Nitrogen Balance and Blood Metabolites of Llama (Lama Glama) Fed Barley Hay Supplemented with Alfalfa and Quinoa Straw in Bolivia

Eight male llamas (190±21.2 kg BW; 3 yrs old) were housed in metabolism crates. The diet treatments fed were barley hay (B), barley hay plus 20% quinoa straw (BQ), and barley hay plus 20% alfalfa hay (BA). The treatments were fed in random order, once daily with water provided ad libitum. Treatment periods were 14 d, with d 1 to 7 for diet adjustment and d 8 to 14 for N data collection. Blood samples were collected on d 14 to determine plasma metabolite concentrations. Dry matter intake was not different between the treatments 824, 1247 and 1196 g/d for B, BA and BQ. Nitrogen intake was 8.01, 21.44 and 13.42 g/d (P < 0.05) for B, BA and BQ, respectively. Fecal N was highest for BA (6.41 g/d), but was only different from B (3.97 g/d; P < 0.05). Urine N excretion as a percent of total was lowest for BQ (35.7%) and highest for B (60.8%; P < 0.05). Nitrogen retained was -2.9, 9.7 and 4.9 g/d for B, BA and BQ (P < 0.05). Dry matter digestibility was not different between treatments (63 to 66%), while N digestibility was different (P < 0.05) across all three treatments; 47, 70 and 59% for B, BA and BQ. Plasma glucose NEFA, triglycerides, total plasma and creatinine were not different across treatments. These data demonstrate that feeding quinoa straw is a good supplement for camelids to increasing CP intake in-place of higher quality forage supplements, like alfalfa, that can be used for other higher producing livestock like dairy cows.