What do Alpacas Eat
Alpacas are animals that are closely related to the camel, llama, vicuña, and guanaco. They are similar in appearance to a llama, but are considerably smaller. They are highly sort after for their natural fiber, which is similar to wool. There are no alpacas in the wild and they are thought to have been selectively bred from the vicuña, which is native to South America. Today, alpacas are kept domestically in many countries of the world, including as far away as Australia! If you have ever wondered what this unique animal eats, keep reading to find out.
What do alpacas eat?
The majority of the diet of an alpaca is made up of hay and grass, although they will also eat some plants. They are usually fed a mixture of natural unfertilized grass and some grass hay to meet all of their nutritional requirements. There are hundreds of plants that are poisonous to alpacas and farmers must be very careful to ensure they are removed. Alpacas eat far less food than other animals of the same size. Their 3 chamber stomach allows them to extract large amounts of nutrients from their food.
Did you know?
Alpacas will try to chew virtually anything, including plastic bags and bottles!
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