Hay and nitrate concentration

As it turns out, what we feed our llamas requires the same scrutiny and care as the food we feed ourselves. When I started hearing stories of llamas dying from consuming hay too high in nitrates, I realized how beneficial a bit of research on my part would be for the safety of my llamas and for my own sanity. I've included two articles I found on the internet that corroborate the facts I have since learned from NFTA (National Forage Testing Association), camelid veterinarians and careful llama owners/breeders with whom I have spoken.

If you take away nothing else, make sure you:

1. Insist on having any potential hay you plan to feed your llamas tested by a certified lab.

2. Aim to use second or third cutting, quality grass hay, to minimize waste.

3. Look for hay test results that suggest a nitrate concentration no greater than 0.44% or 1012ppm and a protein concentration in the range of 10-12%.

4. Grass hay should look leafy, consist of few stems, look a healthy green (not brown) color, and be free of mold.

See these resources below:

Nitrate Toxicity in Hay and Pasture Forage, by Emily Glunk

ttps://apps.msuextension.org/magazine/assets/docs/NitrateToxicity.pdf

Nutritional Assessment, Nutritional Requirements and Forage Analysis of Llamas and Alpacas, by Fiamma Gomez

https://trace.tennessee.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1025&context=utk_largpubs