In the highlands, where regular agriculture and livestock are not viable, raising camelids is the only means of subsistence for rural families. While grazing during the dry season in the high Andean region, llamas face serious nutritional deficiencies due to limited forage availability. This study was done at the experimental station of the Benson Agriculture and Food Institute located in the community of Letanias which is in the municipality of Viacha. The objective was to determine the effect of food deprivation on the metabolic profile of blood plasma (concentration of urea-nitrogen, total protein, albumin, and creatinine) as well as the concentration of nitrogen in feces and urine of four and five year old llamas. These llamas were fed on a diet of 80% barley hay and 20% alfalfa hay during two periods of study (before and after food deprivation). Eight male Q’ara llamas were cannulated with a one meter tube in the jugular vein for blood sampling and trained to stay in metabolic cages. The study took place over a period of seven weeks, in which there was a four week period where food was reduced to 30%. The statistical analysis used was the paired t test. The results obtained were: urea-nitrogen concentration = 23.31 ± 8.73 mg/dl, total protein = 9.15 ± 1.50 mg/dl, albumin = 4.47 ± 0.41 mg/dl, and creatinine = 2.39 ± 0.49 mg/dl. The results for nitrogen concentration (%) in feces and urine were 1.61 ± 0.09 and 0.82 ± 0.15 respectively. The average weight loss for the animals was 13.25 kg. According to the results obtained in this study, the concentration of metabolites in blood plasma is within the range reported in other investigations. Statistical analysis indicates no significant differences (p<0.05) in the study periods before and after food deprivation for urea nitrogen, total protein, albumin, and nitrogen in the feces. In contrast, there was a significant difference (p<0.01) in plasma creatinine, nitrogen in the urine, and animal body weight.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BGMYU2/oai:scholarsarchive.byu.edu:etd-6328 |
| Date | 01 January 2008 |
| Creators | Ali Quisbert, Edwin Eddy |
| Publisher | BYU ScholarsArchive |
| Source Sets | Brigham Young University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Theses and Dissertations |
| Coverage | Viacha (Bolivia) |
| Rights | http://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/ |
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