As with most animals and pets in America, our alpacas are typically 'over conditioned' (read as FAT) when compared to their South American cousins. It isn't the fault of the alpaca, they are only eating what we, their caretakers give the. The typical forage in S.America is not as rich in protein as the average orchard grass pasture and we, as loving alpaca owners overfeed the 'supplemental' grain as well. Of course we do this out of love for our animals. A few side effects of 'over-loving' them are dams having difficulty getting pregnant, difficult births, fiber that blows out or increases in micron size and additional stress on the leg joints.
So, what do we do. We need to ration what we feed our animals, both in the pasture and in the feed bucket. When the spring grass is coming in fast and furious most farmers turn the alpacas out and let them go to town. And go to town they will. Eat, eat, eat. You now have one, or several fat and happy alpacas as they gorge themselves on high protein grass in addition to the free choice hay and supplemental grain. To maintain healthy animals, we the farmer, must ration their access to pasture and reduce the amount of supplemental feed we provide. Free choice hay at at 11-14 percent protein level is fine, in fact it is better for their digestive systems. Like most ruminants, they were designed to consume poor quality forage and extract the most nutrition from what they eat. Over feeding makes their digestive system lazy and may in fact foster the growth of bad bacteria which may have negative impacts on digestion and their overall health., which then causes medical issues and unnecessary veterinary expenses.
What is the remedy? A simple question deserves a simple answer; Manage your alpacas feed, their access to lush pasture and limit supplemental grains. Rotate alpacas out of pastures daily, only feed supplemental grains to provide additional nutrients - not as a replacement for hay and forage. For farms with small acreage in pasture, a side benefit of managing your alpacas access to pasture is that the grass will last longer as they will not be eating on it continually.
Like People, an alpaca that is at the lower end of their weight scale will be a happier and healthier alpaca. Good luck developing your new pasture management plan.
