Alpaca World Magazine Summer 2005 - Classical MileEnd Alpacas

Alpaca World MagazineThe only independent magazinereporting on the internationalalpaca industryDistributed by subscriptionand through countryside storesacross the UK, Alpaca WorldMagazine reaches the largestreadership in its marketSummer 2005£4.80 where sold

News BAS National / Northumberland ShowNorthumberland ShowMale Intermediate Suri ChampionPinkney Polo, Pinkney AlpacasReserve Bowford Nelson, British AlpacaStudMale Adult Suri Champion Accoyo SuriChancer, EP Cambridge UK & LangatonAlpacasReserve Cambridge Triumph, EPCambridge UKSires Progeny1st Bozedown Dazzler IPU, BozedownAlpacasFleece ShowChampion Huacaya Fleece EP CambridgeCajamarca, Blenheim AlpacasReserve Wessex Hermelinda, AlpacasofWessexVicky Ridley writes: This year, for thefi rst time, the Northumberland CountyShow had an Alpaca in the line upfor Champion of Champions in thecapable of hands of 12 year old ThomasDent from Blueberry Alpacas, Penrithwith Junior Male Champion and ShowChampion Bozedown Thor.Twenty three thousand people pouredon to the show fi eld – which in Januaryhad been under ten feet of water whenthe River Tyne burst its banks – for what isthe major event in the county’s showingcalendar.The fi rst alpaca showing classes tobe held in this part of the country, runby the North East & Borders Alpaca Club(NEBAC), attracted huge crowds all dayand even we ‘alpaca enthusiasts’ werestaggered by the interest shown and thenumber of people who came into themarquee to see the alpacas close to andquiz the owners. I imagine all twentythree thousand now know what an alpacalooks like!Forty-four alpacas and their ownersturned out to brave the scrutiny of judgeRob Bettinson and inspection stewardVanessa Schofi eld. The majority ofus had never shown before, but suchwas the level of enthusiasm that someentrants had travelled miles for theshow, one couple leaving home at 4.30that morning to be justly rewardedwith a clutch of rosettes. Rob’s verbalreasoning along with commentary andgeneral alpaca information from GeorgeCampbell and Jenny MacHarg meantthe crowds were informed as well asentertained.The date of next year’s show – BankHoliday Monday, 29th May 2006.Supreme Champion Suri Pinkney Peanut,Pinkney AlpacasChampion Suri Fleece Pinkney Rocco,Pinkney AlpacasReserve Pinkney Nutkin, Pinkney AlpacasBAS National ShowThe BAS National Show, held at theNewark and Nottingham County Showover two days, attracted nearly threehundred entries. Facilities were greatlyimproved with indoor showing andadditional outdoor penning. Alpacabreeders from Europe and Australiaattended and at close of play on theSaturday it was barbecue time with theshow ring transformed into a ‘restaurant’.Judge Mrs Val FullerloveJunior Female Huacaya Champion AccoyoDelightful Daisy, EP Cambridge/Accoyo UKReserve Springfarm Elizabeth, Mr & MrsAgar.Adult Male Huacaya ChampionTrojan of Bozedown, Bozedown AlpacasReserve Avunvale Cambridge Ice CoolLad, Arunvale AlpacasSenior Male Huacaya Champion WessexMateus, Alpacas of WessexReserve Arunvale Leigh’s Inca Dream,Arunvale AlpacasSire’s Progeny1st Bozedown Galaxy, Bozedown Alpacas2nd Accoyo Killawasi, Accoyo UK Ltd3rd Wessex Cosmos, Alpacas of WessexSupreme Champion HuacayaBozedown Pernod, Bozedown AlpacasJunior Female Huacaya ChampionFowberry Iquita, Fowberry AlpacasReserve Campsie Lauren, CampsieCamelidsJunior Male Huacaya ChampionBozedown ThorReserve Greenholme CloudberryIntermediate ChampionBlueberry Apollo Philip, Blueberry AlpacasReserve Stagshaw Archie, StagshawAlpacasShow ChampionBozedown Thor, Blueberry AlpacasReserve Fowberry Iquita, Fowberry AlpacasJunior Male Huacaya ChampionBozedown Pernod, Bozedown AlpacasReserve Alpha Saturn, Alpha AlpacasIntermediate Female Huacaya ChampionBozedown Saloua, Bozedown AlpacasReserve Accoyo Celeste, Accoyo UKJunior Male Suri ChampionPinkney Peanut, Pinkney AlpacasReserve Bozedown Bartholomew,Bozedown AlpacasSire’s ProgenyBozedown Dazzler, Bozedown AlpacasIntermediate Male Huacaya ChampionShute Farm Boris, Alpacas of WessexReserve Zarza Rizardo, Zarza AlpacasChampion Suri Pinkney Peanut, PinkneyAlpacas© Stefan Haig-McMahonAlpaca World Magazine Summer 2005 | 5

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News Devon County Show / Royal Bath & West ShowDevon County ShowThe Royal Bath & WestIan Waldron writes: For the fi rst timeclasses for alpacas were held at theDevon County Show at Westpoint nearExeter. The Show organisers like allprize-winning animals to participate inthe Grand Parade which takes place dailyin the afternoon, so it meant employingtwo judges to enable classes to becompleted in time. Judges Val Fullerloveand Paul Cullen split the classes betweenthem with in excess of 120 alpacas tobe judged. The alpacas were fortunateto have covered pens but the show ringwas at the mercy of the weather beingoutside. With further showers beingforecast it was rather a nerve-rackingmorning constantly glancing at the colourof the clouds gathering on the horizon.However, once judging commenced therewere only two minor interruptions whilstwaiting for a shower to pass by.Constructive feedback is alwayswelcome especially whilst it is fresh inone’s mind – it won’t be long before plansfor next year’s show are being made– and whilst on that subject, the dates for2006 are the 18–20 May inclusive.ResultsJunior Female WhiteDelightful Daisy, Langaton AlpacasJunior Female Fawn CME Sappho,Classical MileEnd AlpacasJunior Female Brown Elite Rosie, ClassicalMileEnd AlpacasJunior Make White CME Lysander,Classical MileEnd AlpacasJunior Male Fawn East Trayne Domino,East Trayne AlpacasIntermediate White Female AccoyoCatherine, Langaton AlpacasIntermediate Female Fawn AccoyoCalantha, Langaton AlpacasIntermediate Male White Alpha Arthur,Alpha AlpacasAdult Male White CME Distinction,Classical MileEnd AlpacasFleece classesJudge Dominic LaneSupreme Champion HuacayaWessex Rural Alianza Wiracocha, Alpacasof WessexJunior Female Huacaya Champion AlpacaCentre Miski, Alpaca Centre AlpacasReserve Accoyo UK Delightful Daisy,Accoyo UKJunior Male Huacaya Champion LangatonDostoyovsky, Langaton Alpacas ReserveAlpha Saturn, Alpha AlpacasIntermediate Female Huacaya ChampionBozedown Saloua, Bozedown AlpacasReserve Bozedown Hermione, BozedownAlpacasIntermediate Male Huacaya ChampionBozedown Pernod, Bozedown AlpacasReserve Bozedown Calvados, BozedownAlpacasAdult Female Huacaya Champion WessexMariela, Zarza Alpacas Reserve AccoyoUKCeleste, Accoyo UKAdult Male Huacaya Champion ShuteFarm Boris, Alpacas of Wessex ReserveWestcroft Cloud, Westcroft AlpacasSenior Female Huacaya ChampionWessex Rural Alianza Camilla, Alpacasof Wessex Reserve Wessex Artemisia,Alpacas of WessexSenior Male Champion HuacayaBozedown Olympus, Bozedown AlpacasReserve Alpha Mercury, Alpha AlpacasWessex Adonicia, Alpacas of WessexReserve Wessex Lucy, Alpacas of WessexMature Male Huacaya Champion WessexRural Alianza Wiracocha, Alpacas ofWessexReserve Arunvale Leigh’s Inca Dream,Arunvale AlpacasSires Progeny 1st Wessex Cosmos,Alpacas of Wessex 2nd Accoyo UKKillawasi, Accoyo UK 3rd BozedownGalaxy, Bozedown AlpacasChampion Fleece Bozedown BlancheDeBois, Bozedown Alpacas ReserveWessex Hermelinda, Alpacas of WessexSuris Judge Jill McLeodJunior Female Suri Champion PinkneyHopsacotch, Pinkney AlpacasReserve Accoyo UK Suri Diva, Accoyo UKJunior Male Suri Champion BozedownQuillan, Bozedown AlpacasReserve Langaton Suri Troy, LangatonAlpacasIntermediate Male Suri ChampionBozedown Bartholomew, BozedownAlpacas Reserve Bozedown Soleil,Bozedown AlpacasSenior Male Suri Champion and SupremeChampion Suri - Cambridge Triumph,Arunvale AlpacaSuri Champion Fleece Pinkney Nutkin,Pinkney Alpacas Reserve Pinkney Rocco,Pinkney AlpacasSkirted fl eece 6 to 12 months1st Marshwood Vale Beverley, MarshwoodVale Alpacas1st Alpha Snow Goose, Alpha AlpacasMature Female Huacaya ChampionBest Junior Handler Daniel AdamsSkirted Fleece 12 to 24 months1st Marshwood Vale Poppy,Marshwood Vale Alpacas1st Marshwood Vale Rowena,Marshwood Vale Alpacas1st Mile End Callistor, Classical MileEndAlpacasSkirted fl eece 24 to 48 months1st CME Ellemista, Classical MileEndAlpacasShow Champion Delightful Daisy,Langaton AlpacasReserve WDA Rambo, West DorsetAlpacasSuri Show Champion Langaton SuriTabitha 5, Langaton AlpacasAlpaca World Magazine Summer 2005 | 7

News South of England Show / French ShowSouth of England ShowJudge Paul CullenFemale Junior Huacaya ChampionBozedown Saloua, Bozedown AlpacasReserve Accoyo-Europe Purus, AccoyoEuropeMale Junior Huacaya Champion FineAnthony, Alpacas of WessexReserve Bozedown Calvados, BozedownAlpacasFemale Junior Suri Champion Accoyo UKDiva, Accoyo UKReserve Bozedown Stella, BozedownAlpacasMale Junior Suri Champion PhoenixNelson, Phoenix AlpacasReserve Bozedown Marley, BozedownAlpacasFemale Intermediate Huacaya ChampionAccoyo UK Catherine, Accoyo UKReserve Wessex Fairy Floss, Alpacas ofWessexMale Intermediate Huacaya ChampionLightfoot Ron, Lightfoot AlpacasReserve Wessex Macusani, Alpacas ofWessexFemale Intermediate Suri ChampionClassic Abha, Arunvale AlpacasReserve Millbrook Trisha, MillbrookAlpacasMale Intermediate Suri ChampionPhoenix Atardecer, Phoenix AlpacasFemale Adult Huacaya Champion WessexArtemesia, Alpacas of WessexReserve Wessex Calpernia, Alpacas ofWessexMale Adult Huacaya Champion ArunvaleIce Cool Lad, Arunvale AlpacasReserve Bozedown Olympus, BozedownAlpacasMale Adult Suri Champion BozedownCaesar, Bozedown AlpacasReserve Arunvale Triumph, ArunvaleAlpacasFemale Senior Huacaya ChampionWessex Adoncia, Alpacas of WessexReserve Classical Mile End Lucille,Classical MileEnd AlpacasSenior Male Huacaya Champion AccoyoUK Tolstoy, Accoyo UKReserve Bozedown Prophet, BozedownAlpacasShow Champion Huacaya WessexAdoncia, Alpacas of WessexShow Reserve Champion BozedownSaloua, Bozedown AlpacasShow Champion Suri Accoyo UK Diva,Accoyo UKShow Reserve Champion BozedownCaesar, Bozedown AlpacasSires Progeny1st Bozedown Galaxy, Bozedown Alpacas2nd Aztec Avalanche, Classical MileEndAlpacas3rd Wessex Cosmos, Alpacas of Wessex8 eme Europeen Concours de Alpagas et LamasThe show this year was held near StAulaye in the forest of the Double in theDordogne on the 30th April and 1stMay in conjunction with the Foire-Fetede la Latiere, a legendary fair held in aclearing in the forest. This huge cattle andhorse market, started in the 18th centuryby thieves to sell their booty, attractsabout 35 to 40,000 people.Each year the Lama & Alpaga showis organised & hosted by a differentbreeder in various parts of France. By lastNovember no breeder had come forwardto undertake this somewhat dauntingtask. Beauvautrait Alpacas stepped intothe breech and what made it even moredaunting is the fact that Beauvautraitare owned by an English family, the fi rsttime the show had been hosted by anewcomer to France. This year for thefi rst time it was attached to a far biggershow and we had two internationaljudges, Suzan Tellez from America tojudge Lamas and give a seminar onbreeding improvements in Llamas andVal Fullerlove from the UK to judge theAlpacas. As always at French shows,Saturday night saw all the participants, helpers judges gathered for a feast oflocal specialities.Although a tiny show by comparisonwith most in England, both judgescommented on the very high quality ofthe winners.The results;Lamas Supreme Champion Compinche,Elevage de Garenne.Reserve Orichalque de Parraissac Female,medium fl eece AlpacaSuri Supreme Champion Madonna,Elevage de Garenne,Reserve Kate, Elevage de GarenneHuacaya Supreme Champion Bolitis dela GlaciereReservre Classical Arkantos atBeauvautraitBest Adult Female Beauvautrait Julia8 | Alpaca World Magazine Summer 2005

Classical MileEnd AlpacasOutstanding genetics for alpaca breeders and fi bre producersStud Services for 2005White, fawn and black PROVEN stud malesFor more details call 01884 243514 or visitwww.alpaca-uk.co.ukCME Aztec Avalanche’s 2005 award winning progeny groupOur overall HERD average micron* is an excellent 23.7Access the best bloodlines using Classical MileEnd studsto join in with our success.Peruvian Hemingway, Purrumbete Highlander,Purrumbete Brigantine, Windsong Valley Snow Legend,Somerset Peruvian Excellence, Purrumbete Ledgers Boy,Colorado Extreme, Jolimont Oscar 2, Jolimont Sculptor,Banksia Park Peruvian Voyager, Jolimont Stephano(Accoyo), Accoyo Tulaco.Peruvian Avalanche’s fi rst ten 2004 cria had microncounts ranging from 16.8 to 19.4We’re just twenty minutes from M5 Junction 27, Tiverton, DevonChas Brooke T/F 01884 243514 M 07970 415638E chas@mileendalpacas.freeserve.co.uk* 2004 seasonView progeny and talk to us about using our provenmales to construct a breeding programme at a priceyou can afford. No pregnancy no fee basis. Our ownultrasound testing service included in the fee.We offer a professional, caring and reliable breedingservice. Choose from on-farm, drive-by, mobile orseason’s lease.Classical MileEnd Alpacas.Quietly breeding for success since 1996 and nowpioneering alpaca embryo transfer in the UKRachel Hebditch T 01884 2435791 M 07816 912212E rachel@classicalalpacas.freeserve.co.uk

News East of England Show / Kenilworth Show / Three Counties ShowEast of England ShowKenilworth ShowPeterborough was one of the hottestplaces in the country on Saturday18th July. Temperatures soared into thenineties as some 130 alpacas paradedbefore judge David Barnett. Despite theheat, the alpacas and their handlersbehaved impeccably and the show wasa really good display watched by largecrowds of onlookers.Competition was stiff throughoutthe day and congratulations go to thesupreme champions - Paco’s Pragya,entered by the British Alpaca Stud, inthe Suri classes and Wessex Adoncia inHuacaya.Judge David BarnettJunior Female Huacaya Champion AtlanticAlpacas Wilamina, Atlantic AlpacasReserve Alpaca Centre Miski, Alpacas ofWessexJunior Male Huacaya Champion FineAnthony, Alpacas of WessexReserve Alpha Saturn, Alpha AlpacasIntermediate Female Huacaya ChampionBozedown Saloua, Bozedown AlpacasReserve Fine Malindi, Alpacas of WessexIntermediate Huacaya MaleChampionship Bozedown Perno,Bozedown AlpacasReserve Bozedown Quinton, LightfootAlpacasAdult & Senior Female HuacaysChampion Wessex Adoncia, Alpacas ofWessexReserve Wessex Artemesia, Alpacas ofWessexAult Male Huacaya Champion BozedownBeck, Bozedown AlpacasReserve Accoyo Europe Santos, ToftAlpacas/Accoyo EuropeSenior Male Huacaya Champion TijeraPrimero of Collingwood, CollingwoodAlpacasReserve Accoyo Remarque, Accoyo UK LtdSupreme Champion Wessex Adoncia,Alpacas of WessexSire’s Progeny1st Wessex Cosmos, Alpacas of Wessex2nd Wessex Mateus, Alpacas of Wessex3rd Toft Cornelius, Toft AlpacasThis year’s Kenilworth Show, had morethan twice the number of alpaca entries.The show was timed to attract the largestaudience, starting at 10 o’clock, withthe Suris being judged fi rst by Liz Barlow.Plenty of interested people came towatch and it was probably the busiestarea at the show. The weather wasmiraculous (having rained continuouslythe day before), just perfect for a show,which produced the following results:Junior Female Huacaya ChampionKilnwood Esmerelda, Kilnwood AlpacasReserve Fine Serena, Fine AlpacasJunior Male Huacaya Champion AtlanticPrince Perky, Atlantic AlpacasReserve Fosse Sundance, Mr and MrsLorentzenIntermediate Male Huacaya ChampionAtlantic Muckle Flugger, Atlantic AlpacasReserve Kilnwoods EmmanuelThree Counties ShowJudge Liz BarlowSuri ClassesJunior Female White Suri Hanley HallPhoebe, Hanley Hall AlpacasJunior Suri Coloured Female PinkneyDaiquiri, West Dorset AlpacasIntermediate Suri Male Hayne Juanito,Hayne AlpacasSire’s Progeny1st Aztec Avalanche, Classical MileEndAlpacasHuacaya ClassesChampion Junior Huacaya FemaleKilnwood Esmerelda, Kilnwood AlpacasChampion Junior Huacaya Male CMELysander, Classical MileEnd AlpacasChampion Intermediate HuacayaFemale Hanley Hall Alaska, Hanley HalAlpacasChampion Intermediate Huacaya MaleAlpha Sydney, Alpha AlpacasSupreme Champion Huacaya CMEEllemista, Classical MileEnd AlpacasThree Counties Show Award for Best UKBred Alpaca Westcroft Cloud, WestcroftAlpacas10 | Alpaca World Magazine Summer 2005

Fencing andLanscaping EventThe Fencing and Landscaping News Event, to be held at Newark Showground, 19–20October, is a great opportunity for those who are either contractors or becoming involvedin environmental schemes to see what the fencing and landscaping industry has to offer.Over 4000 contractors, erectors, merchants and manufacturers are expected. Newproducts for the fencing and landscaping industry, as well as health and safety issuesand training, will be available with over 50 exhibitors attending. Seminars regardingbusiness and fi nancial management and insurance issues will be on offer. Admissionis free.For more information telephone 01274 610101 or register online www.fencingnews.co.uk/newarkiStockNews Fencing and Landscaping EventRESULTSPICTURE THIS...We would like to thank all ourreaders who took the time to enter theirphotographs in our competition. As you canimagine selection for the top three places wasno easy matter. In the end, using the criteriaset out in the Spring issue, our judgementis shown below. Hopefully we will have theopportunity to feature all the placed entries infuture editions of Alpaca World Magazine.FIRST PLACETaytachaAnn Marie SantessonGerber, Osterlen Alpackas,Sweden.SECOND PLACEAlpaca Head in WinterJenny and GrahamMacHarg, FowberryAlpacas, UK.THIRD PLACELottie Shaking Her HeadDiane Topping, LovesomeAlpacas, UK.PICTURE THIS …PHOTO COMPETITIONAlpaca World Magazine Summer 2005 | 13

Where inthe world …Seemingly, thealpaca has adaptedhappily to diverseenvironmentsaround the world.Chris Lupton andRuth Elvestadreport on a NorthAmerican researchproject designedto assess theconsequences forthe well being andperformance of thisversatile animal.The alpaca (Lama pacos) iscommercially the most importantfi bre producer of the New Worldcamelidae family. Two breeds of alpacaare recognised; the huacaya and thesuri. Our study deals exclusively withthe more populous, crimpy-fl eecedhuacayas. Alpacas are indigenous tothe Andean highlands of South America.Of the approximately 3.5 million in theworld, most (~3.0 million) are in Peruwith the majority of the remainder beingin Chile and Bolivia. The populations inSouth America have been fairly staticdue in part to the lower, more productivealtitudes (2600 to 3400 m) beingused for sheep and cattle production.In contrast, the population of alpacasin North America has risen from lessthan 400 in 1984 to around 60,000today. South American alpacas producemost of the world camelid family’s totalproduction of fi bre. Until about 20years ago, alpacas were considered tobe specifi cally adapted to their nativeenvironment. However, successfulintroductions of the species to Australia,Canada, England, France, New Zealand,the United States, to name but a fewcountries, have shown that alpacasare more versatile than previouslyrecognised. Husbandry practices, andto a lesser extent production traits, havebeen documented in their native SouthAmerican environment (approximatelatitude, 5 to 20ºS, approximatelongitude, 70 to 80ºW, altitude range,14 | Alpaca World Magazine Summer 2005

2500 to 5000 m). Now that alpacasare being raised in North America asfar south as Texas and certainly as farnorth as Alberta and Alaska, a need hasarisen to develop management and dietrecommendations for these animalsunder local conditions. Further, manyowners and breeders are anxious to learnthe effects of age, location, nutrition,and season on growth, reproduction, andfl eece and fi bre properties. This studywas designed to answer some of thesequestions for environments representedby that of Olds, Alberta (latitude, 51° 46’N; longitude, 114°, 5’ W; altitude, 1035m) and San Angelo, Texas (latitude, 31°,26’ N; longitude, 100°, 27’ W; altitude,563 m). The study we embarked uponand are about to describe is just a part ofa larger project in which Custom WoolenMills, Ltd. of Carstairs, AB, Canada, aredeveloping technology to produce highquality yarns and fi nished products usingall grades of domestically producedalpaca. This research was made possibleby a grant from the National ResearchCouncil of Canada through their IndustrialResearch Assistance Program, as wellas contributions from the two academicinstitutions and a private alpaca breeder.Specifi c ObjectivesDetermine the effects of age, location,and nutrition, on body weight, fi breproduction, and quality characteristicsof penned alpaca males. Concurrently,provide Custom Woolen Mills with smallquantities of fully characterised fi bre fortheir textile development work.Materials andMethodsManagementThirty-six alpaca males (yearlingsrepresenting 7 sires) were donated forthis study by R&R Alpacas Ltd., Olds,Alberta, Canada. In May 2002, 18 ofthe alpacas were re-located to theTexas Agricultural Experiment Station’sresearch facilities in San Angelo while theremainder were moved to Olds College.The animals were sheared (yearlingfl eece) soon after arrival and for the next4 months were group-fed free choicewith local hays (~2 kg/hd/d) and acommercially available ration (225 g/d)designed for growing alpacas. Bodyand yearling fl eece weights were usedto assign alpacas to three equivalentgroups (6 animals per treatment, 3animals per rep, 2 reps) at each researchlocation and in September, 2002, theanimals were penned (3 animals per pen,dimensions 3.7 m X 18.3 m) and rationsat both locations were formulated toprovide the same complete diet when fedin equal amounts with a locally availablehay. In Texas, the major roughagecomponent of the diet was sorghum hay.The OFDA 100The mixed ration contained sorghumgrain, alfalfa meal, peanut hulls, soybeanmeal, ammonium chloride, vitamins,minerals, and a coccidiostat. The primaryroughage source in Canada was Timothyhay. The mixed ration contained oat hulls,wheat mill run, alfalfa, light screenings,ammonium chloride, vitamins, minerals,and a coccidiostat. The actual completediet (50% hay, 50% ration) contained13% crude protein, 2% crude fat, 20%crude fi ber (28% acid detergent fi bers,43% neutral detergent fi bers) and 58.5%TDN. Animals were monitored monthlyfor weight and body condition (bodycondition score, 1-5; 1=excessively thin,5=obese). The amounts fed were adjustedover a 7 month period to producemonthly gains of 3% of body weight whilemaintaining body condition scores of 3 orhigher. Fleeces were shorn again in April,2003, and the nutrition treatments wereimmediately imposed. For the next year,one treatment group was fed at the levelthat had been established to produce 3%gain per month (ie 1.23% of bodyweightof mixed ration and 1.23% hay). Thesecond group was fed 10% less (hayand ration) and a third treatment groupreceived 20% less. Animals were weighedand assessed for body condition monthly.Diets were adjusted after each monthlyweighing, and fl eeces were shorn in May,2004, and characterised once more.Sampling and ShearingA mid-side sample (~ 5 x 5 cm) wasremoved from each animal beforeshearing. The following fl eece portionswere shorn, weighed, packaged, andmeasured separately: short leg, long leg,butt, neck, and saddle (see Figure 1).Fleece portions from both sets of animalswere tested at the Wool and MohairResearch Lab in Texas and most traitswere also measured on the Alberta fl eecesat the Natural Fibre Centre in Olds.Side sample and fleece testingThe side samples were tested using anOFDA2000 instrument that measuresaverage fi bre diameter, standard deviation(SD) and coeffi cient of variation (CV) offi bre diameter, average fi bre curvatureand SD and CV of fi bre curvature, comfortfactor and average staple length. Thisinstrument also constructs an ‘along-fi breprofi le’ of average fi bre diameter so thatchanges throughout the year from tipto base are fully documented with thissingle test.The following sub-sampling andtesting procedures were conducted onthe fi ve major portions of each fl eece.FIGURE 1 Five fleece sections by which alpacas were shorn and testedFirst, the individual fl eece portions wereweighed and sub-sampled for staplelength and strength testing. Raw andclean fl eece weights and staple lengthmeasurements were adjusted to a 365day growth period. Each portion wascore sampled (2 x 25g raw cores) andthese samples were used to obtain ‘cleanalpaca fi bre present’ and ‘vegetablematter present’ and subsequently averagefi bre diameter (SD and CV), averagefi bre curvature (SD and CV), comfortfactor, spinning fi neness, along-fi breaverage fi bre diameter (SD and CV), totalmedullation, fl at fi bres, objectionablefi bres, and average fi bre diameter (SDand CV) of the medullated fi bres usingOFDA 100 instrument (Figure 2). Themedullated fi bre characteristics of onlythe white, cream, and light fawn fl eecescould be quantifi ed with the OFDA 100.The staple length, (SD and CV) weremeasured and calculated using 20staples per fl eece portion. The staplestrength (SD and CV), and position ofbreak were also measured on 20 staplesusing an Agritest Staple Breaker. A subsampleof the scoured cores was cardedand then measured for resistance tocompression using an Agritest Resistanceto Compression instrument.Results andstatistical analysisThe effects of age (confounded withyear), location, and nutrition treatmentsand their interactions on all measuredtraits were established using the GLMprocedure of SAS. The experiment at theCanadian location was concluded in May,2004. The Texas portion will continue untilMay, 2005, after which one more set offl eeces will be analysed. Though we arestill in the process of analysing data, weare in a position to share some of ourmajor fi ndings. Space does not permit usto report detailed results here. However,the whole study will be reported in detailin the technical literature at a later date.Age effectsTable 1 summarises the effects of age onbody weight and some of the major fl eeceand fi bre characteristics for the fi rst threeyears of these male alpacas’ lives. No realsurprises. The animals became heavierand grew progressively more and coarserfi bre that contained higher proportionsof medullated fi bres. Recall that whilethe third fl eeces were being grown, allanimals were on restricted feed (designedto produce specifi c, moderate gains) sobody weights and fl eece weights are notexpected to be optimal. A measure offi bre production effi ciency, clean fi breproduced per unit of body weight, actuallydecreased as the animals aged. Thismay be surprising to some but it is fairlycommon in other fi bre producing species.Although clean yield of the second yearfl eeces is higher than the other twoAlpaca World Magazine Summer 2005 | 15

Health and Welfare Where in the Worldyears, this is more likely an effect ofyear (confounded with age) and not atrue age effect. Fibre curvature (a directmeasure of crimp in the fully relaxedfi bres) decreased slightly as the fi brescoarsened. Note that these levels of fi brecurvature, though typical for alpaca, arevery low compared to wool from fi ne-woolsheep, for example. Staple length in thefi rst (or cria) fl eece was signifi cantlylonger than that in the second andthird fl eeces. This is not an unusualphenomenon in alpacas. Resistance tocompression followed the reverse trend,being mainly infl uenced by increasingfi bre diameter, in this particular case.Staple strength also increased with ageand even at the lowest level (fi rst fl eeces)it is well above the minimum required foreffi cient textile processing (~35 N/ktex),see Table 1.Effects of locationWe designed the diets and the treatmentsin such a way that the animalsmaintained at both locations would gainweight at a similar rate, that being 3% permonth for the Treatment 1 animals withanimals in Treatments 2 and 3 gainingat slower rates. In fact, gains across allthree treatments in Texas in the third yearof the study averaged 2.1% per monthwhile those in Alberta averaged 2.8% permonth. As explained earlier, the diets fedto the animals at the two locations werevery similar in terms of gross chemicalcomposition (% crude protein, % crudefi ber, etc.) but differed in terms of actualcomponents and therefore specifi cproteins, etc. Thus, it is unclear at thispoint whether the higher rate of gainobserved in Alberta was an effect oflocation, diet, or both.Table 2 summarises the body weightand fl eece characteristics for animalsat the two study locations. At the end oftheir third year, alpacas in Alberta were13 kg heavier than their contemporariesin Texas. The Alberta group produced morefi bre (~13 % clean) but fi bre productioneffi ciency was similar in both locations(~35g clean fi ber per kg body weight).Fibre produced by the Alberta alpacaswas coarser (~2.5 microns), longer (1.3cm), slightly weaker (7.0 N/ktex), andhad higher resistance to compression(1.5 kPa) than the Texas produced fi bre.Clean yield, fi bre curvature, and totalmedullation were not different betweenlocations.Effects of nutritionThese effects are summarised in Table 3and are potentially the most interesting.Although arithmetic differences in bodyweight are present among treatments, thedifferences were not signifi cant (eitheroverall, data shown, or within location,data not shown). In contrast, fi breproduction did respond in a positive andsignifi cant manner to intake. Treatment 1animals produced 20% more fi bre (clean)than Treatment 3 alpacas that received20% less ration and hay. Furthermore,fi bre production effi ciency declinedwith declining intake, with Treatment 1animals producing fi bre at a rate 14%higher than the alpacas in Treatment 3.Normally, one would expect greater fi breproduction to be accompanied withhigher fi bre diameters and/or longerstaple lengths. Arithmetically, fi brediameter follows the logical pattern butthe differences are not signifi cant. Thereis no indication whatsoever that staplelength was affected, so we are led to theconclusion that the increased productionis most likely a result of increased fi brediameter. Another explanation couldinvolve proportion of active follicles in anyparticular treatment group but having nofollicle data, we would only be able tospeculate.At this point, we should emphasisethat most of the data presented wereobtained from the saddle portion ofthe fl eeces (fl eece weights and fi breproduction per unit of body weight beingthe exceptions). To obtain a completepicture, the proportions and propertiesof all the other fl eece portions (neck,butt, long leg, short leg) will also haveto be accounted for. Unfortunately, thisis beyond the scope of this preliminaryreport but as mentioned previously, acomplete report will be forthcoming soon.Variability in traitsGenetic improvement for a particular traitcan only be achieved if heritability andTABLE 1 Effects of age on body weight, fiber production, and fiber properties ofalpaca malesAge1 2 3Body weight (kg) 40.0c 58.7b 76.5aWhole fl eeceGrease fl eece weight (g) 2438b 2452b 2938aClean fl eece weight (g) 2205b 2334b 2662aClean fi bre / unit of body weight (g/kg) 56.6a 40.1b 35.2cSaddle onlyClean alpaca fi bre present (%) 90.3 a 95.5 b 89.9 aAverage fi ber diameter (microns) 22.7 c 25.4b 28.5aAverage fi ber curvature (deg/mm) 37.0a 36.5a 33.1bTotal medullation (fi bres per 10,000) 1338b 1553b 2373aAverage staple length (cm) 16.3a 11.8b 11.0bAverage staple strength (N/ktex) 54.8c 81.3a 71.5bResistance to compression (kPa) 4.8c 5.2b 5.7aa,b,c within a row, means that have different superscript letters differ, P < 0.05TABLE 2 Effects of location on body weight, fiber production, and fiber propertiesof alpaca malesLocation (year 3)AlbertaTexasBody weight (kg) 82.6a 69.4bWhole fl eeceGrease fl eece weight (g) 3125a 2740bClean fl eece weight (g) 2817a 2500bClean fi bre / unit of body weight (g/kg) 34.6 36.3Saddle onlyClean alpaca fi ber present (%) 89.1 90.5Average fi bre diameter (microns) 29.7a 27.0bAverage fi bre curvature (deg/mm) 34.7 31.7Total medullation (fi bres per 10,000) 2290 2191Average staple length (cm) 11.7a 10.4bAverage staple strength (N/ktex) 68.1b 75.1aResistance to compression (kPa) 6.4a 4.9ba,b,c within a row, means that have different superscript letters differ, P < 0.0516 | Alpaca World Magazine Summer 2005

Health and Welfare Where in the Worldvariability exist for that trait. An additionaloutcome of this experiment, in which wehave measured many traits on numerousalpaca males over a three-year period,is that we have been able to documentthe variabilities in each trait. Whencomparing variabilities of traits havingdifferent mean values, the coeffi cient ofvariation (CV) is the most useful statisticbecause it is a measure of variabilitythat is independent of the mean. Table4 lists the CV’s for some of the majortraits measured during our experiment.With the exception of staple length, it canbe seen that most of the CV’s are quitehigh and the CV for total medullation isvery high.ConclusionsEffects of age, location, and nutritionhave been reported for two groups ofyoung male alpacas maintained undersimilar conditions in Alberta and Texas.Changes due to increasing age (onethrough 3 years) followed the expectedpattern. As the alpacas aged and grewlarger, fl eece weight, fi bre diameter, staplestrength, resistance to compression,and proportion of medullated fi bres allincreased. In contrast, fi bre productionper unit of body weight, fi bre curvature,and staple length showed declines. Cleanyield was not affected.Effects attributable to location maybe complicated by different diets but atthis point our data indicates that whenfed very similar diets, animals grew fasterat the northern location and attainedsignifi cantly higher body weights. Theselarger animals produced more fi brethat was coarser and longer than theircontemporaries in Texas.Finally, young alpaca males fed togain at modest rates (2–3% increase inbody weight per month) produced morefi bre that tended to be slightly coarserthan animals that received 20% lessfood. In all other measured traits, fl eecesproduced in the three nutrition treatmentswere very similar.Authors:Chris Lupton, Professor, Texas A&MUniversity Agricultural Research andExtension Center, San Angelo, USA andRuth Elvestad, Project Leader, NaturalFibre Centre, Olds College, Alberta,Canada.TABLE 3 Effects of nutrition on body weight, fiber production, and fiber propertiesof alpaca malesNutrition treatment (year 3)1 2 3Body weight (kg) 77.3 77.7 73.1Whole fl eeceGrease fl eece weight (g) 3234a 2927ab 2637bClean fl eece weight (g) 2895a 2668ab 2410bClean fi bre / unit of body weight (g/kg) 37.7a 35.7ab 32.9bSaddle onlyClean alpaca fi ber present (%) 88.6 90.1 90.7Average fi bre diameter (microns) 28.8 28.5 27.9Average fi bre curvature (deg/mm) 32.2 32.6 34.9Total medullation (fi bres per 10,000) 2530 2814 1868Average staple length (cm) 11.0 10.9 11.2Average staple strength (N/ktex) 72.2 71.8 70.7Resistance to compression (kPa) 5.8 5.5 5.7a,b,c within a row, means that have different superscript letters differ, P < 0.05TABLE 4 Variability in traits measured on three-year-old alpaca malesMean SD CVBody weight (kg) 76.3 12.4 16.3Grease fl eece weight (g) 2910 533 18.3Clean fl eece weight (g) 2641 462 17.5Clean fi ber / unit of body weight (g/kg) 35.4 6.2 17.5Clean alpaca fi ber present (%) 89.9 2.9 3.2Average fi ber diameter (microns) 28.5 3.7 13.0Average fi ber curvature (deg/mm) 33.2 6.6 19.9Total medullation (fi bres per 10,000) 2262 1200 53.1Average staple length (cm) 11.1 1.41 12.7Average staple strength (N/ktex) 71.4 13.4 18.8Resistance to compression (kPa) 5.7 1.1 19.3Clos du Jorat SAEmily BrownRte des Tavernes 291072 Forel LavauxSwitzerlandTelephone00-41-21-781-3370Fax00-41-21-781-3371Emailreberb@bluewin.chClos du Jorat SASituated in the heart of theSwiss countryside, we providethe total alpaca service package– stud services, alpacas forsale, personal follow-up/advice,livery, shearing, nail clipping,teeth trimming, vaccination andquarantine. We also purchaseand process wool at our factory.Farm and factory visits plus bedand breakfast accommodationavailable.Now available for sale – 2003and 2004 alpacas, good quality,all colours, male and female, atcompetitive prices.www.cjalpacas.comAlpaca World Magazine Summer 2005 | 17

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Alpaca World Magazine Summer 2005 | 19

Blue-EyedWhitesAustralian biologist and alpaca breederElizabeth Paul considers the infl uence ofcolour genetics in the occurrence of thiscommon problem.Within the Australian nationalherd, there are a signifi cantnumber of blue-eyed white(bew) alpacas. There has been aconsiderable amount of discussionbetween breeders as to whether or notblue-eyed whites should be used forbreeding, or whether their deafnessprecludes them from living a normalalpaca life. On the other hand, therehas been more than one AustralianSupreme Champion blue-eyed whitemale, which has gone on to a stud career.It is my belief that the gene responsiblefor producing grey coloured fl eece onalpacas is merle, or something extremelysimilar, possibly in combination with awhite-marking gene, like tuxedo. Thesegenes can have an additive effect whencombined in a genotype, and mayproduce what is called a blue-eyedwhite animal. The material that I havecollected indicates that there is a strongconnection between grey alpacas andblue-eyed white ones.Summary of theMerle ConditionThe merle pattern in dogs is particularlyassociated with dogs such as BorderCollies, Australian Shepherd Dogs,Shetland Sheepdogs, and CardiganCorgis; but it is also well established insome hound breeds such as Dachshundsand Great Danes. The word merle is acorruption of marl, which in turn is acontraction of marble. The merle genehas a distinctive effect on black or liverpigment in dogs, and the coat of a‘blue’ merle dog appears as a silveryor blue-grey background, marbled withsplashes or blotches of black. In fact, thedog is genetically black. The eyes may bepartially or fully blue, or the dog may haveone of each colour. The effect of merleon a red or tan colour base produces asable merle, which is far less striking inappearance than a blue merle, althoughthey may still have blue eyes (matingsbetween blue merles and sables arefrowned on in most dog breeds). Themerle causes clumping of pigment withinthe fi bre, like the recessive diluting geneabove, and the fi bre appears silvery grey.There may be more white in the coat of amerle dog than would be normal for thebreed, and the amount of merling canvary considerably between individuals.Merle M cannot completely mask thenon-merle condition, mm, and so an Mmanimal appears as an intermediate form,showing characteristics of both alleles, inits coat. For this reason merle is called anincomplete dominant gene.Merle also has an additive effect whencombined with the genes controlling whitemarks. This effect is more pronounced inthose breeds which already have whitemarkings.Lethality of MerleMatings between two merle dogs areusually prohibited in most breeds, ashomozygous merle, MM, is known to bean in utero lethal, like RR roan in horses,However, in dogs, not all MM progenydie before birth. Some are born alive,although they may be born with moderateto severe defects of eyes, hearing andreproductive organs. MM merles are alsomore likely to be white or nearly white,and to have two blue eyes.An MM merle, mated to a solidnon-merle mm, would produce all Mm(heterozygous) merle progeny. ShetlandSheepdog breeders, among others,apparently used to keep the occasionalall-white (presumably homozygous) merlepup for breeding back to non-merle dogs,so they could then produce all merlelitters, with very even grey colour.In my opinion, blue-eyed white alpacasare equivalent to blue-eyed white merledogs. That is, they are coloured alpacas,overwhelmed by either homozygous merleor the combined action of merle pluswhite-marking genes.BEW ChecklistFrom my own observations, blue-eyedwhite alpacas are likely to exhibit most ofthe following characteristics:❍ Two blue eyes, or one blue and oneblack eye, or parti-coloured blue/blackeyes; very occasionally two black eyes.This may be due to the fact that someblue eyes darken over time.❍ Almost certain to be permanently deaffrom birth on full blue-eyed side.❍ Patches of pigmented skin particularlyon points, ie nose, toes with blackpads (toenails may be stripey), spotsof black skin down spine, near tail.(Some blue-eyed whites have pink skinand feet). Pigment spots may growover time.❍ May have very white fl eece but withsome coloured fi bres growing out ofpigmented spots particularly alongspine, near root of tail and aroundankles. Coloured fi bre or spots may notbe evident in young cria but becomemore noticeable with age.❍ Often large framed, heavy boned.❍ Both sexes may have fertility problems,or be sterile.❍ Mated to solid coloured mates, theyproduce a range of coloured criaincluding greys and/or multi/pinto.❍ Usually have lots of white and/or greyin the pedigree, occasionally alsomulti/pinto.❍ May have very good fl eececharacteristics.❍ Usually called Snowfl ake or Crystal!Problems DeafnessDr David Andersen, of Ohio StateUniversity has clearly shown in his studythat most blue-eyed white alpacasare stone deaf. However, this is morelikely to be a perceived problem for itsowner than an actual problem for thealpaca itself. Alpacas are extremely alertanimals with superb eyesight, and arevery quick to pick up visual cues fromtheir herd mates. They probably rely farmore on their eyesight to alert them todanger, than on their hearing. It shouldbe noted that homozygous merle dogsare generally more severely affected intheir sight, with reduction of eye sizeand actual blindness being common.Blue-eyed white alpacas appear to havenormal size eyes and see normally, atleast in daytime.FertilityThe bigger issue is that some bewalpacas may have reduced fertility oreven be completely sterile. This maybe due to various abnormalities of thereproductive system, as noted by DrGeorge Jackson of Western Australia,in a post to the AAA message board inJune 2002. However, most appear to befertile and can breed normally, despitetheir deafness. They are not mute, andmake the same sounds as hearingalpacas. I have four bew femalesmyself~ three of which are certainly deafThey are all fertile, and are all excellentmothers.Mating ResultsTable I shows the results of matingswhich had both parents’ and progeny’scolours listed in the Australian AlpacaAssociation Herd Books, Vol5 2-11inclusive. Mating white x white gave a2% chance, and mating colour x colourTABLE 1 Results of Matings using AAA Herd Books 2–11 inclusiveMating Grey Progeny White Progeny TotalWH x WH 173 6069 8626% of Total 2 70WH x BLK 88 143 1227% of Total 7 12GREY x GREY 700 22 1108% of Total 63 2COL x COL 285 817 18,188% of Total 1.6 4.520 | Alpaca World Magazine Summer 2005

There were many blue-eyed whites inthe original imports, and one of the mostinfl uential foundation sires in Australiais a blue-eyed white. That sire, throughhimself and his progeny, is responsiblefor hundreds of grey, and blue-eyed whitealpacas in the national herd. All greys,many whites, some fawns and even afew blacks probably have the potentialto produce blue-eyed white progeny inthe right mating. They occur with someregularity from even the best whitebreedinglines, in which case they oftenhave very good fl eece qualities, andrepresent a valuable fi bre resource.Finally, there is no actual ‘blue-eyeddeaf white’ gene, nor is it a ‘disease’.The condition is most likely to be causedby a combination of genes, which canbe managed in the relevant breedingsituation.I believe that the best use for blueeyedwhites is the production of more,and possibly better-fl eeced, grey andcoloured alpacas.ReferencesPaul, Elizabeth (2004) ‘The Case for Merle in Alpacas’,Proceedings of the A/INZ Conference, Rotorua, NewZealand, June.Osborne, Margaret. (1973) The Shetland Sheepdog 6~hEd. Andrew Press Ltd England.Nelms, Mrs H. and Pym, Mrs M. Cardigan Corgi. TFHPub. Inc.Daglish, E. Fitch. (1952) The Dachshund Revised byAmyas Biss and Jeff Crawford. Popular Dogs PublishingCo., 1” Ed.Little, C.L. (1973) The Inheritance of Coat Colour inDogs. New York: Howell Book House, 5~ Ed.Searle, A.G. (1968) Comparative Genetics of CoatColour in Mammals. London: Logos Press Limited.March, Dr. P A. and Andersen, Dr. D. E. (2001)‘Congenital Deafness’, reprinted in the AAA VictorianEastern Region Newsletter, issue 29, Sept(excluding grey) gave less than 2%chance of getting a grey cria. However,there were 1227 white x black matings,of which approximately 7% produceda grey cria. Most of these whites areblue-eyed whites, and the white sires inparticular have multiple grey progeny.Grey x grey matings produced 2% whiteprogeny, some of which are defi nitelyblue-eyed whites. How many is notcertaln, as they can only be trackedthrough their own production of a greycria from a dark mating. I have collatedover 500 alpaca names from theAustralian Herd Books, which I know orexpect to be blue-eyed whites, based ontheir breeding results.Of thirteen verifi able matings of bewfemales with coloured sires (mediumfawn to black), there were 11/13females; 10/13 greys, one of which hadblue eyes; I piebald; I black tuxedo; and1 white/very light fawn male. All of thecria appear to be normal and healthy inall respects, including hearing. All barone have dark eyes.RecommendationsBreeders who intend to use a blueeyedwhite alpaca for breeding shouldconsider the following points:❍ Check the fertility of a new additionto the breeding herd.❍ It is undesirable, and unnecessary,to create more blue-eyed whites.Any mating which does producea blue-eyed white cria, should notbe repeated, whatever the coloursof the parents. The two partners insuch a mating should be re-matedto dark-eyed, solid dark mates toreduce the risk of getting anotherone.❍ Blue-eyed whites should not be matedto greys, or to broken coloured mates,as these matings are more likely toproduce blue-eyed white progeny.❍ There is no valid justifi cation formating two blue-eyed whites together,as this mating is very unlikely toproduce a live cria at all.❍ The best mating for any blue-eyedwhite alpaca is to the darkest mateavailable, preferably a solid blackor dark bay. This mating will greatlyreduce the chance of another blueeyedwhite, and produce a morecoloured cria. The cria can then bebred on with more colour matings.The merle and/or tuxedo genes maybe more widespread than is realised,through the white and light fawn herdswhere they are not so obvious. Theycirculate around and give everyone asurprise now and then.❍ Blue-eyed whites should also be keptin a herd situation to minimise theimpact of deafness on their socialdevelopment.ConclusionIf merle alone is responsible for thepattern seen in most grey alpacas,then it is possible that some blue-eyedwhite alpacas are homozygous merles.It is also possible that some blue-eyedwhites are a combination of merle pluswhite-marking genes such as tuxedo, orpiebald; or even a combination of whitemarkinggenes without merle.The best mating for any blue-eyedwhite alpaca is to the darkest mateavailable, preferably a solid black or darkbay. This mating will greatly reduce thechance of another blue-eyed white.Alpaca World Magazine Summer 2005 | 21

Advertising FeatureBozedown – a Success StoryBozedown huacayas and suris areprominent in the lists of prizewinners forthe many alpaca shows now held aroundthe UK. This is due to the fact that we seek outand select only the very best Stud males andfemales, and watch what each one producesthrough the generations. Then by careful selectionwe try and fi nd that special genetic mix thatwill produce continued improvement in eachsucceeding generation.At Bozedown we are fortunate to have a broadgenetic pool of outstanding Studs, along witha large number of equivalent females, a herdwhich we believe contains some of the very bestalpacas in the world.Galaxy of Bozedown, the 2004 Royal ShowSupreme Champion, was awarded the ProgenyPrize at both the South of England and the BASNational this year, with his daughter BozedownSaloua reserve Supreme Champion at Southof England, his son Bozedown Pernod winningSupreme Champion at the BAS National, andanother son, Bozedown Thor winning SupremeChampion at the Northumberland Show.© Stefan Haig-McMahonBozedown successes increase all the time – ourclients’ pure Bozedown Genetics winning boththe BAS National and the Penrith Show in 2004,and the Northumberland Show in 2005. We offerour clients our own top genetics, through Studservices, and sales of fabulous quality Stud malesand breeding females, so that they can breedexcellence alongside Bozedown. If you would liketo share in our success, contact us right away tofi nd out how we can help you achieve your goals.Search or AdvertiseAlpacas for SaleAlpaca Stud ServicesAlpaca BreedersAlpaca AuctionsWeb Development Servicesfor Alpaca Breederswww.AlpacaSeller.co.ukUnited States: www.alpacaseller.comCanada: www.alpacaseller.caAustralia: www.alpacaseller.com.auNew Zealand: www.alpacaseller.co.nzSouth Africa: www.alpacaseller.co.zaGermany: www.alpacaseller.deAustria: www.alpacaseller.atSwitzerland: www.alpacaseller.chRepublic of Ireland: www.alpacaseller.comOnline Alpaca Advertising at Affordable Prices22 | Alpaca World Magazine Summer 2005

FirststepsRichard Ryan introduces theAlpaca Association of IrelandWell we made it through our fi rst year,association intact, lots of decisionsmade and loads of work still to do. Not abad report I suppose on what will in time becomea viable, profi table and enjoyable alternative farmenterprise in Ireland.The alpaca owners in Ireland made a decision acouple of years ago to set up our own Associationand Register. I got the job of getting everyonetogether which I thought no problem arrange ameeting and that’s it, back to Connemara and geton with the day to day tasks of a very complicatedlife of farming with a few sheep even less alpacas,working part time in a local hotel, starting a payrollbusiness from home, being a dad and runningthe home whilst my very patient wife goes outto work and gets some real money. Life is neverstraightforward as I end up leaving the meeting asthe Chairman of the Alpaca Association of Ireland.Coming back from that fi rst meeting I waswondering how from just wanting to buy a coupleof geldings to see how they got on I seem to havetaken a leading role in the Alpaca industry inIreland. It started around four years ago when Ikept coming across articles about alpacas and thebrain began to tick away fi guring out that theselovely animals would potentially work well on ourvery small hill farm in Connemara. Due to all kindsof restrictions we had been kept back to just 30ewes and this had been reduced even further so ifthe farm was going to survive without just relyingon the “cheque in the post” I had to do somethingelse. Then we saw them on the television andshortly after a visit to Xandria Williams in CoKildare we were confronted with the real thing.After that and with some detective work I trackeddown what was the fi rst alpaca herd in Irelandowned by Anna-May Driscoll and Damien Dyar whohad a small herd in Co Clare. A couple of visitslater the business plan was into the bank and aloan arranged to buy 3 females and one cria froman Australian partnership who had been agistingsome animals on this farm.I have to say that I’d read so much aboutalpacas and I don’t remember any articles onanimals having problems and they all pointedtowards this easy to care for, potentially veryprofi table animal. Well after nearly three yearsof being an alpaca owner I have at times reallywondered was it all just a clever marketing scam.We’ve lost one animal with pneumonia, onerefused to get pregnant and one of them abortedher cria last year so the business plan went outthe window. Hopefully now we have had our run ofbad luck and things will start looking up with ourtwo remaining females both expecting and duearound the end of July. So all going well we shouldbe making progress, but if I ever hear or seeanyone saying alpacas are as easy as sheep they’dbetter duck. Despite having taken a hammeringwe’ve fi gured out solutions to some diffi cultieswith the conditions here and now armed with thisknowledge I’m confi dent that it was and will be agood move to get them.Sounds like a pretty miserable fi rst three yearsbut we’ve also had loads of fun. In particularmeeting people from all over the world who stopat the gate wondering if they are seeing things.They have some strange looking sheep overin Derryrush was the talk of our local bar andnews has travelled throughout Connemara of ourenterprise. Yes they are lovely gentle animals Ikeep telling my wife who somehow seems to havethe unfortunate knack of being spat at and kickedon several occasions much to the amusementof our daughter age seven who keeps saying ‘butMum they don’t do that to me.’We’ve now got around twenty owners in thecountry I’ve been busy tracking each one downand encouraging them without breaking any bonesto join our little band. (I might even start my ownAlpaca owner tracing agency as I’m getting quitegood so if there’s anymore out there I’ll fi nd you).We’ve set up the basics of the Association andwe’re now working on our register and a screeningprocess which we hope to have off the groundsometime next year. I believe our register will beunique in as much it will be a “two tier” system,the idea being that all the alpacas in the countrywill be listed and then it is up to the owners if theywant to have them screened, the screening detailswill be added to the animals registration.I have to admit it is a bit radical as alpacaregisters go but by doing this we will be able tokeep details of all the animals and not just thosethat are deemed to be the best. This I believeshould help us not only to have a top qualitynational herd by having a good screening processbut by keeping data on all the animals it shouldhelp with other issues such as trends in healthproblems, fi bre and to have a viable trackingrecord of animal movements in the event of futuredisease outbreaks.We’ve also decided to approach the Dept ofAgriculture to have alpacas recognised as livestock,the immediate effect of this will be to advertisethem to thousands of farmers in the country as analternative option as they wonder what an alpacais and why does it appear on the livestock sectionof the forms. I’m getting fed up of changing all myforms to include alpacas. I’m sure our local offi cethinks I’m crazy. The other advantages will hopefullydevelop over the coming years but as it is going to bea farming enterprise there is no harm getting in therenow rather than later.With around 200 or so animals in the country wehave a long way to go but there are more on their wayfrom Australia and of course I would guess at leastanother 50 cria due this year, the numbers will startto go up. Like anywhere the quality of the animalsvaries with some excellent and others not so goodbut the good thing is that you can always improveby breeding up to the better males that are nowbecoming available here. We have a long way to gostill but it is certainly going to be an exciting journey.So an exciting year and successful year and guesswhat I’m still the Chairman and despite the hard workit is great fun, just hope I’m not saying this in 2025as I think I deserve to retire by then.Alpaca World Magazine Summer 2005 | 23

ALPACA SHEARINGTelephone Colin for a friendly andprofessional local service withcompetitive rates.01884 38782 or07773 440354Email: tango@aligoff.eurobell.co.ukRecommended by Ian and RachelWaldron of Langaton Alpacas24 | Alpaca World Magazine Summer 2005

Advertising FeatureImprove the performance of your breeding programme with acost effective ultrasound scanning system from BCF TechnologiesAs stated by Dr Tibay in his article on pregnancy loss in the last issueof this magazine ultrasonic examination of the alpacas uterus and itscontent is the ‘gold standard’ method for pregnancy confi rmation whichis a major part of any well planned breeding programme.Our Company, BCF Technology Ltd, is totally dedicated to providingultrasonic imaging systems for use in the animal husbandry industry and wecan offer a system from our full range of scanners which will meet your exactrequirements.The BREDA which is our newest offering is a compact low cost sector scansystem which is ideal for trans abdominal scanning of Alpacas between 45and 180 days post breeding.For earlier confi rmation – from 12 days post breeding – a more expensivesystem with a transrectal probe – our Sonovet 600 would be required.Clinical training and sales support, both in the fi eld and back at base, areextremely important and when you purchase a system from BCF we supply ahalf day hands-on training course to ensure that the new operator is profi cientto scan for pregnancy with a very high accuracy.Reproductive ultrasonography in animal species has been evolving since theearly 1970s and is well proven as the means of determining placental health,foetal well being and foetal number in addition to diagnosing pregnancy.If you intend to improve your breeding programme by buying an ultrasoundscanning system contact BCF Technology for a leading product at an attractiveprice with the highest levels of operational training and customer service fromour friendly knowledgeable staff.Tracey Lindsay, BCF Technology Ltd, 3 Rutherford Square, Brucefi eld IndustryPark, Livingston, West Lothian, Scotland, EH54 9BU. Tel: +44 1506 460023Fax: +44 1506 460045. Email: offi ce@bcftechnology.comWeb: www.bcftechnology.comAlpaca World Magazine Summer 2005 | 25

Doing our best for newborncria is all about regularobservation and taking thecorrect action at the righttime. Vet Ewen McMillan setsout a useful list of things towatch out for.Caring for CriaWhat to expect as normalObserve, observe, and observe. Become familiar withnormal cria and all their habits. How else will you beable to decide what is abnormal?Ideal birth weights 6.5–8 kg. Record birth weight,as it becomes the basis for future judgements.Birthweights under 5kg suggest likely problems.Lack of lower teeth at birth/fl oppy ears indicateprematurity.Cria should be sitting in the ‘cush’ position bytwenty minutes of age. Observe baby for defaecationand urination. Check that mother has some milk.Female alpacas may have very little milk before thebirth and can be quite diffi cult to milk out comparedwith sheep and cattle.Late afternoon births and night births usuallyspell trouble, so I recommend a plasma transfusionand shedding for the fi rst night.A normal baby should be able to walk with mumwithin 2–4 hours.What to do if mum is not nursing her criaThe baby has two main requirements at this point– nutrition and immune support.To meet energy needs, simply giving glucose witha dropper or bottle is suffi cient – two teaspoons ofglucose in 60 ml of water.All the breeders we deal with say that trying tohelp the cria on to the mother’s teat is a waste oftime. They often spend a lot of time sucking aroundthe udder, but usually they successfully locate theteat. If they do not, be prepared to supplement them.If you need to meet all the nutritionalrequirements of baby, you will need to use a totalmilk replacer. Aim to provide the cria with a fl uidintake of 10% of its body weight (ie, an 8 kg criashould get 800 ml daily). Can be fed at doublestrength. Say the cria is 8 kg, 10% = 800 ml splitover fi ve feeds this is approximately 150 ml perfeed. Only products that have had their sugars splitshould be used at higher concentrations than themanufacturer recommends.Cria are poor feeders. They are not prepared toput very much effort into sucking.For newborn, use a teat with a large hole, for oldercria, a ‘fl utter valve’ ovine teat.Monitoring progressThe best guides you will have to the progress of yourcria are growth rate and activity level. The weight ofcria may in fact decline slightly over the fi rst 2–3 dayswhile mother is establishing her milk supply, but thenshould increase. Look for growth rates of the orderof one to one and a half kg per week. Expect cria toachieve a seventy fi ve per cent growth rate over birthweight by one month, if not, look for a problem. Havethe owner buy some good scales, and learn to taketemperatures – cria should be 38.0º–39.5ºC.Cria are active little creatures. Sure they tire andsleep a lot, but cria should bound around and play,especially in the evening and if other cria are about.Signs of problems will fi rst show up as behavioralchange. Less time feeding from mum, ears down,more time resting and generally less active. Withmore subtle problems, a low growth rate. Infectionscan be rapidly fatal. A cria ‘down and out’ is very ill.They have very poorly functioning immune systemsand toxins and infections in a few hours can swamptheir bodies. Err on the side of safety and call yourvet immediately if you go to the nursery and fi nd acollapsed cria.Wrap the baby in a warm blanket or place in a boxwith a hot water bottle and packing the cria in withalpaca fl eece. We prefer very sick cria to be broughtin to our hospital where treatment facilities aresuperior. The animal may need a serum transfer, anintravenous drip, x-rays, blood testing etc. This is bestcarried out with the help of our staff.Diseases of newborn criaConstipation Usually occurs about day 2, the criastrains, obviously wanting to defaecate, but gettingnowhere. First option is to apply clinical lubricantaround the anus and a warmed enema rectally.Diarrhoea Another problem you may encounter.May dehydrate rapidly. The principles of treatmentare to maintain hydration and watch for moreinfection. If the cria is being hand reared, discontinuemilk replacer for the time being. Give electrolytesand glucose at 10% body weight minimum. Useof antidiarrhoeals like kaolin, or antibiotics iscontroversial. Kaolin absorbs fl uid and gives theoutward appearance of lessening diarrhoea, but trapsany nasty bugs and toxins in the body – the counterargument is that they are better to pass these thingsout of their bodies quickly.Antibiotics are not discriminating and kill both‘good’ and ‘bad’ bacteria. As a general rule, a brighthappy cria with diarrhoea is best left off antibioticsbut closely watched. Begin antibiotics the momentthey begin to look depressed.Natural yoghurt is a source of helpful lactosesplitting organisms to aid digestion.26 | Alpaca World Magazine Summer 2005

Infections (viral and bacterial) Will cause rapidcollapse and death of cria. No time to procrastinate,if you get a call about a sick cria treat it as urgent,and needing a veterinary consultation. Diagnosticblood tests are invaluable. This is usually worthdoing even if the animal doesn’t look ‘too bad’.White cell counts can indicate severity of diseasemore accurately. Treatment may potentially includeantibiotics, maybe hospitalisation and fl uids andplasma intravenously or intraperitoneally.Infections may present as pneumonia, diarrhoeaor just a generally sick cria, depending on whichorgan system is the primary site of invasion by thepathogen.Joint infections These can be a sequel to eithermild or serious infections where the bacteriabecome ‘blood borne’. Once in the blood, bacteriamay localise in the joints, causing lameness andswollen joints.Dysmature criaDysmature cria are those that have reached fullterm gestation but are not functioning as normalcria. They may refuse to feed, exhibit paresis, andlack normal coordination and mentation. Theseanimals need nutritional support, often extranursing including body temperature support,occasionally hospitalisation as a last resort. Usuallyno specifi c problem can be diagnosed, and theyoften present a real challenge!Angular Limb DeformitiesOccasionally cria are born with overfl exed limbs. Thedilemma is what are the criteria for intervention.In my experience, the main factor is whether thepads of the feet can be placed in a weight bearingposition. If they can achieve this, then it is mostlikely that the animal’s own body weight will causethe limb to straighten. If this cannot be achievedthen some form of splinting is warranted. The mostpractical and readily available is poly water pipe,split in half longitudinally, and applied carefully withadequate padding.Twisted limbs are a different story. It is prudentto have X-rays taken to evaluate these. The usualexplanation offered is cramping within the uterus,but this does not mean that future offspring willdevelop the same problem.A behavioural noteA note about imprinting behaviour. They arealpacas, and should grow up believing that. Alpacasocial behaviour is well defi ned and socialisationoccurs at a very young age generally in the fi rst12–14 weeks.By all means pat and cuddle them a little, butnot for long periods or too frequently. Don’t petthem. Don’t isolate them from the group.When hand rearing, put them with the groupexcept when feeding.If they imprint as humans, they will in turn treathumans as they would treat other alpaca. That is,behave with aggression and attempt dominance,doing everything from spitting to physically chargingand striking. Avoid creating a problem!Alpaca World Magazine Summer 2005 | 27

Protecting and handling your investmentwww.mrharness.co.ukCRIA WATERPROOF COATSSturdy but lightweight waterproofmaterial with quilted lining. Thisquality coat fastens and adjusts bymeans of press studs. Made to fitthe alpacas shape of body, givingall round protection to the animal,even on the vunerable tummy, witha collar & tail loop. small neck to tailapprox. = 15” medium = 18” large =21” red,navy, dk green, ink, royalPRICE ONE £30, 2-4 £28 Each, >5 £26XL = 24” one £35 two plus £33 eachALPACA HEADCOLLARSEspecially designed to fit alpacas!!Made from soft nylon webbing withfully adjustable nose.6 Sizes: mini, yearling, small,standard, large £10 and cria £9AVAILABLE IN : Black, brown, red,burgundy, royal blue, navy, emerald,sage, dark green, yellow, white, greyplus ask!ALSO LARGE SELECTION OF LEADSAND CATCH ROPES from £5.50PREMATURE CRIA COATBased on the small coat, there is an additional tail loop, and a smallerremoveable tummy band, as well as the normal tummy band. This will thencater for a very small cria of about 13 – and will grow with the baby as it isalso a normal small coat! You get two coats for one!Red, ink or royal. Single price £40, two or more £38Also flectalan ‘space blanket’ coats for hypothermic cria - ask for detailsPost & Packing: Orders of £30 and under + 10% of order,£31 – £50 + 5% of order, over £50 FREEEuropean P & P: Orders under £30 + 20%, orders over £30 + 10%A5 SAE for price list & full product range guidePlease state first and 2nd colour choice.Please make cheques payable to Mary RoachKingswood Hollow, Stanford Road, Great Witley, Worcs. WR6 6JGTel 01299 896 827 Fax 01299 896 051 E-mail mary@mrharness.co.uk28 | Alpaca World Magazine Summer 2005

Alpacas have become very much a part of ruralBritain. As the number of animals slowly but surelyincreases, so the volume and ease of access toalpaca fi bre also increases. This has brought abouta great deal of interest among spinners as well asa need for information regarding the spinning ofthe fi bre. Joan Dever tells us how.SpinningChoosing a fl eece is very important. Itis the fi rst step, and is one that willultimately determine the quality of yourend product. The fl eece should be ofsound structure, free of excess dust and vegetablematter (seeds and grass) and be of an evenmicron.The micron of the fl eece also needs to be takeninto consideration when designing a garment (i.e.fi ne for delicate articles and medium for heaviergarments). There is also a big colour choice withalpaca fi bres as it comes in a wide range ofnatural colours - from white, through to greys andblacks, with the browns and fawns ranging fromhoney to deep chestnut.You also need to look at the staple of the fi breas the staple is the natural cluster of fi bre within afl eece. A well shorn alpaca fl eece will retain muchof the staple structure. This is most importantbecause spinning from the staple is the shortestpath between fl eece and yarn, provided the fl eeceis of the highest shorn quality (i.e. minimumsecond cuts).To achieve the best results the ideal staplelength that should be aimed for is 5 inches or13cm. Because of its hollow structure and extrawarmth alpaca fi bre does lend itself to a fi ner yarnand this can be kept in mind when choosing thesort of yarn you wish to produce.Step 1Step 2Step 3Step 4Select a clean staple from the shornfl eece, being careful not to disturb theother staples.Grasp the cut end of the staple in yourhand and using a fl icker, fl ick out thebroken and damaged fi bre tips. Thesemay have been caused by weather, dustand/or sebaceous secretions and if theyare left they detract from the evenness,appearance and wear of the yarn. Thestaple is then turned around to the cutend. Flicking the cut end helps to loosenindividual fi bre even more and alsohelps to sort out any second cuts. (Asteel dog comb can also be used for thesame purpose).The staple should now be light and openwith the fi bres of a uniform length andaligned in the one direction. The stapleis now ready to spin.Yarn is usually spun in a ‘Z’ direction.Hold the tips of the staple in one handand fan out the cut end. With the otherhand draw out an amount of fi bre andjoin it to the leader on the bobbin ofthe spinning wheel. When this has beendone, all the fi bres in the staple will bedrawn on to the yarn in a smooth orderlymanner.Photo: North Devon JournalThe twist of the yarn is controlled by varying thewheel speed while the thickness of the yarn isadjusted by drafting the fi bre through the hands.Tension is of the utmost importance to the control30 | Alpaca World Magazine Summer 2005

of the forming yarn. If the tension is too tight itwill draw the draft in too quickly with not enoughtwist that will result in the draft breaking. A loosetension has the opposite effect as the draft willnot pull in fast enough and over-twisting will bethe result.Spinning from the cut end allows the fi bre to bepulled in the direction of least resistance and alsomeans that the tips will wind themselves around theadjoining fi bres to make a continuous fi ne sliver,which in turn twists and becomes a worsted yarn.Because alpaca fi bre has little crimp andminimal lanolin content it does need to behandled with a light touch when spinning tokeep air and softness in the fi bres. And althoughspinning alpaca fi bre does not come easily, withpersistence and practice the technique doesbecome easier and easier.Spinning alpaca topsAn alpaca top is a tightly packed rope-like lengthof fi bre that has been commercially processedand carded. A lot of spinners use tops as asubstitute for either machine or carded fi bre asno preparation is needed, but to make spinningeasier there are a few techniques that need to beoutlined.Step 1 Firstly, a length of top approximately 8inches or 20cm should be broken off.Step 2 Hold this length in one hand and usethe other hand to draw the fi bre outuntil it becomes a loose, long length oftop. From one end of this stretched outlight and airy top commence spinningby drawing out the fi bre and attach it tothe leader on the bobbin. Other fi breswill readily follow. The amount of fi bre tobe released also needs to be decidedas this has a bearing on the thickness ofyour fi nished yarn.As all the fi bres lie in one direction this means thata worsted yarn will be the result. The Long Drawmethod of spinning can also be tried if addedtexture is desired.Spinning carded alpacaDrum Carding: The drum carder is a usefulmachine to use when the staple of the alpaca fi breis not easily defi ned or is of a short length.Step 1Step 2You can use well skirted fi bre - straightfrom the shorn fl eece, remembering totake out any vegetable matter and toopen out the fi bre.Place the fi bre on the apron of the drumcarder. Commence by turning the handleand feeding in extra fi bre to form a batton the big roller.Step 3Step 4Step 5At the appropriate place on the bigroller you can make a break in the ballwith a pencil or a knitting needle. Withboth hands remove the ball which willnow be a rectangle about 46cmx23cm(18”x9”) depending on the size of thedrum carder. Most of the fi bres will lie inone direction and should be tight andbouncy to touch.The ball is then split into three equalparts – lengthwise. Take one sliver inyour hand and use the other hand toease the fi bres (without breaking) into alonger and fi ner sliver. The other sliversare also prepared in the same manner.Take one end of your stretched out sliverand proceed, using the same methodas outlined previously for spinningalpaca tops. This yarn will be a semiworstedtype that is light and bouncy.As mentioned, over-spinning needs tobe avoided and once again you can trythe Long Draw method of spinning if yourequire extra texture.Alpaca fi bre blends extremely well with othernatural fi bres such as wool, silk, mohair, cashmereetc. Sheep wool must be washed to remove anytraces of grease and dirt and also needs to be of amicron near that of the alpaca fi bre.The blending of fi bres is created by cardingon a hand carder and forming a rolag (A rolag isblended fi bres intermeshed and formed into aroll). When spun, a woolly yarn will result whichis not as even as a worsted yarn-but it will betextured and soft. Here again, the Long Drawmethod of spinning can be used to create extratexture and character.Step 1Step 2Place a thin layer of an opened outalpaca staple on the left-hand carder,placing a thin layer of the other fi bre ontop. Using both carders (one in eachhand) blend the two fi bres together andwhen they are well blended they arethen rolled into the rolag.To commence spinning, hold the rolaglengthwise, lightly in the hand. Pull thefi bres from the end of the rolag withthe other hand, and pull and releaseStep 3the draft. Do not run your fi nger andthumb along the draft of the yarn - whatyou are creating needs to be light andbouncy.Another method to incorporate otherfi bresa Spin a single of alpaca fi bre ‘2’ spinb Spin a single of the other fi bre ‘Z’spinc Ply the two single together ‘S’ plyDifferent percentages of fi bre and colour can beused to produce a variety of yarns. Blending alsocreates many wonderful colours and textures andthese yarns are unique to the spinner so don’t beafraid to experiment - you will be delighted withthe results.Plying alpaca yarnIt is in the plying that I create a soft balancedyarn that feels like the unspun alpaca fl eece. Thedifferent methods of plying are 2ply or a Navajoply. The Navajo is a 3 ply. The most used is a 2ply. Remember that if spinning has been in a ‘2’direction, plying will be in a ‘S’ direction.Step 1Step 2Step 3Step 4To create a two ply yarn, place twobobbins of spun singles on a Lazy Kateand insert an empty bobbin on thespinning wheel.Take a single yarn from each full bobbinon the Lazy Kate and insert an emptybobbin and start to ply the yarn.A relaxed plied yarn means that thedraft between the hand and the orifi ceof the spinning wheel should fall in ashallow arc U when the right amount oftwist has been plied into the yarn.You need to stop and test the yarn atvarying intervals. The secret is so manypedals of the foot to the lengths of thedraft. This varies with each spinner butpractice will help you achieve the bestresults.When the bobbin on the spinning wheelis full, release the tension and wind theplied yarn on to a Niddy Noddy to forma skein.Prior to taking the skein off the Niddy Noddy, tie itvery loosely in four places (with extra yarn) to keepthe skein from getting tangled during the washingprocess.Washing alpaca yarnAlpaca fi bre is predominantly non-greasy. It doesnot require harsh scouring. A light detergentadded to fairly hot water, is all that is needed towash the yarn. The skeins should be immersed inthe water and left to soak. The skeins are thenAlpaca World Magazine Summer 2005 | 31

Fibre Get Spinningrinsed twice in warm water, adding a softenerto the fi nal rinse if desired. Wrap the skeins in atowel to remove excess water, cut the ties off andshake to release and open out the yarn. Hang theskeins out to dry.Construction of analpaca garmentBefore constructing a garment, you need to knita tension square. Use different sized needles tofi nd a suitable tension for the yarn that you havecreated. You also need to remember that alpacadoes not have a lot of stretch. Elastic yarn canbe knitted in with the bands or alternatively asmaller than usual size knitting needle can beused.In conclusion, alpaca as a shorn fi bre, or in theform of tops, is very enjoyable to handle and spinand I hope that the information in this article willinspire all spinners to explore the possibilities ofalpaca fi bre.Joan Dever has been spinning different fi bres for over twentyyears. This article fi rst appeared in Town and Country Farmermagazine, P0 Box 798, Bernalla, Victoria 3672, Australia, and isprinted with the kind permission of the editors, Glenn and ShirleyHurley.BELFASTMINI-MILLS LTDWE MANUFACTURE COMPLETE COTTAGEINDUSTRY MILLS FOR FIBRE PROCESSINGThe demand is where you are…and bigger than ever!Visit Belfast Mini-Mills Ltd website athttp://www.minimills.netRR#1, Belfast, Prince Edward Island, Canada C0A 1A0Telephone: 1-902-659-2248Fax: 1-902-659-2430Email: richard@minimills.net32 | Alpaca World Magazine Summer 2005

Alpaca World Magazine Summer 2005 | 33

Concepts of PeruQuality alpaca products made with careand caring about the people who make them.Tel: 020 8855 3282 Fax: 020 8855 6953Email: info@conceptsofperu.co.ukWebsite: www.conceptsofperu.co.ukClassic alpaca knitwear.Available for trade and retail.Contact for further information or a brochure.Retail members of BAFTSRegistered in the Importers directoryThinking of keeping alpacas?Why not book one of our ‘essentials’ courseswhich will give you all the basic knowledgeyou need about these lovely animals. Thecourses will cover day-to-day care, how tomake handling easy, breeding and what to lookfor when choosing your alpacas. There will beplenty of opportunities to handle our animalsand a chance to examine the fl eeces and see theend products. Please telephone us on01884 243579 to book a place or visit ourwebsite www.alpaca-uk.co.ukRachel Hebditch and Chas Brooke have beenbreeding alpacas for eight years, publish AlpacaWorld magazine and are partners in UK Alpaca,a company that buys fl eece fromUK breeders and manufactures yarn.Telephone for latest courseinformation and dates.If you are not able to attenda course, try our video‘An Introduction to Alpacas’Outstanding genetics for alpaca breeders and fi bre producers Chas Brooke T/F 01884 243514 M 07970 415638E chas@mileendalpacas.freeserve.co.ukVisit our website at www.alpaca-uk.co.uk and for the bestindependent alpaca magazine visit www.alpacaworldmagazine.comRachel Hebditch T 01884 243579 M 07816 912212E rachel@classicalalpacas.freeserve.co.uk34 | Alpaca World Magazine Summer 2005

Alpaca World Magazine Summer 2005 | 35

As animal breeders, what are ourgoals and objectives? Why arewe mating our animals, and whyare we doing it the way we are? Is thegoal to produce more alpacas andincrease the size of our individual herdas well as the ‘national herd’? Are webreeding animals to replace our stock?Are we attempting to breed in such away that the descendants will be ‘better’than the present generation? What isthe ‘best’ alpaca anyway? Is our goal acombination of all of these? If so, whichoutcome is the most important?Of course animal husbandry,management and veterinary practicescontribute greatly to the quantity andquality of alpacas in our herds. Othersmore experienced in these arenasthan this author have written on thesedisciplines, and I will not be addressingany of these topics directly. These aspectsof animal breeding are of inestimableimportance, yet they are all under girdedby each animal’s individual genetic makeup, and the gene frequencies in the genepool of the herd at large.The purpose of this article is todescribe ways that we can progresstoward our goals by using the principlesof genetics as they apply to animalbreeding. The author assumes thatthe reader has some knowledge of thefundamentals of genetics and Mendelianinheritance, and this article will beginto address some of the slightly moreadvanced concepts.As animal breeders there are threemain factors that we must consider inorder to produce the next generation ofoffspring: Traits, Selection and Mating.TraitsTraits refer to the characteristics of analpaca that we have an interest in andcan observe, evaluate and/or measure.Traits can be thought of in differentclasses. Willis 1 has described fi veclasses of traits. Fitness traits; whichin alpacas would be such things asconception rate, gestation length andsurvival ability. Production traits; onewould be fl eece weight. Quality traits;represented in alpacas by fi ber diameter,fi ber color, etc. Type traits; these includesuri, huacaya, pinto, etc. Behavioraltraits; these might be friendliness,aggressiveness, ease of halter training,‘mothering’ ability, etc. Willis also states,‘It is a basic principle of animal breedingthat the more traits one seeks to includein a breeding programme, the harderthe task will become. It is thus essentialto decide which traits are crucial andinclude these but keep this number tomanageable levels’.Some traits are observable andsubjective, such as color, gait, or headshape. Others are levels of performanceand lend themselves to more objectivemeasurement like birth weight, staplelength or days of gestation. A givenanimal’s value for any of these traits isreferred to as its phenotype. Sometimestraits and phenotypes are confused.One might say, ‘High fl eece density is acommon trait of this line of alpacas.’ Thetrait, of course, is fl eece density. ‘High’is the description of a phenotype forthis trait.The phenotype for any trait is theresult of the combined effects thegenes an animal has inherited andenvironmental infl uences it has beensubjected to throughout its life. As aformula we could say: P = G + EThe other two main factors, Selectionand Mating, deal with decisions thealpaca breeder makes in an attempt toimprove the phenotype seen in the nextgeneration. By utilising genetic principlesand animal breeding technology tochange the genetic portion of the aboveequation, the breeder hopes to fashiona phenotypic expression that is closer tothe goal of the ‘best alpaca’, whateverthat may be. Of course, each breeder’svisions will be different, and hence so willtheir breeding goals be different.SelectionSelection, the second major factor,affects the gene frequencies of the nextgeneration by deciding which animalswill reproduce and which ones will not.Selection also implies a process referredto as culling, which means selectingthose animals that will not be allowedto breed. Culling then means thatthe animal will not exert any geneticinfl uence on the next generation ofthe herd. Males are often culled bycastration, females by holding themout from mating. A breeder can cull ananimal from their herd’s gene pool byselling it to another breeder. While thiswill have its effect on that particularherd, the genetic infl uence of that animalis not removed from the gene pool of thebreed at large if the buyer then breedshim or her with his own stock.We want to select the animals withthe best breeding values to be in ourbreeding program. Breeding value (BV) isdefi ned as the animal’s individual valueas a genetic parent, ie, a contributor ofgenes to the next generation.The effectiveness of a breeder’sselection decisions is measured by theresultant rate of genetic change. If weconsistently select the animals with thebest breeding values to be parents, wewill maximise the rate of genetic changein our herd. Unfortunately we do notknow the true BV of our animals, butmerely some estimate of these values.The estimated breeding values (EBV)may not be very accurate, and often withalpacas may be all but non-existent formost traits. The author would suggestthat determining accurate EBV for thetraits that we want to include in ourbreeding programs should be possible,and it is an opportunity for us to makeGeneticAlpaca ImprovementWayne JarvisDr Wayne Jarvis, in addition to being an alpaca breeder, lives atSixth Day Farm in Holley, NY where he breeds Saanen dairy goatsand French Angora rabbits, Registered Cormo Sheep and NaturallyColored Corriedale Sheep. He studied chemical engineering, chemistryand biology, including genetics, as an undergraduate, and has beeninterested in genetics throughout his career as an oral and maxillofacialsurgeon treating developmental deformities of the face and jaws. Helectures frequently around the world on scientifi c topics, including thegenetics of animal breeding.36 | Alpaca World Magazine Summer 2005

a quantum leap forward in the geneticimprovement of our breed.The key equation that determines theeffectiveness of our selection process,the rate of genetic change, states thatthe rate of genetic change is proportionalto selection accuracy, selection intensity,genetic variation and generation interval.The most basic method of estimatingbreeding value, and the most commonlyused in the North American alpacaindustry today, is called PhenotypicSelection. With phenotypic selectiononly the observable and measurablecharacteristics of the candidateconsidered for breeding, in other wordsthe phenotypic expression of the traitsbeing selected for, are used as selectioncriteria. For instance, if we want tobreed for high fl eece weight, and areconsidering if a particular female shouldbe selected for that breeding program,only the weight of her own fl eece wouldbe used to make the decision. Otherconsiderations, such as the geneticmerit (BV) of her sire and dam for fl eeceweight, and that of her siblings andoffspring, would be ignored. In fact, inthe case of most alpacas, those breedingvalues are not so much ignored asthey are unknown. The assumption inthis case is that a phenotype for fl eeceweight in alpacas is somehow related tobreeding value for fl eece weight. If that isnot true, then selecting the parent basedon his or her phenotype for this traitwould be worthless.The terminology used to describe justhow strong the relationship is between aphenotype value for a trait and breedingvalue for that trait is heritability. Ifheritability is high, selecting a parentbased on phenotype for a given traitis likely to get that phenotype in theoffspring. When heritability is low,observations and measurements ofthe value of an alpaca’s trait will notreliably predict what the offspring’s valuefor that trait will be. For example, inmost mammals fertility is not a highlyheritable trait. Therefore whether or not afemale conceives easily or often has littleto do with her breeding value for fertilityin her offspring.Heritability is important because itdetermines our accuracy when employingphenotypic selection. In turn it affectsthe rate of genetic return in our herd.See the key equation above. Phenotypicselection for a trait of low heritabilitywill give us poor selection accuracy andtherefore a slow rate of genetic change.Misconceptionsabout heritabilityOccasionally someone thinks that ifheritability is high, breeding value forthat trait is high also. This is not so. Ahigh heritability only tells us that therelationship between the breeding valuefor a trait and the phenotypic valuefor that trait is a strong one. Note thatheritability is a population measure, nota value associated with an individualanimal. If the heritability for a trait in agiven herd is high, the individual animalswill still each have their own individualphenotype, good or bad, for that trait.The high heritability just tells us thatthe parent is likely to pass that on tothe offspring. If, as an example, theheritability for fl eece weight is high, ananimal with a low fl eece weight is likelyto produce offspring with a low fl eeceweight; medium fl eece weight parent willtend to produce medium fl eece weightoffspring, etc. On the other hand, if theheritability is very low, a high fl eeceweight parent is just as likely to producea low fl eece weight child and a lowfl eece weight parent could produce ahigh fl eece weight offspring.Contrary to the assumptions of manybreeders, heritability is not an immutablecharacteristic of a trait. Heritability for atrait varies from population to populationand from environment to environment. Itis possible, at least to some degree, toincrease the heritability for a trait withina contemporary group. A contemporarygroup is a group of animals that are thesame sex, of similar age and have beenmanaged in the same fashion at thesame location. If we remember our basicequation for phenotype: P = G + EThen differences, or variations inphenotype are a result of changes ingenetics, environment, or both:∆P = ∆G + ∆EThe higher the genetic componentof this equation, the more geneticdifferences will affect phenotypicdifferences. In other words, theheritability will be high. This illustratestwo things. First, the more uniform wecan make the environment, in otherwords the smaller we can make thevariations in environment, ∆E in ourequation, then the more certain we canbe that variations in phenotype, ∆P,are the result of genetic differences,∆G. This is another way of sayingthat heritability will be higher; or thatthere is a stronger correlation betweenphenotypic variance and geneticvariance, which is breeding value. Wecan increase the heritability of a trait in apopulation by making the environmentalfactors as uniform as possible and byincreasing the precision and accuracyof our measurements. The second pointillustrated by this equation is that whatwe are looking at when we determineheritability is differences betweenanimals or variances. We are comparingvariances in phenotype with variancesin breeding values. Mathematicallydefi ned, ‘Heritability = the proportionof differences in performance for a traitthat are attributable to differences inbreeding value for the trait’ 2 . Sincevariance statistically is the square of thestandard deviation the mathematicalformula is then: h2 = σBV 2 /σP 2This is the most computationallyuseful formula for heritability. When atrait has low heritability, we cannot useour standard method of phenotypicselection to accurately determinebreeding value. We need other methodsof estimating BV in order to have anaccuracy of selection high enough toproduce an acceptable genetic rate ofchange. We will look at how this formulacan be used mathematically to makeseveral types of genetic predictions fromdifferent sources of information aboutthe individual, its siblings or its progeny,and to also calculate the accuracy ofthose predictions, in a future article.Selection IntensityThis factor of the key equation tellsus what percentage of a population isselected as parents. If our estimationof each animals BV is very accurate,but we allow every animal to reproduce,all we have done is shuffl e the existinggenes in the gene pool. There will beminimal if any genetic advancement andin general the overall genetic value ofthe herd cannot change. In other words,the overall gene frequencies of the herdwill not change. This truth stems fromthe Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Seethe author’s reference 3 or virtually anyother modern genetic text for a thoroughdiscussion of the Hardy-Weinberg Law.If the selection intensity is high; forinstance if only the top ten percent ofanimals, based on breeding values,are allowed to be parents, and if ouraccuracy of breeding value (selectionaccuracy) is high, then these intenselyselected parents should be far betterthan average genetically. As a result,their offspring should be equally superiorgenetically and the rate of geneticchange will be rapid.Financial considerations and the needto increase the number of alpacas inthe national herd make it very diffi cultfor North American alpaca breedersto exercise high selection intensity atthis time. It is the author’s impressionthat very few females, percentagewise, are culled from breeding today.A higher percentage of males areprobably kept from reproducing, butit seems that even with males there isonly moderate selection intensity today.This low selection intensity means thatestimating breeding values as accuratelyas possible is extremely important if weare to see genetic improvement in ournational herd. Differences in accuracyof selection, or EBV (estimated breedingvalues), can be very large. Selection ofeach alpaca, based only on phenotypicrecord, is not very accurate, particularlyif the heritability of the traits underconsideration is low. Greater accuracyin estimating breeding values can beachieved by using more information andmore sophisticated genetic predictiontechnology. These methods will bediscussed in a future article.MatingMating decisions, the third major factor,take place after selection has occurred.Selection is a herd wide process; matingis an individual process. Selectiondecisions determine which animals willreproduce; mating decisions determinewhich individual females will be bredto which individual males. There aremany different mating systems basedon existing stock and breeding goals.Certain mating strategies can beemployed for simply inherited traits;others are necessary for polygenic traits.Mating strategies for simply inheritedtraits are based on an understandingof basic Mendelian inheritance, anddo not require much discussion. If oneknows the number of loci involved, thenumber of alleles at each locus, andhow the alleles are expressed, onecan then determine the possible andprobable genotypes of the potentialparents and select mating combinationsthat will produce, or most likely producethe desired genotype in the offspring.Simple Punnett square diagrams can beused to plan matings that will producecertain gene combinations, homozygotes,heterozygotes, or epistatic combinations,for a simply inherited trait. Other matingstrategies that can be employed forsimply inherited traits are introgression,in which a specifi c allele existing in onepopulation can be brought into anotherpopulation in which it does not exist;and topcrossing, designed to createa purebred population or to convert apopulation from one breed to another.Since most, if not all, of the traits ofimportance to alpaca breeders seem tobe polygenic and quantitative in nature,it is more pertinent to spend our time onmating strategies for quantitative traits.‘A mating system can be defi ned as aset of rules for making mating decisions.As such, there is no limit to the numberof possible mating systems. There are,however, only a few general matingstrategies.’ 4These general mating strategiesfall into two types. One type is basedon animal performance, and can besubdivided into random mating andassortive mating, which is further dividedinto positive and negative assortivemating. The other type is based onpedigree relationships, and includesinbreeding and outbreeding.Random mating must be distinguishedfrom random selection; they are not thesame thing. Even very highly selectedanimals, once selected, can be allowedto mate with each other at random. Thereare numerous systems to assure that thematings are truly random. They are mostuseful in a large commercial operationwhere individual performance recordsare not available and the numbers ofanimals being dealt with are very large.Since this situation will not apply toalpaca breeders in North America forAlpaca World Magazine Summer 2005 | 37

Special Feature Genetic Improvementmany years to come we will not spendany time on describing the systems.Random mating can be very usefulin sire evaluation. If the sire’s mates arechosen for any particular reason then theresults may not be a true evaluation andmay give a false positive evaluation fromhaving a particularly good set of matesor a false negative result from havingparticularly poor mates.Assortive mating includes the conceptsof mating two like animals together whichis termed positive assortive mating ormating two animals that are dissimilarwhich is called negative assortivemating. Positive assortive mating couldbe illustrated by breeding tallest totallest, heaviest to heaviest, fi nest fl eeceto fi nest fl eece, etc. This increasesgenetic variation and tends to spread apopulation toward the two extremes ofthe characteristic for which it is practiced,and thus leads to less uniformity ofthe population. Since uniformity isusually desirable for most commercialanimal breeders, they normally considerthis increased phenotypic variation adrawback. Other breeders, attempting tocreate a very superior animal in somecharacteristic, for the purpose of theshow ring, are willing to accept the lossof uniformity for the chance of producingan extreme individual, which this matingsystem lends itself to. For a thoroughdiscussion of positive assortive matingsee a text on animal breeding 5 .Negative assortive mating , pairinganimals that are opposites or dissimilarfor a particular trait, is also sometimescalled corrective mating. This iscommonly seen in alpaca breedingtoday as breeders attempt to ‘correct’traits in a particular parent by selectinga mate that has a more desirablephenotype for that particular trait. It isnot unusual to hear a breeder say. ‘Iwant to improve her density’ or ‘I wantto put more fi ber coverage on her legs.’What they really mean is that theywant to breed this female with a malethat is likely to produce an offspringthat has a better value for the trait inquestion than the mother has. They willthen fi nd a male that has better valuesfor that trait, more fi ber density, morefi ber coverage on legs, etc. and assumethat breeding this sire to the dam theywant to ‘improve’ will generate a criathat will be better than the dam for thistrait. There are several assumptions andpossibly misconceptions involved here.First, we are assuming that the trait ishighly heritable, that is to say, the sire’sphenotype means that his breedingvalue for that trait is high enough to passit on to his offspring. We have alreadydiscussed phenotypic selection. Let usassume that for the trait in questionthe heritability is high enough to makephenotypic selection effective. Theoffspring then can be expected to besomewhere in value between the sireand the dam. So, if we have ‘improved’on the dam, haven’t we at the same time‘downgraded’ the sire? We never heara breeder say, ‘we want to decrease hisfl eece density,’ or ‘I want to decrease hisfi ber coverage’, but isn’t that in fact thesame thing? In fact, we have ‘bred to theaverage’. This is not a good strategy if youwant to maximise genetic rate of change,but it is a good strategy if you want tocreate uniformity of the herd. This can beadvantageous for some breeding goals,but one must realise that the herd isbecoming uniform around some geneticintermediate value.Inbreeding is one of the matingstrategies based on pedigree relationship.There is much difference of opinion aboutwhat constitutes inbreeding. Some wouldconstrain the term inbreeding to themating of full brother and sister or parentto offspring. Others would include the38 | Alpaca World Magazine Summer 2005

Special Feature Genetic Improvementmating of half siblings or grandparent tograndchild. The scientifi c defi nition is themating of two individuals more closelyrelated than average for the population.The primary effect of inbreedingis to increase the probability that theoffspring will inherit the same thing fromsire and dam. Another way of sayingthis is that it increases homozygosis.This can be good or bad, dependingupon what the phenotypic expressionof that homozygous pair of alleles is. Ifit is a pair of recessive genes for somedetrimental defect, then the outcome isbad. If it is a pair of alleles that resultsin a benefi cial expression, then it notonly affects the offspring by improvingits phenotype, it guarantees that asa parent this animal will pass on thedesired allele to its offspring; it will beprepotent. Linebreeding is no differentthan inbreeding, but the term is usuallyreserved for matings that have a lessercoeffi cient of inbreeding, meaning thatthe common ancestor is somewhatfarther back in the pedigree. Inbreeding,including linebreeding, is another toollike selection that an animal breeder canuse for the improvement of livestock.Many alpaca breeders avoid inbreedingpassionately, often without knowing whyother than a superstitious aversion and avague sense that it is usually associatedwith the appearance of genetic defects.Inbreeding does not create geneticdefects any more than the pairing of anytwo highly unrelated animals does. If bothparents pass on a recessive gene for adefect, then that homozygous recessiveoffspring will show the defect. It doesn’tmatter if the parents were related or not.Inbreeding may increase the likelihood ofthese recessive genes being uncoveredbecause inbreeding increases the rateof homozygosity overall. In other word,inbreeding of itself does not createproblems, but may reveal them. Oneupside is that it could allow breedersto identify two parents who carry thatrecessive allele before it is passed,hidden, throughout the entire herd overseveral generations. Inbreeding has beenused in the past to successfully createelite strains of livestock, and althoughit has its risks and dangers, is notnecessarily detrimental. Lush wrote:‘Among animals, laboratoryexperiments have been extensive on theinbreeding of rats, mice and guinea pigs.Dr King inbred white rats full brotherand sister for more than 70 generationswithout fi nding degeneration. Mice havebeen inbred full brother and sister inmany experiments. In at least one casethis has been carried further than the55th generation. In the United StatesDepartment of Agriculture experiments oninbreeding guinea pigs, some lines havebeen inbred brother by sister for morethan 30 generations.’ 6Many herds today could profi t from theuse of superior sires by taking advantageof inbreeding, if owners understood theeffects and possible consequences ofthis mating system 7 . A future article willdiscuss how and when to inbreed orlinebreed for genetic improvement, as wellas the dangers and risks of inbreedingdepression.Outbreeding or outcrossing is theopposite of inbreeding. It is the majorbreeding strategy used today withalpacas in North America. One ofthe benefi ts of this strategy is that itresults in a gain in gene combinationvalues and an increase in hybrid vigor.Another benefi t is to take advantage ofbreed complementarity. Often two purebred lines can be crossed to create ahybrid commercial animal whose vigoris high and production values are highas a result of this effect. These highlyproductive animals will not necessarilypass those traits along to offspring, sothe commercial breeder continues tocross the two purebred parent lines ofseed stock that will produce the highlyproductive fl ock animals he seeks.In SummaryThis article has highlighted the threemain factors that we as alpaca breedersmust consider in order to produce thenext generation of offspring: Traits,Selection and Mating. Hopefully someunderstanding of the broad picture ofthese factors has been presented. Infuture articles, the author plans to exploresome of these areas in greater detail.Footnotes1 Malcolm B Willis, Blackwell Science, Dalton’sIntroduction to Practical Animal Breeding, 1991,pp.1-2.2 Richard M Bourdon, Prentice Hall, UnderstandingAnimal Breeding, 2000, p.1683 John F Lasley, Prentice Hall, Genetics of LivestockImprovement, 1978, pp. 115-1174 Richard M Bourdon, Prentice Hall, UnderstandingAnimal Breeding, 2000, Part IV, p. 3145 Jay L Lush, Iowa State College Press, Animal BreedingPlans, 1945, pp. 341-3476 Jay L Lush, Iowa State College Press, Animal BreedingPlans, 1945, pp.2887 John F Lasley, Prentice Hall, Genetics of LivestockImprovement, 1978, pp. 207ReferencesRichard M Bourdon, Prentice Hall, UnderstandingAnimal Breeding, 2000Eric Hoffman and Murray E Fowler, DVM, Clay Press, TheAlpaca Book, 1995John F Lasley, Prentice Hall, Genetics of LivestockImprovement, 1978Jay L Lush, Iowa State College Press, Animal BreedingPlans, 1945J E Legates and Everett J. Warwick, McGraw-Hill,Breeding and Improvement of Farm Animals, 1990Malcolm B Willis, Blackwell Science, Dalton’sIntroduction to Practical Animal Breeding, 1991Alpaca World Magazine Summer 2005 | 39

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CusichacaTrustThe Cusichaca Trust and its work withcamelids in the Peruvian Andes isdescribed for us by Douglas Walsh,the Peru Project ManagerThe Cusichaca Trust is a Britishcharitable organisation, foundedby its Director, Dr Ann KendallOBE, in 1977. The Trust works on ruraldevelopment projects in the southerncentral Andean region of Peru in theDepartments of Apurimac, Ayacuchoand Cusco. To date it has completed twomajor ten year projects (In Chamanaat the head of the famous Inca Trail toMachu Picchu and in the Patacanchavalley above Ollantaytambo) and is halfway through a third in the poorest area ofPeru on the borders between Apurimacand Ayacucho.Cusichaca has an administrative offi cein the provincial town of Andahuaylas andfi eld bases in the Districts of Pampachiriand Andamarca. The fi rst is located inthe Chicha-Soras valley and the secondin the Sondondo valley. In Peru TheCusichaca Trust works alongside its localpartner, Asociación Andina Cusichaca.It employs twenty full time Peruvianprofessional staff and sixteen localpromoters to carry out projects fundedby The European Union, The CommunityFund and the Australian Embassy.Our FocusCusichaca focuses its work on AndeanCulture – its customs, crops, technologiesand animals etc. The project Director is anexpert on pre-hispanic civilisations. Herpioneering work in the 1970s studyingancient agricultural systems in theCusichaca valley near to Chamana ledto the foundation of the Trust. At the timethe idea of applying knowledge gainedthrough archaeological investigations tooffer practical solutions to modern dayproblems was new. Cusichaca proposedthat the restoration of ancient canalsand terraced agricultural systems usingtraditional Andean technologies wouldoffer a sound and cheap alternative forrural communities whose agriculturalproduction was too low to sustain thelocal populations. All of the materialsneeded such as stones, clay and sandare available locally ensuring that theonly costs involved relate to local labour.Studies suggest that there are nearly amillion hectares of terraced agriculturalsystems in Peru which were constructedby the Incas, Huaris, Chankas and otherpre-hispanic civilisations.Cusichaca places these terracedagricultural systems at the centre of itswork with all project activities contributingto increasing their potential as indicatedin the diagram, left.The Present ProjectLocationCusichaca is working in eight Districtsin two valley systems on the bordersbetween the two Departments ofAyacucho and Apurimac. The areacovered is nearly 4000 sq km and totalpopulation is close to 19,000.LOCATION POPULATION AREASq. kmApurimacPampachiri 2300 602Pomacocha 1300 129Umamarca 2800 447Sañayca 1600 447AyacuchoLarcay 1000 498Soras 1400 358Andamarca 3000 474Chipao 5300 1167TOTAL 18,700 3933The altitude within the project areavaries from between 3000 and 5000metres above sea level. Eighty per centof the area is high plateau land suitablefor the grazing of alpacas and othercamelids.Project Structureand ActivitiesThe project which Cusichaca isimplementing has been divided into threemain ‘themes’ or areas of activity. Eachof these has been further divided intonine programmes and twenty-one subprogrammes, as outlined in theProjectStructure table, bottom of facing page.There are seven cross cuttingcomponents to the project, operatingacross all of the programmes. These are:❍ Investigation❍ Training❍ Infrastructure❍ Organisation❍ Transfer of Knowledge❍ Networking❍ MonitoringCamelids Within theProject AmbitWhilst Puno, Cusco, Arequipa andHuancavelica have the largestpopulations of alpacas and llamaswithin Peru, nevertheless Ayacucho andApurimac both have signifi cant numbersof both. Puno is quite rightly consideredthe prime area with over 50% of thetotal population of 3 million alpacasnationwide and more than 40% of themillion llamas. According to a 2001census carried out by Conacs therewere approximately 140,000 alpacasand 110,000 llamas in Ayacucho and140,000 alpacas and 40,000 llamas inApurimac.Within the project ambit there areapproximately 30,000 alpacas. Accordingto a census carried out by Cusichacastaff for seven of the eight districts the42 | Alpaca World Magazine Summer 2005

population is 22,823 alpacas with fi guresfor Chipao where there is the largestpopulation still to be processed.POPULATION OF ALPACAS WITHINPROJECT AMBITDistrictNo. of AlpacasPampachiri 3170Pomacocha 1371Umamarca 352Sañayca 5402Andamarca 6356Larcay 5209Soras 963Chipao ??TOTAL 22,853Despite the rustic nature inwhich these animals are raised they,nevertheless, are the most importantsource of income for families living in themost isolated high altitude communities.Figures produced by the governmentproject PROALPACA suggest that typicallythese families generate 70% of theirincome from the sale of alpacas and theirderivatives and 20% of their income fromLlamas, with only 10% coming from othersources.Typically a family will have between 50and 100 animals. These sleep in simplestone enclosures close to the familyhome at night and are led out to pastureduring the day. A member of the family(usually a woman or child) will follow theanimals during the day as they roam freeand will lead them home at night. WhilstAbove: Detail showing the area ofPeru covered by the activities ofThe Cusichaca Trust.Right: Department map showingproposed tourist circuits.PROJECT STRUCTURETHEMES PROGRAMMES SUB PROGRAMMESAndean Agricultural Systems Traditional Agricultural Infrastructure Restoration of Irrigation SystemsRehabilitation of TerracesManagement of Agricultural SystemsSoil ManagementWater ManagementCrop ManagementAnimal ManagementPasture ManagementAndean Organic AgricultureSocio-Economics Organisation Community ManagementCivil Society and CitizenshipHealth and NutritionBasic SanitationNutritionCommercialisation and MarketingPotential ProductsChains of ProductionPromotion of TourismRegistering Tourist ResourcesPromotion of Tourist CircuitsThe Environment Management of Natural Resources Woodland ManagementFish FarmingWater Resource ManagementNature ConservationNative Flora and FaunaNatural DisastersDisaster Managementin Puno and Arequipa the rearing andbreeding of alpacas is relatively scientifi cin Apurimac and Ayacucho traditionalmethods are still followed. For this reasonalpacas of different races and colours areall kept together and therefore interbreed.Typically the wool is sheared using a kniferather than the special scissors usedelsewhere and wool is rarely selected forquality, normally being sold for low pricesto itinerant merchants. Cusichaca hasbeen working to improve some of thesepractices.Vicuñas are also abundant within theproject area and a potentially valuableresource for the local communities.Almost half of the national population of120,000 vicuñas is found in Ayacuchoand Apurimac. Ayacucho has the largestpopulation of any Department in Peru,with a population of 40,000. PampaGaleras is the District with the greatestnumber but others such as Cabana Surwhich borders Andamarca and Chipaohave even greater potential for populationgrowth.Vicuña wool can be sold at a price ofup to US$600 kg compared with alpacawool which is typically sold by the farmersat around US$2 per pound. This is amassive difference in price. Alpacas andllamas can, however, beAlpaca World Magazine Summer 2005 | 43

Feature Cushichaca TrustfCOURSES HELD JOINTLY WITH SENASADistrict Community Subject ParticipantsMen Women TotalUmamarca Villa Santa Rosa Animal Health 40 07 47Pomacocha Pomacocha Animal Health 23 16 39Pampachiri Pampachiri Animal Health 14 01 15Umamarca Villa Santa Rosa Charqui 07 18 25Pomacocha Pucaccasa Charqui 07 07 14Pampachiri Llamcama Charqui 11 02 13Pampachiri Choquecceuña Charqui 13 06 19TOTALS 115 57 172owned by individual families, whereasvicuñas belong to the Community. Thusgood community organisation is neededto manage this resource and to protectthem from furtive hunters attracted by thehigh prices. Many of the Districts withinthe project ambit have taken advantageof government programmes to establishlarge pens on the high punas in whichthey control a population of severalhundred animals. However, some of thesehave been subsequently abandoneddue to squabbles over money. Vicuñasliving inside the pens are also an easytarget for the hunters and also inbreedingcauses the deterioration of the qualityof the wool so the benefi ts of thesestructures are questionable.Peru has a total population of lessthan 4000 guanacos, of which thelargest concentration of just over 1000animals is found in Ayacucho. This is ananimal close to extinction within Peruand since the sub species found herediffers from that in Argentina it is ananimal that needs protecting. Cusichacabelieves that to have a viable populationof guanacos alongside a wild populationof vicuñas and the domestic alpacas andllamas would provide an important localtourist attraction and is working towardsthis end.Project ActivitiesRelating to CamelidsCusichaca staff have carried out a varietyof activities relating to camelids as partof the animal and pasture managementprogrammes.A census of alpacas has beenundertaken (see table above).For the past two years Cusichacahas been working alongside otherorganisations such as the BelgianCooperation and PRA to look for marketsfor alpaca wool. In 2003 local familiesworking with Cusichaca managed to selltheir wool at a price of US$2per poundcompared with a typical price of justUS$0.40 per pound.During 2004 practical training wasoffered in two key aspects relating tothe quality and marketing of the wool.Firstly the Belgian Cooperation arrangedfor specialists in wool shearing fromHuancavelica and Junin to visit theproject area. Good quality shearingincreases the price at which the woolcan be sold. Once the wool had beencollected together in store houses otherspecialists in wool classifi cation weresent from Arequipa. The price of the woolvaries according to its quality. Practicalcourses on this subject were organised infour communities, benefi ting seventy-fi vealpaca breeders.COURSES ON ALPACA WOOLCLASSIFICATIONCommunity BeneficiariesPulperia (Umamarca) 20Titayhua (Pomacocha) 16Hueccopampa (Larcay) 11Pampachiri 28TOTAL 75A total of 2650 Kgs of wool weregathered together, classifi ed and sold,benefi ting a total of sixty-two families.To enable the wool to be sold moreeasily a centralised store centre is beingbuilt and implemented in the communityof Hueccopampa in Larcay. There is roadaccess to this village.An agreement was signed withSenasa-Andahuaylas and along withthem Cusichaca staff have held jointcourses on the subject of animal healthand the preparation of dried alpaca meat(Charqui).In order to improve the quality ofthe animals Cusichaca staff have alsoorganised sessions during which alpacabreeders exchange reproductive males.An exchange of experience was organisedfor twenty-seven farmers from the Chicha-Soras valley. They were taken to Puno tovisit alpaca farms to see the methodsbeing adopted there. Such exercisesstimulate interest and generate long termbenefi ts as the breeders begin to adoptalternative methods of farming.One of the major risks facing alpacabreeders is the climate. More frequentlycold snaps in July and August areresulting in snow falls which cover thepasture and cause the deaths of largenumbers of animals, including alpacas.Cusichaca has been building improvedcorrals with roofs to provide shelteredareas. These structures help alleviatethe worst effects of exposure at nightwhich often kills many young animals.To date twenty-four corrals have beenconstructed. Additionally staff are lookinginto ways of storing pasture in safe areas,to be used to feed the animals during thecritical days.CONSTRUCTION OF IMPROVEDCORRALSDistrictNo. of CorralsUmamarca 5Pomacocha 3Soras 3Pampachiri 6Larcay 4Sañayca 3TOTAL 24Most project activities are directedtowards alpacas due to the fact that theseanimals are vital for the well being of thefamilies living in high altitude villages.However, Cusichaca has been doing somework relating to vicuñas and guanacos also.Within the pens constructed forvicuñas there is often only limited wateravailable. Cusichaca has been buildingdrinking troughs for these animals. A totalof forty have been built to date, twenty inPampachiri and twenty in Sañayca.Cusichaca also runs programmesrelating to nature conservation and thepromotion of ecotourism. As part of theseprogrammes a study has been undertakenon the possibility of reintroducing guanacosto the project area. At the same timecoordinations are underway with Inrenaconcerning the possibility of declaring partof the project area a protected zone. Thepresence of guanacos would undoubtedlyenhance the value of this proposal. Someof the local authorities, most notablyin Soras are highly supportive of theseactivities. Funding is actively being soughtfor these projects.For the FutureCusichaca still has two more years offunding from the European Union and TheCommunity Fund to continue to implementthe integrated rural development project inthe Chicha-Soras and Sondondo valleys.Staff will continue to offer training to thealpaca breeders and will hope to ensurea guaranteed market for both alpacawool and meat. More work will be doneon pasture management and on how tomanage the risks of harsh climate changes.Once funding has been assuredCusichaca will also embark on theprogramme to reintroduce guanacos intothe project zone.Promotional materials will also bedeveloped to publicise tourist circuitswithin the Chicha-Soras and Sondondovalleys. The presence of large wild anddomestic populations of Camelids will beone of the attractions emphasised in thesepublications.How to contact usFor further information or to offer funding and supportfor our work The Cusichaca Trust can be contactedin the UK through the Director, Dr. Ann Kendalleannkendall@hotmail.com or in Peru through the PeruProject Manager, Douglas Walsh at: douglasahwalsh@hotmail.com44 | Alpaca World Magazine Summer 2005

Alpaca World Magazine Summer 2005 | 45

The Mighty MiteOne of the more insidious parasites to affl ict camelids has to bethe mite most inappropriately named considering the havoc it canwreak with its host. Of the three types of mite being referred toin this article, only one is considered host specifi c to llamas andalpacas and that is the sarcoptes scabei.This mite spends its entire life cycle in the skin of the host. After theadult mites copulate on the skin’s surface the fertilised female then burrowsinto the skin depositing eggs as she tunnels along. Males and unfertilisedfemales may also burrow or they may follow the tunnels of the fertilefemale. Within three to eight days the eggs hatch and the larvae migrate tothe surface of the skin and mature through the nymph stagebecoming adults in four to six days. Within seven tofourteen days the entire life cycle is completed.While the mites themselves are not visibleto the naked eye the animal will displayoutward signs of the affl iction. Theseinclude hyperemia, papules andpustules that become encrustedand can cause the skin tothicken. An intense itchingis present that can result inself-mutilation leading to asecondary bacterial infectionwith subsequent discharge.Lesions are primarily foundbetween the toes, on the limbs,medial thighs, ventral abdomenchest, axilla and perineum of thefemale and the prepuce of the male.The sarcoptes scabei is found whereverllamas and their relatives are found and isdiagnosed with the fi nding of sarcoptic miteson skin scrapings. The most effective treatment isIvermectin at 0.2 mg/kg (1cc per 110 Ibs) given subcutaneouslyat ten-day intervals.Chorioptes sp. while it is found worldwide is rarely reported in llamasand alpacas. Its lifestyle is essentially the sama as Sarcoptes scabei exceptthese mites do not burrow but live their entire lifecycle on the surface ofthe skin. Signs of this affl iction are mild itching and hair loss with skinencrustations present. Lesions appear between the toes, on the hind legs,particularly the stifl e region, the ventral abdomen, axilla and the ear tips.Chorioptic infestations do not produce the skin thickening common withsarcoptic mange. This too is diagnosed with the fi nding of chorioptic miteson skin scrapings. Numerous topicals are available for treatment withDMSO/Ivermectin (10gms:lml) combination applied topically to lesionshaving been effective.Psortoptes sp. also does not appear to be host specifi c. With this parasiteits entire life cycle is completed on the host. Eggs are deposited on the skin atthe edge of the lesions and there they hatch in one to three days, as long asthe eggs remain in contact with the skin. If they become separated from theskin, perhaps by crusts, hatching can take one to two days longer. If detachedfrom the body along with the fi bre the eggs will either hatch in ten days orthey will die. The larval stage lasts for two to three days during which time thelarvae feed. They then migrate to the surface of the skin and mature throughthe nymph stage, which takes a further three to four days. The adult mitescopulate soon after maturation. The female mite lives for thirty to forty dayslaying roughly fi ve eggs per day. The life cycle may be as short as ten days butit is usually around three weeks.The primary sign of the presence of Psoroptes mange in llamasand alpacas has been head shaking and the presenceof a waxy exudate in the ears. A further sign is alack of co-ordination. Diagnosis is made whenear mites are found on ear swabs. As withSarcoptes Scabei the most effectivetreatment for Psoroptes mange is SubQIvomec administered subcutaneouslyplus two drops ivermectin diluted insaline instilled within each ear. Itmust be SubQ to stay in the systemlong enough as oral Ivomec willnot be effective. The recommendedmethod is a dosage of 0.2 mg/kg(1cc per 110 Ibs) given on day oneand again ten days later to get thenext generation. To be sure, a thirddose can be give ten days after that. Theimportant thing is to inoculate all animals,including cria, on the same schedule. If thebreeder is not using this ten-day schedule atleast once a year there can be no guarantee that themites are not thriving on the animals.Gail Vance of Dovecote Llamas & Alpacas in Qyama, BritishColumbia has fi rst hand experience in dealing with mites: ‘We were checkingour weanling cria very closely (one boy was really infected). There were novisible signs on the others. We gave our entire herd a dose of Ivomec and tendays later a second dose. Within days of the second shot we began to noticepink bald patches on a number of the weanlings’ feet... .fi bre was growingback in. These weanlings had mites and the evidence became visible onlyafter two shots of Ivomec. There was no evidence before the shot..the miteswere gone and the fi bre was coming back in.’Each of these varieties of mites can be spread by physical contact butcommon rolling pits, dung piles, grooming tools, blankets or even clothing froman infected farm can spread them. Off-farm breedings or visiting studs, publicevents such as fairs or shows would also be perfect sites for the spreading orcontracting of these parasites. The mite is not something to be taken lightly.This article was fi rst published in the International Camelid Quarterly46 | Alpaca World Magazine Summer 2005

CARRS BILLINGTONAGRICULTURE LTDCAMELID CARE COARSE MIXOutstanding amongst our competitors, Carrs CamelidCare Coarse Mix has been specifically designed to fillthe gap between Alpaca’s and Llama’s nutritionalrequirements and the knowndeficiencies in U.K. forages.Our customers reportreduced incidence of skinlesions, improved conceptionrates and generally goodoverall herd health.For more information on this and other Camelid Careproducts, or details of your local supplier,contact Ian Powley on 01900 824105.Alpaca World Magazine Summer 2005 | 47

This article by Marty McGee is meant to help youtransport your alpaca wherever you may be heading, ascomfortably as possible and with a minimum of drama.LOADING UPMOVING OUTEarly in the morning on clinic days as Iwander around organising my equipmentand preparing for the weekend I watch asthe animals arrive. I have seen alpacas arrive fortheir weekend with me in all manner of vehiclesand in varying states of mind. It could be that myanimal student was loaded the morning of theclinic and is experiencing motorised travel for thefi rst time in his life. Other students are problemanimals that are diffi cult to work with and mayvery well be diffi cult to halter, lead and load. Theprocess of getting to the clinic could have beenunpleasant for both the alpaca and his person.I believe that travelling for an alpaca is muchmore frightening than we probably realise. Froman alpaca’s point of view, getting in a small boxand jumping out into a totally new environmentmust be pretty weird. There is nothing in theirlives that would prepare them for the sensationsinvolved in travelling in a trailer or van. There areways to ease an alpaca’s fear and reduce thestress of travel without investing an unrealisticamount of time. First of all, just because youralpaca will fi t in it doesn’t mean the conveyanceis appropriate. A feeling of safety and securityis very important to an animal under new andfrightening circumstances. The back seat of a Volvomay be great for the kids but is probably not theway to bring your fi rst alpaca home. Ideally you arehauling your alpaca in something he can standin (even if he must keep his head down whenstanding). The good news for us humans is that it isnatural for most alpacas to lie down when they aretravelling. However, when an alpaca is lying downhe has a small area on which to balance and littleopportunity to create a stable platform. Nature hasnot designed an alpaca for balancing while lyingdown in a moving vehicle. You can help your alpacarelax more fully while travelling if you consider theissue of balance as you plan for his trip.Uneven fl ooring, wide expanses of fl at areaand of course movement all pose problems for analpaca trying to keep his balance. Orienting youralpaca at an angle to the line of travel will help.Using hay bales or partitions to orient the way youralpacas position themselves will guide them intolying down in a way that contributes to their abilityto balance as well as giving them something tolean against.Unnecessary noise and sudden movements willall contribute to a feeling of anxiety. Wrap metalparts that clank and bang with cloth or duct tapeand drive with an awareness of your passenger,brake gently and early and take corners slowly andsmoothly. In order to imagine what it would be likethe fi rst few times your alpaca is transported, thinkof yourself being hustled into a new carnival ride– a roller coaster for example. Now imagine ridingit for several hours! Ideally your alpaca’s fi rst trip isgoing to be a very short one up the driveway andback home. First impressions are really important.Your alpaca will learn to relax while travelling if hisfi rst few excursions are short and sweet.Comfort is obviously important when it comesto your alpaca’s attitude about travelling. Densepadding is probably the most important factorthat will contribute to a comfortable ride. Youralpaca’s legs and under belly are designed torest on the ground for long periods howeverunder normal circumstances the ground wouldn’tbounce and shift nor would your alpaca be deniedthe opportunity to stand up and shift around. Inaddition many trailer fl oors are much harder thanthe ground. Thickness is not the same as shockabsorption. Density is much more important. Atwo-inch dense rubber mat will provide more in theway of comfort than a ten-inch piece of non-densefoam. What ever you use in your conveyance alongwith any ramps or steps the surface should providegood footing even when wet. An old piece of carpetthrown on top of some dense rubber matting worksgreat. Wind is another factor to consider. Askingyour alpaca to endure four hours of a fi fty mile perhour wind in his face is a bit much. A windscreenis a fairly easy addition to most conveyances. Windblowing around inside an open sided stock traileris a very good reason to avoid bedding with hay orstraw. Chaff blowing around inside a trailer is nogood for fl eece or your animal’s eyes.Your alpaca will do his level best not to go pottyin a van or trailer so visit the dung pile before youload. Otherwise your alpacas may spend hours indiscomfort trying not to go to the bathroom. Beforeleaving home pick up a bit of poop in a smallairtight container and take it with you. That waywhen you stop at a rest stop you can off load youralpacas open up the poop container and the urgeto go will hit.Alpacas feel safer with another alpaca around.When possible take at least two animals. If you aredelivering an alpaca to a new home and you haveroom, take three and bring two back. Ideally onewill be an experienced traveller and can transmithis calm attitude to his more inexperiencedtravelling companions.Your alpaca will be using new muscles to keephis balance while travelling and might very well besore the next day. If your are travelling to a showit might be smart and kind to take a nice walkto help loosen up the kinks before settling youralpaca into his small show stall.Many people feel it is safer to leave a halter onthe alpaca during transport. If you decide to leavea halter on, it is very important to make sure that itfi ts properly. A properly fi tting halter is one that iscomfortable and doesn’t interfere with your alpaca’sability to ruminate and eat. A properly fi tting halterfi ts well up on the nose bone and has enough slackin the nose band so that your alpaca can easilymove his jaw enough to both eat and ruminate.In an ideal world we would all have time totrain each alpaca to understand how to step upinto their particular chariot. Reality is that thereare lots of times when the travel day arrives andthe alpaca has never seen the inside of a trailer.There are several ways to approach loading anovice; techniques that make it much easier forall concerned. If possible, physically organise theloading process so that you can herd the animalin to the conveyance by exerting loading pressurefrom behind the alpaca rather than trying to pullhim in from the front. Back your vehicle up to thebarn or pasture opening. Create an aisle way thatleads into the vehicle if you can and then herdthe alpaca from the back. Creative use of panels48 | Alpaca World Magazine Summer 2005

will compensate for a lack of help. Most alpacaswould rather not get in a confi ned space witha human and will load much better if they canget into the trailer by themselves. Look at yourwatch and be willing to wait 10–15 minutes. Youwould have used that much time haltering a wildinexperienced alpaca and dragging and fi ghtinghim into the trailer anyway. Time is a funny thing itseems to go by faster when you are busy fi ghtingthan when you are waiting quietly for your alpacato fi gure out that the thing you want him to climbinto is a safe bet. It will help immensely to loadtwo or three animals together. An inexperiencedalpaca will gladly jump in a vehicle with anotheralpaca that knows how to do it. Then you canoff load the ones you don’t need. Alpacas arevery agile and can fi gure out how to climb intosmall spaces if they can think and act on theirown. Attach a lead rope and you complicate theprocess fi ve hundred percent.Trying to pull the alpaca in from the head isalmost certainly going to take longer and mayresult in injury. The tendency of an animal whenpulled from the front is to either lie down … (youhave now just taught your alpaca to lie downinstead of load) or to throw all the weight to therear quarters and balance on the lead rope. Whenyour alpaca is physically organised in this way itis not possible for him to jump forward. His onlyphysical option is to rear up and back, against thelead. If you are quick, you may be able to pull himforward into the vehicle when he is balanced onhis two rear legs. This is not particularly safe foryou or your alpaca and is a very scary way for youralpaca to fi nd himself in a strange container. Trythis physical test yourself. Hold on to the end of alead rope and lean back against pressure providedby a second person. Instruct your helper to keepsteady pressure on your hands and then try tojump forward while you have your weight againstthe rope. You will fi nd this to be next to impossible.This is exactly the position we put our alpacas inwhen we try to pull them into a trailer.If you fi nd yourself loading a reluctant alpaca byleading him in from the front, try this; fi rst work yourway close to the trailer or van. Get inside, gettingas far into the vehicle and as far away from theanimal as you can. Use your lead rope only to keepthe animal’s nose and attention oriented towardthe vehicle. Aside from insisting that your alpacalooks directly at the vehicle in question, offer NOpressure on the head. No pressure means that thehook attached to the halter is dangling freely. Oftenhandlers don’t think they are pulling on the headwhen in fact they are. Look at the hook attached tothe halter. If the hook is not pointing at the groundyou have not taken all pressure off of the lead rope.If the alpaca tries to back up set your hand andresist. Tell him with your hand, ‘I am not going topull you into the trailer but … no backing up!’ Whenthe alpaca tries to back up use intermittent signalson the lead rope and do your best to transfer theanimals weight from the rear end back to the frontend. As soon as possible, put slack in the lineagain and check that hook to make sure you arenot putting any pressure on the lead! Look at yourwatch and wait a full two minutes before giving anysignals to the head. BE QUIET. Your alpaca needstime and quiet to think about the trailer. Everytime you let loose with Come on Teddy Come on,Come on you can do it. Come on Come on Comeon Come on Come on Come on. Load up Come onCome on Come on. You can do it. Come on Comeon Come on Come on its okay... you distract youralpaca from the issue at hand. Be totally quiet.Each time you give a signal on the lead you distractyour alpaca from inspecting the trailer and makingthe decision to try getting in. Just be still and quietand look at your watch.Each time the alpaca takes a step forward yourtimer is reset and you must wait a full two minutesbefore giving signals on the lead. Alpacas hate avacuum and they are very uncomfortable standingstill and doing nothing. Your alpaca wants to move.As long as you don’t let your animal either leanbackwards on the lead or back away from thevehicle he will move, and the only way is forwardinto the vehicle. I have used this method whenloading animals when it is time to go home and itworks very reliably and quickly. I have very seldomwaited more than 5-10 minutes for an alpaca tofi gure out how to load himself not very long whenyou think about it. Using this technique ratherthan picking your animal up will make subsequentloading a breeze. Your 15 minute investment willgive your alpaca a chance to actually fi gure outhow to load.When you have the luxury of time to teach youralpaca to load before the day he will actually betravelling, think of your trailer or van as just a newand different kind of obstacle. Plan how you wouldwork your way up to it. Trailers or vans are simplysomething scary to walk under, and something scaryto step up on. Work up to loading by walking youralpaca over and under other natural obstacles in theoutdoors. Accepting something low overhead seemsto be one of the most diffi cult aspects of loadingin a van. Walking under low hanging branches isa very good way to get your alpaca accustomedto having something over his head. Jumping overlogs or deadfall outside is easier for most alpacasthan human made obstacles and serves as goodpractice for jumping into the back of a van or a stepup trailer. A big log under some branches does avery good job of teaching your alpaca how to get thehang of the jump and duck manoeuvre.When it comes to homemade obstacles themost useful ones are those that can be takenapart and made easier. Low jumps leading tohigher jumps, platforms that can begin on theground before being raised off of the ground allowyou address challenges incrementally rather thanall at once. Pulling your alpaca over an obstaclemay get him across but it will also compromisethe trust he will feel for you, his handler. Better tomake the obstacle easier and work back up to thesticking point. All of these obstacles will pave theway for loading in a vehicle.Alpaca World Magazine Summer 2005 | 49

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