NUTRITIONAL ASSESSMENT, NUTRITIONAL REQUIREMENTS AND FORAGE ANALYSIS OF LLAMAS AND ALPACAS

The nutritional status of llamas and alpacas can be particularly difficult to assess because they are stoic animals and their fiber coat can hide changes in body weight. However, nutritional assessment of camelids can be made simple by three means: 1) Routine monitoring of body condition score (BCS) or body weight (FIGURE 1) You should assess the BCS of your animals once a month, particularly at times of pregnancy, lactation and systemic disease. To body condition score a camelid you need to palpate through the fiber coat to feel the ribs, loin, and pelvis for thickness of fat cover; additionally, you should also visualize the degree of fatness in the brisket and inguinal regions. As animals lose weight, and thus fat, these areas become more pronounced and angular, whereas they are normally smooth and rounded. The ideal body condition is between 2.5 to 3.5 on a scale of 5. Late pregnant females should have a BCS of 3 to 3.5, in order to have reserves to support impending lactation. Lactating animals will lose weight rapidly as they produce milk, but should not decrease by more than 0.75 overall