[South American camelids in Switzerland. III. Digestibilities of different feedstuff]

Feces from 15 adult llamas were collected in 4 herds and the exact diet was determined, either of the group or of individual animals, to examine apparent digestibility. A questionnaire was submitted to the animal owners. The questionnaire included questions about the animals in the herd (number, age, gender, origin), management methods, pastures, watering and feeding facilities for the animals, hay supplementation, composition of the ration and fodder additives used. Analysis of the feed revealed an average apparent digestibility for dry matter of 81+/-4%, for the organic matter 77+/-7%, for crude protein 69+/-10%, for nitrogen-free extract 83+/-5%, for calcium 60+/-17%, for phosphorus 54+/-11% and 81+/-9% for crude fiber. All feed components seem to be digested similarly to domestic ruminants whereas the apparent digestibility of crude fiber was high, which indicates that the digesting system seems to be more effective.