Winter - Classical Mileend Alpacas

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Special Feature Nutrition provide adequate ‘scratch factor’. 75% of NDF should come from forage (pasture, hay) rather than concentrates (grains, pellets). Animals can only physically eat 1% of their body weight as forage NDF as digestibility decreases as fi bre content increases. e.g. 70kg alpaca eating hay with NDF of 50% will only be able physically to consume 1.4 kg of the hay. Any further nutrition (eg if lactating) can be given by concentrates. Dry matter intake increases with feed quality (digestibility) because feed is easier to digest: There is more protein so microbes can grow. There is lower feed retention time so alpaca can fi t more in C1–2. ENOUGH FIBRE IN RATION? Observe your alpacas to see if there is enough fi bre in the diet: ❍ > 50% of recumbent alpacas should be chewing their cud ❍ body condition score - adequate fi bre in the diet is required for fat deposition ❍ faecal consistency – % fi bre vs % DM in diet. A rough estimate of plant fi bre content may be gained by manually testing the breaking strength of plant matter – more mature plants contain more fi bre (thicker cell walls, more lignin) and are more diffi cult to break and less digestible. 36 Alpaca World Magazine Winter 2004/05 Crude fi bre contents of commonly available feeds Neutral Crude Fibre Detergent Fibre (%DM) (%DM) Spring pasture 38 23 Dry pasture feed 70–80 40–60 Clovery pasture hay 42 28 Grassy pasture hay 49 28 Good cereal hay 56 32 Late cut cereal hay 65 40 Straws 80 50–70 Lucerne hay 49 24 Leafy Pasture Silage 45 29 Mature Pasture Silage 58 35 Oats 26–35 12 Wheat, barley, corn 12–20 2–5 Lupins 24 15 PASTURE PROVIDES ENERGY, PROTEIN AND FIBRE Pasture mostly contains the nutrient requirements of camelids: ❍ Protein ❍ Energy = non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) = sugars ❍ Fibre = structural carbohydrates = hemicellulose, cellulose ❍ Fats ❍ Vitamins and minerals Part Two of Jane Vaughan’s Nutrition article follows in the Spring issue of Alpaca World magazine. ALPACA SHEARING Telephone Colin for a friendly and professional local service with competitive rates. 01884 38782 or 07773 440354 Email: tango@aligoff.eurobell.co.uk Recommended by Ian and Rachel Waldron of Langaton Alpacas
THE FEED FOR SHOW CHAMPIONS Bob Rawlins of Wellground Alpacas recently told Carrs Billington, ‘Wellground Farleigh won Supreme Champion at the Royal Bath and West Show in 2004, fed exclusively on Camelid Care Coarse Mix. We use, stock and recommend Carrs Billington Camelid Care Coarse mix for all alpacas – including Supreme Champions!’ CARRS BILLINGTON AGRICULTURE LTD CAMELID CARE COARSE MIX Outstanding amongst our competitors, Carrs Camelid Care Coarse Mix has been specifi cally designed to fi ll the gap between Alpaca’s and Llama’s nutritional requirements and the known defi ciencies in U.K. forages. Our customers report reduced incidence of skin lesions, improved conception rates and generally good overall herd health. For more information on this and other Camelid Care products, or details of your local supplier, contact Ian Powley on 01900 824105. It is always pleasing to receive a compliment! To do so from satisfi ed customers is particularly valued. Sandy Percy and Adrian Armstrong of Thistledown Alpacas wrote to Carrs Billington saying: ‘We believe the quality of our males is down to the fact we feed them Camelid Care Coarse Mix. Our two males are now Show Champions. Our Rose Grey boy won over all the fawns and whites to become a champion, which is the fi rst time this has happened in the UK.’ Camelid Care Coarse Mix has been specifi cally formulated to meet the needs of growing and adult camelids fed forage rich diets. But because there are no nutrient tables for alpacas, most feeding guidelines come from hard earned experience of a few enthusiastic breeders. It was for this reason that Carrs Billington held discussions with key local breeders such as Anne Young (Alpacas of The Lakes) to develop the formulation and conduct feeding trials. Camelids are known to have a more effi cient digestive system than cattle or sheep, due to the longer retention time of digesta in the forestomach. Camelid digestive anatomy has evolved particularly well to nurture the microbes that can breakdown plant fi bre, which in turn provides nutrients to the host animal. Practical experience from breeders such as Anne, tells us that good quality forages, either as grazed grass or conserved winter forage, can provide the bulk of the nutrients needed by camelids on a daily basis. But additional minerals, trace elements and vitamins will be needed to optimise health and performance. How do we know? Advertising Feature Each year Carrs undertake detailed mineral and trace element profi les on several hundred forage samples, including grass, hay, grass silages and wholecrop cereals. The results have shown some remarkable consistencies. Over 90% of forages are defi cient in the essential trace elements, zinc, iodine, copper, cobalt and selenium. So what? Many trace elements (and some major minerals) act as enzyme activators, catalysing key reactions, which allow feed to be digested (either by the forestomach microbes or the camelid itself). But when the trace elements are defi cient, they can’t catalyse any reactions because they are not there to do it. So animal performance and health suffers. Anne’s enthusiastic support and experience in the development of Camelid Care Coarse Mix, with its high mineral, vitamin and trace element content, has allowed Anne to see ‘Overall improved health in the herd… with improved conception and increased performance of stud males.’ Sandy and Adrian now echo this experience! Bob Rawlins of Wellground Alpacas recently told us: ‘Wellground Farleigh won Supreme Champion at the Royal Bath and West Show in 2004, fed exclusively on Camelid Care Coarse Mix. We use, stock and recommend Carrs Billington Camelid Care Coarse mix for all alpacas – including Supreme Champions!’ It is very rewarding when expertise from different sides of the agricultural fence can work together to develop products for the benefi t of others in the industry! LIST OF SUPPLIERS Breeder Contact Name Location Telephone Alpaca Breeding & Stud Farm David Wiltshire Wiltshire 01454 315290 Alpacas of Norfolk Sheila Curl Norfolk 01263 861541 Ashcroft Alpacas Ben Harford Gloucestershire 01453 860227 Black Mountain Alpacas Sheila Cowling Powys 01874 638102 Blenheim Alpacas Mike Coghlan Oxon 01491 641212 Bryn Dulas Alpacas Mrs Rae Conwy North Wales 01492 517501 Glascoed Alpacas Miss Sainsbury Monmouthshire 01495 785243 Great House Alpacas Mrs Wills Oxon 01844 279805 LandskerLlamas Liz Ford Dyfed 01994 240906 Lowroy Alpacas Norma Miller Lancashire 01616 246798 Marshwood Vale Alpacas Geoff Bugler Dorset 01297 678181 Mile End Alpacas Chas Brooke Devon 01884 243514 Spring Farm Partnership Vicky Agar East Sussex 01825 790885 Wellground Alpacas Bob Rawlings Wiltshire 01380 830431 Also available from all our Branches, for details please visit or website at www.carrs-billington.com Alpaca World Magazine Autumn 2004/05 37
Page 1 and 2: M A G A Z I N E Winter 2004/05 £4.
Page 3 and 4: Issue 12 Winter 2004/05 ISSN 1477-7
Page 5 and 6: ��
Page 7 and 8: DOGS ATTACK AGAIN Dear Editor, Furt
Page 9 and 10: Classical MileEnd Alpacas Outstandi
Page 11 and 12: Not all breeders will be looking fo
Page 13 and 14: BOZEDOWN WEST at WESTWAYS ALPACAS N
Page 15 and 16: Continued on page 18 Alpaca World M
Page 18: Special Feature Boys and how to cho
Page 21 and 22: mating have been reported as low (S
Page 25 and 26: Alpaca World Magazine Autumn 2004/0
Page 27 and 28: liaise with the breeders, arrange t
Page 29 and 30: Search or Advertise Alpacas for Sal
Page 31 and 32: “The highly decorative costumes t
Page 33 and 34: to colonise and breakdown plant mat
Page 35: 40% NDF, or 25% CF, of which 25% is
Page 39 and 40: defecate. The list is long, the mes
Page 41 and 42: LAW OF CAMELIDYNAMICS: When an alpa
Page 45 and 46: One point worth mentioning is that
Page 47 and 48: Violet is a two-year-old alpaca wit
Page 51 and 52: crinkly type fl eece with high curv
Page 53 and 54: smiling face. The AOBA infomercial
Page 59 and 60: Wessex Rural Alianza Don Pepe Plant

Winter - Classical Mileend Alpacas

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