On a llama list I am on, they are talking about which free choice minerals to use. Some are saying that llama vets and mentioned you, said it was ok to use cattle, sheep or goat minerals. Is this true? It would be less costly but I thought some of those minerals were to high in copper? What minerals do you use for the research herd?  Is there somewhere, some website that we can get all the minerals and % of each mineral so we can have some made ourselves?

Answer:

Sheep and goat minerals are fine - low in copper. Cattle minerals need to be very careful with because of copper. Horse minerals tend to be highest in copper.

That said, it depends on your geographic area and what you are using the animals for. If the llamas are backyard pets, sheep mineral is probably all they would ever need. If you are trying to raise luxury fiber, then you will likely find that llama and alpaca specific minerals do a much better job at supporting growth fineness and luster.

David E Anderson, DVM, MS, DACVS