title: Nutritional requirements and assessing nutritional status in camelids.
abstract: It has been nearly 30 years since the first imported llamas and alpacas have been commercially raised in the United States. Nutritional requirements for these animals have not been well understood and most feeding practices were based on extrapolated and experiential information. Only recently has a National Research Council committee reviewed the available published information relative to nutrient requirements of llamas and alpacas. This article summarizes current nutrient requirement recommendations and provides some practical feeding recommendations and methods to assess nutritional status.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, College of Agricultural Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, 115 W.L. Henning Building, University Park, PA 16802-3500, USA. rjv10@psu.edu
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Van Saun
mesh_terms: D000821:Animal Feed / Q000032:analysis; D000824:Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D002161:Camelids, New World / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D004032:Diet; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D005260:Female; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D009751:Nutritional Requirements; D009752:Nutritional Status / Q000502:physiology*; D011247:Pregnancy