Two or three people have asked me where they can read more about alpaca nutrition. The answer is in Norman Evans DVM - Alpaca Field Manual a new version of which has just been published. Norman devotes a whole section to nutrition and while not a nutritionist himself he has a vast amount of experience with camelids.

Norman has eight main points when it comes to alpaca nutrition:

*Know the alpaca's use and needs.
*Know where the nutrients come from (water, pasture, hay, vitamins, minerals supplements).
*Balance the nutrients deficient in the tested forage.
*Frame score and body score all adults and supplement accordingly.
*Weigh, keep records, and be aware of seasonal gains and losses.
*Remove human error. Weigh the animals feed intake for 7 - 10 days.
*Always supplement per feed tag directions to avoid toxic levels of copper and selenium.
*Always let new hay cure for 4 - 6 weeks prior to feeding.

I look on these as the 8 Commandments, follow these guiding principles and you won't go far wrong.

I will locate a source and price for Norman Evans latest latest field manual and post it here shortly.

Useful Items now have the book for $105.00

By Adrian Stewart