Alpacas and llamas originate from the high altiplano in Peru, Chile and Bolivia. The vegetation there is sparse which explains why these South American camelids have a digestive system which can extract nutritional value from fibrous matter.

Alpacas obviously eat grass but this, on its own, is not sufficient to provide the balanced diet required for healthy animals in the long term. Because of the low food value of their natural forage, they are programmed to eat a lot of it to maintain themselves.

Their teeth continue to grow until they are about seven years old because they are expected to be worn down as they chew their food. In order to extract all the nutrient value from the food they eat, they have a long gut and they are also designed to be resistant to high levels of minerals which are found in their natural forage.

Since food is scarce on the altiplano, they will also range over long distances and browse on shrubs and bushes.

During the year, their body condition will fluctuate according to the amount of food available.

For a female, this depends on whether she is pregnant and/or nursing, while for a male it will be dependent on the amount of energy he has to expend to chase females or defend them against rivals.

Your own alpacas are unlikely to face these harsh altiplano conditions as they are probably kept in relatively small paddocks with an abundant supply of grass. This may well provide their energy and protein needs but bear in mind that the nutrient value of grass itself varies during the year.

The new growth in spring is very nutritious but the food value drops as the year progresses and, even if there is plenty to be had, your animals will not be getting the same food value from it.

Grass is a soft, nutritious plant and on its own does not provide the fibre and bulk that your alpacas require. Being shallow-rooted, it does not provide the level of minerals that alpacas need.

Because of this, you will have to provide supplementary food for your herd. Most owners feed small amounts of concentrate feed. A number of suppliers now formulate these feeds specifically for camelids, ensuring that they receive a proper balance of protein, calories, starch and minerals.

For the full article see the December edition of Smallholder.