Dreamcatcher Alpacas
Plant safety · Safe

Can Alpacas Eat Chickweed?

Chickweed (Stellaria media) — a weed. Here is what alpaca owners need to know.

Updated 2026-10-02By the Dreamcatcher Alpacas editorial team
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Yes — chickweed is safe for alpacas.

It is acceptable forage or browse in normal amounts.

Chickweed (Stellaria media)
Chickweed (Stellaria media). Photo: André Karwath aka Aka, CC BY-SA 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons.
Status
Safe
Scientific name
Stellaria media
Family
Caryophyllaceae
Plant type
Weed
Also known as
little mouse-ear chickweed, common chickweed

Feeding notes

Harmless and readily eaten.

How to offer it

  1. Introduce any new forage or browse gradually over a week or two.
  2. Make sure it is fresh — avoid moldy, wilted piles or plants sprayed with herbicide.
  3. Keep a balanced diet: grass or hay first, with a camelid mineral available.

About the plant

Stellaria media, chickweed, is an annual flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae. It is native to Eurasia and naturalized throughout the world, where it is a weed of waste ground, farmland and gardens. It is sometimes grown as a salad crop or for poultry consumption.From Wikipedia — “Stellaria media”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Where it grows

GBIF, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, holds 823,053 recorded observations of Stellaria media (L.) Vill. worldwide, including 26,481 in the United States. It belongs to the Caryophyllaceae family. See the occurrence map on GBIF.

Frequently asked questions

Can alpacas eat chickweed?
Yes. Harmless and readily eaten.
How much chickweed can an alpaca eat?
As part of a varied diet based on grass or grass hay, it can be eaten freely. Introduce new browse gradually.

Keeping pastures safe

  • Walk every paddock and fence line each season and remove toxic plants, including roots.
  • Never throw garden, hedge or lawn clippings over the fence.
  • Check pastures after storms for fallen branches (cherry, red maple).
  • Buy hay from known sources and inspect it for weeds.
  • Keep pastures well managed — hungry alpacas eat plants they would normally avoid.

Browse the full toxic plant checker, the printable list of poisonous plants and the list of safe plants.

This page is educational and does not replace advice from a veterinarian who has examined your animals. Camelid medicine uses many drugs “extra-label”, so dosing must come from your vet. In an emergency, call your vet first. Read our disclaimer · How we write and review content.

Data: plant status compiled from veterinary toxicology references (see sources); taxonomy and occurrences from GBIF; identifiers from Wikidata Q158711.