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Caring
for alpacas is relatively straight forward. But you can't
put them in a field and forget about them and be a successful
owner or breeder - sooner or later your animals will suffer.
There have been books
written on the subject in some detail, but we have included
some fundamentals for you to consider.
Food:
Alpacas will eat a variety grass, hay, combination pellets,
grain and pretty much anything else depending on availability
and prevailing conditions. It's this last part that you
should be concerned about. For the most part an alpaca won't
deliberately eat anything that is bad for it, BUT if there
isn't anything else to eat it might. There isn't a perfect
alpaca food, but there are some guidelines based on the
last few years research. Initially alpaca were considered
to have the same needs as llama. It is now recognized by
folks such as Dr
Norm Evans that the alpaca has some different needs.
Nutrition will impact not only the health of the animal
but also the condition of it's fleece and obviously then,
it's value. High protein and high energy diets can cause
alpaca to grow coarser fiber. Gestating and nursing females
however will require additional proteins and energy giving
feed.
An
alpaca will graze for a period of time, and then rest/chew
cud. If there isn't enough grass to graze on, they will
need hay to supplement their diet. You can't really expect
to feed alpaca purely pellets since they don't always contain
the sufficient mix of nutrients and vitamins.
Try
and get the recipe for any pellets that you are using so
that you understand what balance of nutrition your animal
is getting. Have your grass or hay analyzed for protein
content, and check well water for minerals and any contaminants.
It
is not uncommon to supplement the mineral intake with free
choice minerals.
Water:
Yes
and plenty of it. Alpaca will drink quite a lot of water,
and it is important that you keep a clean supply for them.
Buckets in the pasture or troughs are fine, but bear in
mind that they can kick over buckets, and the water can
evaporate or freeze. Don't give them something deep they
can climb into, because they most likely will if it is hot.
Water will rot the fiber - something you will see particularly
on legs when it has been raining for a period of time. Make
sure you fence of your pond or tank if you have one.
General
Care: In
addition to a healthy diet, you will need to take care of
trimming toenails and occasionally teeth. The alpaca is
used to grazing on rocky plains which naturally wear down
the teeth. In this country they usually graze on soft pasture,
which means occasional grinding down of the alpaca's teeth.
Make sure you know how this is done before you take your
animals away. Americana Alpacas™
invites prospective owners to the ranch to participate in
our regular herd health days to see how this is done. Alpacas
receive vaccinations and at times require injections, these
are not hard to do, but you can also ask your vet to take
care of these for you. Regular fecal testing is recommended
to detect the presence of parasites and medicines can be
administered to treat the animal and prevent further problems.
Good herd and pasture management will help keep parasite
problems at bay.
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