Rabbits and Goats and Alpacas, Oh my!

One of the best things about the Living Gift Market is the live animals. Many of us live lives separated from anything more exciting than a pet cat or dog by a long drive out to the country. The market brings the animals to you, and helps us all to remember the intimate connection between human beings and other mammals.
Cartoons have been the only education some of us have had on the habits of farm animals, and not surprisingly a lot of those assumptions are wrong. Our many 4H and other volunteers have been quick to correct misconceptions about such animals as goats. "They don’t really eat everything the way people think they do," Jean Kuhlman was quick to say when I interviewed her about bringing goats to the market. She pointed out that goats are very versatile and fun to raise. In many countries children care for goats because they are so loving and gentle.
Lucky for us the seemingly exotic alpaca is being raised by the Binkowski family who started working with sheep, but after learning how to shear alpacas became increasingly involved in both shearing and raising alpacas. When I asked Nancy why she thought the alpacas are such a hit each year at the market, she said, "I think the one thing that makes them a hit at the LGM's is that they are friendly and people can touch them and feel how soft they are, people love to have their pictures taken with them, which we love to have them do. Sometimes you might even get one of them to kiss you. " Alpaca fleece is very soft, warm and lightweight. Not only are alpacas great for the people of Peru, American alpaca farmers are working to educate Americans about the many benefits of Alpaca fleece.
Rabbits are another favorite, and who can resist their long ears, soft fur and wriggly noses, but a gift of rabbits to a family with little land and few resources should never be underestimated. Families with Heifer rabbits are raising them on the back porch — or even in the kitchen. So long as they are warm and dry, rabbits thrive, and they love to eat leftover vegetables. In turn, families get nitrogen-rich manure to use on gardens or to sell as fertilizer. And since rabbits have up to 40 offspring a year, they provide families with steady sources of protein and income.