A Boyfriend for Madeline?
January 9th 2008 02:20
This Friday is beautiful Maddy’s birthday. We don’t generally celebrate the alpacas' birthdays, they’re not like the dogs who get presents and a party etc.
We have been looking around for a nice boy for Maddy though as now she's all grown up she'll want to have a cria of her own to look after. (I'd like her to have a cria of her own to look after too!)
Maddy’s a year old which is when many female alpacas are old enough to start breeding. Smaller framed girls or girls who haven’t grown so well, should be given longer before breeding them. We let the girls tell us. They often start tarting up and down along the fence waving their tails at the boys, that's a good sign and we start thinking about breeding. Maddy has done that a few times lately.
Problem is we only have one ‘working’ boy’ here at the moment and he’s Maddy’s dad, so not a good idea to use him. Some people line breed but I don’t know enough about all that to risk getting a cria with some horrible deformity, so I’ll leave that to others and find an unrelated boyfriend for her.
What to look for in an alpaca stud depends on what you’re hoping for in the cria. It’s a personal thing and different breeders go for different traits.
There are a couple of obvious things such as the animal being free of genetic defects and having correct confirmation. There is a certification process which the boys need to pass to get “stud sire” status with one of the major alpaca associations. Checking the boy against their criteria is a good way to see if the boy is up to scratch.
There are some qualities which vary between alpacas. For me, a good temperament is high up there. I have alpacas as a hobby, so they need to be personable. An alpaca who spits or screams at people, or runs away down the paddock isn’t much fun to have around.
I want my alpacas to have to have soft fleece. Commercial breeders want to get the most fleece of each animal that they can achieve. To me, the amount of fleece isn’t as important as the handle of it. I’d rather have a kilo of super soft fleece you just want to jump into, than five kilos of coarse, hairy stuff you could scrub pots with.
Some breeders just want white alpacas, so choose their stud males carefully to achieve a white cria. I like colours, so it's not so important what colour the male is. I don’t need to worry about what colour might come through from previous generations either. It makes it more fun when the cria arrives and you see what you've got. Every alpaca is beautiful, no matter what the colour.
There are a bunch of other considerations, such as the size of the alpaca, how uniform their fleece is, how much crimp they have, their facial appearance and eye colour all come into it.
So, off to find a friend for Maddy.
We have been looking around for a nice boy for Maddy though as now she's all grown up she'll want to have a cria of her own to look after. (I'd like her to have a cria of her own to look after too!)
Madeline - Looking for a boyfriend
Maddy’s a year old which is when many female alpacas are old enough to start breeding. Smaller framed girls or girls who haven’t grown so well, should be given longer before breeding them. We let the girls tell us. They often start tarting up and down along the fence waving their tails at the boys, that's a good sign and we start thinking about breeding. Maddy has done that a few times lately.
Problem is we only have one ‘working’ boy’ here at the moment and he’s Maddy’s dad, so not a good idea to use him. Some people line breed but I don’t know enough about all that to risk getting a cria with some horrible deformity, so I’ll leave that to others and find an unrelated boyfriend for her.
What to look for in an alpaca stud depends on what you’re hoping for in the cria. It’s a personal thing and different breeders go for different traits.
There are a couple of obvious things such as the animal being free of genetic defects and having correct confirmation. There is a certification process which the boys need to pass to get “stud sire” status with one of the major alpaca associations. Checking the boy against their criteria is a good way to see if the boy is up to scratch.
There are some qualities which vary between alpacas. For me, a good temperament is high up there. I have alpacas as a hobby, so they need to be personable. An alpaca who spits or screams at people, or runs away down the paddock isn’t much fun to have around.
I want my alpacas to have to have soft fleece. Commercial breeders want to get the most fleece of each animal that they can achieve. To me, the amount of fleece isn’t as important as the handle of it. I’d rather have a kilo of super soft fleece you just want to jump into, than five kilos of coarse, hairy stuff you could scrub pots with.
A lovely, soft alpaca fleece
Some breeders just want white alpacas, so choose their stud males carefully to achieve a white cria. I like colours, so it's not so important what colour the male is. I don’t need to worry about what colour might come through from previous generations either. It makes it more fun when the cria arrives and you see what you've got. Every alpaca is beautiful, no matter what the colour.
There are a bunch of other considerations, such as the size of the alpaca, how uniform their fleece is, how much crimp they have, their facial appearance and eye colour all come into it.
So, off to find a friend for Maddy.
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Comment by AmyHuang
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Comment by Rosemary
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I'd like a pretty special boy for Maddy, she's a stunning alpaca and her crias will be even better.
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Comment by Rosemary
Alpaca Notes - Tasmania
I think they're contented enough here. I try to make sure they have everything they need.
Some get sold, but I make sure their new people are nice people who will care for them properly before I'll let them go.