Kerala, India
Eighty percent (80%) of the alpaca and llama diet should be quality pasture grass and/or hay. Alpaca and llama diets vary by different regions globally, depending on pasture grasses, available supplements, and breeder preferences. The remaining twenty percent (20%) of the diet should be supplemental pellets, minerals, and probiotics.
The Camelid Stomach
Alpacas and llamas have three stomachs. The first stomach is a large “fermentation vat” for all the hay and grass that they eat. The second and third stomachs extract the nutritional components from their food intake. So to keep your alpacas and llamas healthy, you must keep the first stomach, the fermentation vat, in a good, steady, working state.
Pasture Grass and Hay
Your pasture grass or hay should be about twelve percent (12%) protein. You can contact your regional agriculture extension office for information on how and where to test your pasture grass. Typically a grass or hay analysis will cost a modest amount. If you are buying hay, get “horse quality” hay. You’ll need about one square 70 lb bale per animal per week, plus another ten percent (10%) hay for contingency. For example, if some females come to your facility for breeding. If you need to feed hay to 6 adult alpacas for 16 weeks, you would buy (6*16) = 96 plus 0.10 * 96 = 9.6, or 106 bales.
The hay that you buy should not be moldy. Do not let the hay deliverer unload any hay from his truck until you have done a “smell test” on several bales. It should have a sweet grass smell. If it smells moldy, it is moldy. So don’t buy poor quality forage.
Regular Meal Schedule
It doesn’t matter what time of the day you feed your alpacas supplemental pellets, provided that you feed them at a regular time each day. This helps to keep their first stomach in good working order.
The alpaca stomach generates a lot of heat. So you can adjust the feeding schedule to be best timed with the year’s season. For example, if you live in a very hot summer climate, you might feed them in the evening, rather than during the day, to avoid generating unnecessary body heat during the hot part of the afternoon.
Feeding Supplemental Pellets
Many alpaca owners are feeding far too many supplemental pellets. There is a relationship between how much an alpaca eats and the production of fine or coarse fiber. Overfeeding alpacas produces coarse fiber! While we don’t want to undernourish our animals to produce fine fiber, the goal is to feed them efficiently.
There are different brands of quality alpaca pellets, which usually come in 40 to 50 lb. bags. A pellet with about fifteen percent (15%) protein is recommended. Each bag has a label that gives the nutritional values, amount of pellets for males, non-pregnant females, pregnant and lactating females, and crias (babies). Typically, pregnant and lactating females should get 1 lb of pellets per day. Males and non-pregnant females should get 1/2 lb a day, and crias should get 1/4 to 1/3 lb of pellets per day.
In winter, when no pasture grass is available and the alpacas are eating hay, increase the amount of daily pellets by about fifteen percent. In summer when abundant pasture grass is available, reduce daily pellets because the animals have access to fresh forage. Moreover in very hot weather, animals reduce activity and don’t move around as much, therefore not burning as many calories. They need less concentrated feed in summer.
Alfalfa
Some producers also mix alfalfa with pellets for certain animals, at certain times. However, you want to be careful with overfeeding alfalfa. Too much alfalfa interferes with the balance of available calcium and potassium in an animal’s system. Typically feeding 5 parts pellets to 1 part alfalfa for pregnant females is appropriate. Males only get alfalfa in the winter months.
Other Supplements
Other food supplements include minerals and probiotics. Alpacas and llamas need selenium and other minerals that are not available in some regional soils. Minerals come in the form of loose granules and as compressed blocks. Mineral blocks are often more economical than loose granules. When you buy mineral blocks, do not buy salt blocks. You probably will not find mineral blocks that are made specifically for alpacas and llamas. So buy either the equine or goat mineral blocks.
Probiotics are another important food supplement. Probiotics have micro-organisms that help the alpaca’s first stomach break down the tough cellulose in hay and grass. There are different categories of probiotics with various beneficial organisms. All quality probiotics are excellent. If you see that an alpaca has diarrhea, probiotics help get its digestive system back to normal. You can sprinkle about one teaspoon of probiotics over the daily pellets for several days. Always offer probiotics to alpacas and llamas after administering oral worming medication.