ALPACAS | ANIMAL CARE | ANECDOTE
My First Alpaca Visit — “Alpacalypse.”
Learn about the feeding, fleece, and friendliness of these lovely creatures.
There are approximately 15 alpaca farms in my tiny home state of Maryland. Who knew? I recently visited one of them with some friends, and despite the oppressive heat, it was everything I’d hoped it would be.
Barn meet-up
We met in front of a converted barn surrounded by the woodlands and scenic open spaces of the Maryland farm country. The tour guide, a friendly young woman who worked on the farm, happily took us around the back to the outside of a pen. We met a couple of friendly goats, a few large sheep, a handful of roosters and hens, at least one peacock, and Rosie the Donkey.
All looked happy and healthy. Many animals were eating when we arrived, so we had to watch where we stepped.
It was my first time seeing a farm animal show affection: one of the sheep constantly leaned into people’s legs. She enjoyed the scratches and pets, as did one of the goats. Warm fuzzies all around!
As our guide led us to the alpaca enclosure, she regaled us with a few basic alpaca facts, confirmed here by the U.S. Alpaca Owners Association:
