Llamas spit in self defense and to be nasty and argumentative with each other. The previous owner of the llamas I have purchased did say that Henrietta once spit at him. He explained that he felt he pushed her a little too far and she was having a bad day, likely in heat for the first time. See, animals get cranky too...
At any rate, I completely misread Henrietta's body language one evening and when I turned my head away there was a big puff at the side of my head and I realized she had spit. She hadn't taken the time to gather a big wad for the shot, so I wasn't really wearing any debris to demonstrate I had been a victim.
She's been itchy. I think she's buggy, and this happens. I got some bug powder but want to work her up to it. We're still building rapport. I can't just corner her and douse her with louse powder. A gentler approach is needed at this point in time. The cornering approach I'll save for later.
So, I had just fed the girls and they were munching on hay and I was poking her a bit along her giraffe neck - okay, her llama neck. She pressed back, almost leaning into me. I poked a bit more, gently pressing back on her shoulder. She cocked her head and neck downward and pushed them into me. I read she was leaning back into me. Really, she was telling me to get lost. Not receiving her intended message, I pressed some more, chuckling at what I perceived to be her game. I left my hand close to her and looked away to the other animals. And then I felt the big puff on the side of my head. Since she was eating and not chewing her cud I think I was saved a great deal of clean up.
I pouted and whined. I don't think it had much effect. Mostly I quickly reviewed in mind what had just happened and how I had totally misread Henrietta's body language. She was not interested in reading my body language and my pout. We're still building rapport....
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