for a dip.
I was surprised to learn that despite their long necks, the alpacas actually prefer to eat short grass, unlike the goats that will eat grass tall enough for them to get lost in!
The gang’s all here! These are all 8 of the alpacas at LGF. Their different colors make up a beautiful alpaca rainbow with shades of brown, grey, black, and white.
Thanks for checking out my post. I hope you learned something, as I am learning something new here every day!
Maya
