..::The Quality Route to Breeding::..
If you wish to take a quicker route to create a successful alpaca stud than that outlined in Beginning Breeding on a Budget, you will obviously need to be prepared to invest more funds in your fledgling business than those who choose the slower method of "breeding up" the quality of their alpacas. We term this the “money vs time” equation. (If you spend more you will get a return earlier, but if you start small and work to a plan you will still end up with top quality alpacas, it will just take a bit longer). You will need to determine how much you wish to invest in your alpaca venture, and decide whether you would rather invest in a few highly priced animals, or pay slightly less per animal and have a slightly larger starter herd. Another consideration will be whether you wish to purchase a stud male or prefer to utilise the variety of very high-class studs available by paying higher stud fees should be another consideration.
Good quality females are usually priced from $6000 to $10,000 - if they have a female cria at foot expect to pay in excess of $10,000 for the package. High quality females generally exceed $10,000 and with a female cria at foot may reach $20,000 or more.
Evaluations:
Unlike those who choose the "budget" path, whose goal is to simply build a base herd by purchasing healthy reproductive animals, you will need to be much more selective as regards conformation and fleece quality. Don't fall into the trap of assuming a higher price means better quality: do your homework to ensure you are receiving value for money. The Alpaca Place will help you with a formal written evaluation of each breeding alpaca you are considering purchasing. This will help you to understand why the alpacas are priced the way they are, and give you a comparison between lower priced and higher priced stock. This evaluation is invaluable to those not yet experienced in identifying the desirable qualities in alpacas and is offered free as part of our “Customer Connection”.
Learn What to Look For
Before you buy, spend time learning what makes a good alpaca. There is some data and rules-of-thumb that can help you, but generally speaking exposure to good quality alpacas over a period of time is the best way to learn to appreciate the outstanding from the good, the average, the mediocre and the poor. Attend alpaca shows (these are held in conjunction with most major A&P Shows), and make the effort to talk to exhibitors - often a jubilant winner will be more than happy to discuss their animals good points. Join the Alpaca Association and study their literature - including breeders’ advertisements - and take part in any alpaca activities in your area and further afield. Visit existing stud farms, learn to understand histograms (a graphical report showing how the wool is scientifically measured). Learn the Alpaca Association written standard describing the "ideal" alpaca. Translating the written word to the living alpaca isn't easy, and the perfect alpaca doesn't exist, but it will all help with your goal of learning to identify quality animals. Talk to us about fleece quality – we will show you samples of various fleece types and qualities. Get involved in our shearing days – we will teach you how to skirt and grade fleeces for sale – another “Customer Connection” from The Alpaca Place.
Reproductive Ability
You will be looking for females in the peak of their reproductive ability, with at least 1 cria on the ground (proof of breeding quality and mothering ability. The ideal age is between 4 and 8 years, but there is room for flexibility here! Fleece statistics will vary with age, but she should have a dense fleece with good crimp and soft "handle". Early statistics are not always available, but if they are, they should have been shearing in the low 20's micron up to 2 or 3 years of age, and the longer they have held low micron the better.
Health is Important
You will be looking for females that do not exhibit undesirable inheritable (genetic) conditions: be aware however, that not exhibiting does not mean your female does not carry the genetic code for these conditions , but it does mean you will have a reduced risk of anything undesirable occurring in your herd. The Alpaca Place offers a free pre-purchase vet check for all adult breeding alpacas sold for $4000+GST or more. This health check offers our customers the security of a knowledgeable third party confirming the health of the alpaca being purchased. Another Customer Connection!
Use “Improver” Stud Males
The quality of your successive generations will not only depend on the quality of your female, but the quality of the stud she is mated to. You will be looking at female already pregnant to a high quality or premium stud, and your future choices of matings for that girl are all important. With a small herd of above average or quality females, you may be better served by paying stud fees than purchasing a quality male of your own who will then be under-utilised in relation to his purchase price. Once again, a high stud fee is not a guarantee of quality, but you would not expect a premium stud to be cheap! Have a look at all your options before making a selection: if your female has any weakness, you will want the stud you choose to be strong in that area, but don't over-compensate: for example if you have a female with a long neck, choose a stud with excellent length of neck, not one that is over-short.
Phenotype and Genotype
We firmly believe that your stock should be based around both phenotype (what they look like) AND genotype (their pedigree, or bloodlines). If you have stock with recognised bloodlines and great visual qualities you can rely on these alpacas to produce quality offspring that will be in demand. There is some information on our website regarding “names you should know” when purchasing stock, and we are happy to discuss this further with you if it captures your interest. Give us a call !
See Choosing a Stud Male.
