Is it an endless struggle for you to get your alpacas to eat Zinc pellets every year?
Have your alpacas been affected by facial eczema in the past?
Feeding zinc pellets to ALL of your alpacas between January and April is absolutely, 100%, crucial. Providing zinc is the ONLY preventative method available to us to reduce the risk of facial eczema.
If you haven’t started feeding zinc pellets yet then you need to START NOW.
Tips and Tricks to maximise zinc ingestion:
1. Feed 150-200g of zinc pellets every single day (these are different to the standard alpaca pellets). We recommend using the Country Harvest Zinc Pellets- these appear to be more palatable and are readily available from feed stores.
2. Feed animals individually. Each animal should have their own bowl and these bowls should be placed at least 3-4 meters apart from each other. This helps to reduce bullying behaviour so that each alpaca can eat their meal in peace.
3. Use low bowls so that the alpaca can see while it’s eating. Alpacas that have to eat out of tall buckets or dishes feel anxious doing so, and in turn this may influence the alpaca’s desire to finish it’s meal.
4. Add lucerne chaff and micronised lupins to the zinc pellets to make them more palatable. If you’re on our alpaca health care plans then we can provide you with more information on what ratios to feed to achieve a palatable mix of these three ingredients.
5. Zinc sulphate in the water is not a reliable method for providing zinc, nor is it palatable. Many alpacas will refuse to drink zinc completely if zinc is added to the water.
For more tips and tricks, get in touch with us, or sign up to our alpaca annual health care plans. Not only do we visit your alpacas regularly throughout the year to provide them with all of the necessary preventative treatments, but we also provide you with nutritional advice, organise your shearing for you and provide you with round the clock veterinary care should your animals require this.
Here’s a fantastic picture of one of our clients that is doing it right 🙂
The Lifestyle Vet – Your Alpaca Vet
For more information about our alpaca health care plans, visit our website at www.thelifestylevet.co.nz or contact us at laura@thelifestylevet.co.nz.
