{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,1]],"date-time":"2026-09-01T04:16:28Z","timestamp":1788236188752,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":31,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"17","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,1]],"date-time":"2026-09-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788220800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Animals"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Alpacas have gained increasing popularity in Poland; however, no official national standards for their husbandry have yet been established. This study aimed to evaluate alpaca husbandry practices on Polish farms using an anonymous questionnaire. A total of 44 farms were included in the analysis, all of which kept alpacas, while only 9.1% also maintained llamas. A high level of adherence to preventive healthcare practices was observed, with regular deworming implemented on 90.9% of farms and vaccination reported by all respondents. Dietary supplementation was also widely practised, with vitamin D being the most frequently administered supplement (90.9%). However, the assessment of biosecurity measures revealed important deficiencies in epidemiological risk management, as only 59.3% of owners quarantined newly introduced animals before integrating them into the herd. These findings provide the first comprehensive overview of alpaca husbandry practices in Poland and may serve as a basis for future research and the development of official husbandry standards for alpacas.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ani16172705","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,1]],"date-time":"2026-09-01T03:19:26Z","timestamp":1788232766000},"page":"2705","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Alpaca Farming and Management Practices in Poland: Online Questionnaire"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Natalia","family":"Bro\u015b","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Student Scientific Circle of Animal Behaviour, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, 20-950 Lublin, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Iwona Anna","family":"Walachniewicz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Student Scientific Circle of Animal Behaviour, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, 20-950 Lublin, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8175-7299","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Joanna","family":"Kapustka","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Animal Ethology and Wildlife Management, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, 20-950 Lublin, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6586-151X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Monika","family":"Budzy\u0144ska","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Animal Ethology and Wildlife Management, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, 20-950 Lublin, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"159","DOI":"10.1186\/s13059-020-02080-6","article-title":"Genomic Analysis of the Domestication and Post-Spanish Conquest Evolution of the Llama and Alpaca","volume":"21","author":"Fan","year":"2020","journal-title":"Genome Biol."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2575","DOI":"10.1098\/rspb.2001.1774","article-title":"Genetic Analysis Reveals the Wild Ancestors of the Llama and the Alpaca","volume":"268","author":"Kadwell","year":"2001","journal-title":"Proc. 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