Re: [AlpacaTalk] pasture questions
Contact your County Extension office for help with soil and forage
testing. You may wish to mow your pasture to a 4-6" hight. We rarely
have problems with the forage being overgrown, but we're at capacity
and definitely need to supplement with hay. We do have to mow in the
spring and summer to keep the thistles and other stuff they don't eat
at bay. However, they do eat thistles some, and they love dandelions
and field daisies. So I try to avoid those when I mow. Well, I'm
pretty ruthless with the thistles.
Many breeders don't feed a supplemental pellet at all, but I would
recommend having a free choice loose mineral mix available for them.
And, in the pacific Northwest, it is pretty necessary to supplement
with ADEB12 paste monthly, and especially in the winter months.
I don't know how many alpaca can graze an acre without requiring
additional hay, we've never had that luxury. Hopefully someone who
does have experience with that will offer their wisdom!
Heather
On Jan 26, 2009, at 12:08 PM, Caryn Law wrote:
> Hello!
>
> Thanks for all of the advice people have given to me off- and on-
> list so far
> about my newbie questions. I have a few more relating to pasture.
>
> Just to recap, I'm hoping to own alpacas for the first time this year,
> starting with just two and gradually working my way up to more. We
> have 0.8
> acres of fenced pasture that was previously used for a couple of
> horses.
> It's been two years since any animals have been on it, so the
> grasses in it
> have REALLY overgrown. (Just for further reference, I live in the
> Pacific
> Northwest.)
>
> I've researched the grasses that are growing in there and they're
> appropriate for alpacas, although I know I might have to do some
> reseeding
> (I'm not sure, though). My question is this: because of how
> overgrown and
> old that grass is, do I need to go in and do some major cleanup
> before I put
> any animals on it? I'm guessing that grass is both too old to be of
> any
> nutritional value now and probably just too darn much for the
> animals to
> comfortably walk around, nevermind actually eat.
>
> I see a LOT of talk on here about feed mixtures and nutrients and
> to be
> honest, it's kind of scary. :) I've been told by an experienced
> alpaca owner
> that I can comfortably have a small number of alpaca on my pasture
> without
> having to supplement with hay, so I really want to make sure the
> pasture is
> in the right condition, of course, before putting any animals in
> there.
>
> Any advice is appreciated, as usual!
>
> (By the way, are there any alpaca owners in the Issaquah area
> reading this
> list? If there are, would you be available for a personal visit to
> your
> farm?)
>
> - Caryn Law
> Issaquah, WA
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posted by Chaddo at 12:34 PM
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