Yes its that time of year again, time for the vitamin shots. Vitamins A & D

The majority of an alpacas vitamin A requirements are met by feeding a high quality forage containing carotene. This carotenoid is converted to vitamin A in the animal's liver or gut wall.

Vitamin D is a different story, alpacas evolved in the high altitudes of South America. At these altitudes, even though the animals have thick fleeces blocking ultraviolet light, they still acquire enough light to convert to vitamin D3.

However, in the northern latitudes, lack of sufficient ultraviolet light can indeed be a problem. During the winter months because of the orientation of the sun, very little ultraviolet light reaches the earth. The sun is as bright as ever, essentially the light is spread over a much greater area so diluting its effect.

This can be a problem in the case of fall-born crias, because when they are born later in the seasons they may not be able to acquire sufficient ultraviolet light for vitamin D production.

Since milk is a very poor source of vitamin D, and if young animals are not provided supplemental vitamin D, they may develop rickets (Fowler, 1992; Hoffman and Fowler, 1995; Smith, 1996).
When a summer is unusually cloudy, or if alpacas are kept indoors, or in areas of thick fog where ultraviolet rays are obscured, rickets can be a reality. Rickets can also occur with insufficient amounts of phosphorus, calcium or magnesium.

My own protocol is 1cc per 75lbs of body weight. But always check with your own veterinarian regarding the need to supplement and the dosage required.

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