Talk:Alpaca
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[edit] Picture
Why is a picture of an aplaca's head more relevant to the background/history of alpacas than an alpaca statuette made by a civilization that dates from AD 100 to AD 800? Besides, the new picture it is being replaced by (of an alpaca's head) would be relevant anywhere, while a historical figurine is only relevent in the background section, no? Loggie (talk) 19:35, 9 May 2008 (UTC)
[edit] Opening paragraph
>>>It resembles a small llama in appearance.
Alpaca owners everywhere would appreciate your either deleting or elaborating upon this sentence. Facial differences, coat quality, tail location, and a myriad other differences make this statement by itself misleading/confusing.
128.193.70.138 (talk) 16:49, 9 August 2011 (UTC)dlneiman (talk) 06:15, 17 September 2008 (UTC)
[edit] How Tall are they?
I couldn't find how tall alpacas typically stand at the shoulder. The article tells us they're smaller than llamas, but that's not very precise. This is a pretty basic omission. Does anyone know? —MiguelMunoz (talk) 19:20, 2 January 2009 (UTC)
According to The Complete Alpaca Book by Eric Hoffman et al, ISBN 0-9721242-1-7 "The weight range in alpacas should be between 105 and 185 pounds (47.5 and 82 kg) and the withers height should range between 32 and 39 inches (81 and 9 cm.) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Electrum93 (talk • contribs) 17:15, 14 March 2009 (UTC)Electrum93 (talk) 17:20, 14 March 2009 (UTC)
[edit] "Similar to Wool"
I changed this sentence: "While similar to sheep’s wool in that it is a natural fiber..." Huh? Are there really some animals that grow artificial fibers? It seems the phrase was included to put a link to the natural fiber article, but I moved that link to the word "Natural" in the previous sentence. —MiguelMunoz (talk) 19:39, 3 January 2009 (UTC)
[edit] External Links
Please add the National Association, Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association (AOBA) link: www.AlpacaInfo.com
[edit] Alpaca meat
The article claims (and reverences a BBC article which does NOT provide support) that trading in Alpaca meat is illegal in Peru. I was what was advertised as Alpacca in Cousco last week - see menu here - http://www.inkawall.com/cuscoperu-en/0213-meat.html Does anyone have any more accurate information? Tsh (talk) 21:13, 21 April 2010 (UTC)
Alpaca meat trading is NOT ilegal in Peru. As a matter of fact, it is offered in gourmet restaurants in Lima, Cuzco and elsewhere It is pretty tasty too.Apneamd (talk) 00:38, 25 November 2010 (UTC)
Alpaca meat is sold at grocery stores, such as Wong http://www.flickr.com/photos/30415576@N04/2850325124/ Apneamd (talk) 00:41, 25 November 2010 (UTC)
[edit] Diet
Wait, why are they talking about chewing on stuff in they diet section? Shouldn't chewing on stuff be in the "behavioral" section? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.132.221.227 (talk) 18:28, 11 May 2010 (UTC)
[edit] Edit request from 142.165.58.91, 26 August 2010
{{subst:editsemiprotected}} Alpaca fibre comes in 22 natural colors, according to S. American standards.
142.165.58.91 (talk) 21:13, 26 August 2010 (UTC)
Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. sonia♫ 22:32, 26 August 2010 (UTC)
[edit] Edit request from Nummertolv, 6 October 2010
{{edit semi-protected}} The closest relative to the Alpaca is the Guanaco, a wild, hoofed mammal of the camel family and a Lama guanicoe, found on arid plains in the Andes Mts. mostly in the southern part of Peru. It is about 3 1/2 ft (105 cm) high at the shoulder, with a long neck; it is brown on the back and sides, with light underparts and a dark face. Regarded by some authorities as the ancestor of the domestic llama and alpaca, the guanaco is not domesticated. Their fibre is finer as that of the alpaca, but not yet as fine of is closest relative, the Vicuna. Nummertolv (talk) 11:16, 6 October 2010 (UTC)
Not done: please be more specific about what needs to be changed...the Edit Request Template states:
- This template may only be used when followed by a specific description of the request, that is, specific text that should be removed and a verbatim copy of the text that should replace it. "Please change X" is not acceptable and will be rejected; the request must be of the form "please change X to Y". Shearonink (talk) 16:05, 6 October 2010 (UTC)
- The assertion that the "closest relative to the Alpaca is the Guanaco" is not supported by the available evidence - see Alpaca#History of the scientific name. If you wish to add assertions like this to the article, you should cite references that plausibly support the argument - opinion alone is not enough. Frankly, I don't think such references exist. Andreclos (talk) 01:57, 9 October 2010 (UTC)
[edit] Edit request from PhilBennetts, 25 October 2010
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Breeding Coloured Alpacas The common goals most breeders of this fantastic animal share, is to breed an alpaca that is fit for function and carries as much fine fibre as possible. Breeding for black is no exception. However, we still know little about breeding up the quality of a coloured alpaca that has, until very recently, rarely been selectively bred. I feel that in order to visualise where we are going with black alpacas, we need to look back and explore the history of coloured alpacas in the UK. I think then we will be able to understand where the coloured stock has come from and why they are the quality they are. In the early 1990’s two large imports arrived in the UK from Chile. These imports contained a significant number of black females and some black males. At the time of these importations, Chile had a population of approximately 200,000 alpacas, fairly evenly distributed in most colours. The lack of a large textile processing facility in Chile meant that Chilean alpaca owners were not been able to sell their fibre for a significant sum and therefore there was no incentive to selectively breed up and improve the productivity and predictability of their alpacas. This meant that nearly all alpacas in Chile had been used by family groups for fibre, hide, fuel and meat. Even today it is common to see a family herd of alpacas, ranging in all colours, running alongside and sometimes breeding with llamas. It was only when a shipment of alpacas left Chile bound for Australia and the USA that some of the Chilean breeders recognised an opportunity to begin breeding up the quality of their alpacas in order to entice the ‘Gringos’ to buy their stock. In fact over the last ten years we have seen an increase in the quality of alpacas both in family groups and in cooperatives in Chile as a result a little more predictability has come in to their stock. The alpacas that formed the basis of the black population here in the UK were very variable in style and quality. Some alpacas were black with white faces, some had white socks. The fleece characteristics also varied, some were approaching 40 microns with a 13cm staple and cut 3kg of fleece, others were as fine as 20 microns with a 5cm staple and cut 0.5kg of fleece.
When I came to England in 2002 I was presented with a national herd of black alpacas that was predominately Chilean coupled with a small number of sires from more developed alpaca industries. It was the starting point on which to begin breeding black alpacas with the aim of improving quality in the same way that the Peruvians, Australians and Americans had done with white and fawn alpacas. It was a massive challenge. We were starting 15 years behind the white and fawn breeders and there was a lot of catching up to do! The first objective I set for my herd of black alpacas was to address and correct the lack of colour predictability. It is extremely common to see black females running around the paddock with a brown or fawn cria at foot (Fig 1). Alpacas The reasons for this are that unlike the whites and fawns the foundation stock that we have here in the UK has not been bred to the same colour for enough generations in order to fix the colour genetically. My breeding program is set so that I only cover black females with black males. Some people might say that using this breeding strategy it will take longer to breed the quality into the black stock. I have to agree but I think that the resulting black herd will be more predictable in the colour of its progeny and the fleeces produced will be less likely to have colour contamination. We are extremely lucky as a few elite black sires rivalling any in the world for quality are now available for black breeders in the UK. By using these sires we not only are improving the quality of our blacks but also the colour at a genetic level.File:Http://www.smallholder-agriculture.co.uk/banners/articles/timhayes/FIG-1-Web.jpg The second goal I set for Inca was to improve and set good conformation in my herd. By collating and analysing data of all conformational traits I could then begin to breed selectively. This would enable me to breed out undesirable traits and breed in good conformational characteristics. I found that the following traits had relatively high heritability values: - Head type - Leg angulation - Jaw Alignment - Proportion - Bone weight - Fertility Identifying these traits helped me to understand first hand just how important it was to choose a herd sire that was 100% correct in its conformation and style in order to maximise the health and value of the herd. I found that it was nonviable to sacrifice conformation for improved fleece traits. Initially I used a sire that had a fine fleece, with a medium weight frame. The alternative at the time was a sire with a heavy frame, good fibre coverage but a very coarse fleece. This is the trend that seems to be similar the world over. Historically black alpacas have basically come in two models: Type 1: Heavy frame well covered in fleece which is coarse but grows a good staple length. (Fig 2) File:Http://www.smallholder-agriculture.co.uk/banners/articles/timhayes/FIG-2-Web.jpg Or Type 2: Light frame, poorly covered in a fleece which is fine but that only grows a short staple length.
There are, however, exceptions but they are very rare! I guess that these two types of black alpacas have descended in this form from the vicuna and the guanaco. All I knew was that somehow I had to combine these two types and breed an alpaca that not only had a heavy frame that I could hang a heavy fleece on but would also grow a fine fleece with high density and length. So what fleece traits did I see in these two types of alpacas?
- High brightness - Long staple length - Poor to average handle - Frequent colour contamination (white fibre) - Low to medium density [[1]] Type 2: (Fig 5) - Low to average brightness - Short to medium staple length - Good to excellent handle - Low level of colour contamination (white fibre) - Low to medium density [[2]] The third goal I set for the herd was to begin to understand how fleece traits were inherited and expressed in the alpacas I was breeding. I set out the following fibre traits that I felt were of great importance for my herd: Overall fineness Density (the use of skin biopsy analysis is a useful tool for assessing density) Staple length Colour Brightness Fine primary fibre - reducing guard hair Uniformity When I started in alpacas we were all told that in order to breed up the quality of the alpaca we needed to select a herd sire that would improve the traits that our alpacas were lacking. For example if I had a female with a light frame, poor fibre coverage, low density but fine fleece, the advice was to mate her to a sire that had a heavy well covered frame with higher density, even if the male had a coarse fleece. The idea behind this theory was to breed the desirable traits into the female one or two at a time. This was the way that many people in Australia bred their alpacas and they found that it did improve the next generation. At the same time, however, they discovered that they also introduced huge genetic diversity into their herds making the quality of progeny very difficult to predict. Breeders using this method struggled to improve the productivity and quality in their herds. I was lucky enough not to adapt this breeding system for my herd of blacks. Instead I decided to find a herd sire that was as close to my perfect black alpaca as possible and use this male over every black female that I owned. I have continued to use this policy for the last five generations. My thinking has lead me to believe that if I keep using sires that are very similar in conformation and fleece type each year then after 5 generations I should have a herd of females that mirror the five herd sires that have made them. One of the most valuable pieces of advice I feel I can give to new alpaca breeders is to identify the sire that best represents their ideal alpaca and as long as it has proven to pass on the quality to its progeny use it over as many of their females as possible. Even if the service fee is high and you have to drive many miles to get a stud service the rewards you will receive from using top herd sires will make it all worthwhile. A wise breeder of stud stock once told me that ‘the best is always cheap’. Some people may ask ‘well what if the male I like has no progeny on the ground’? My answer to this question is to ascertain whether or not the sire in question has parents that are similar in style (conformation and fleece characteristics). I have nearly always found that if a young sire has parents that are of the same quality and type, then the young male usually produces uniform progeny of similar quality. If the sire that you are looking for has no progeny or the parents cannot be viewed then my advice is to wait until the sire has cria on the ground so that they can be assessed and use a current proven sire in the meantime. This method will give you as breeders the lowest risk of producing low value progeny. I feel very privileged and proud to be part of an industry that allows me to improve a breed through the actions and decisions Tracey and I make. Breeding black alpacas is not easy and there are many disappointing moments, particularly when a fawn head is showing at birthing! However, when a black cria arrives and then grows into a fabulous weanling, all the sacrifices that have been made in order to provide correct nutrition and husbandry coupled together with well thought out breeding decisions are truly worth it. (Fig 6) Herd Sires selected at Inca http://www.smallholder-agriculture.co.uk/banners/articles/timhayes/FIG-6b-Web.jpg http://www.smallholder-agriculture.co.uk/banners/articles/timhayes/FIG-6a-Web.jpg http://www.smallholder-agriculture.co.uk/banners/articles/timhayes/FIG-6c-Web.jpg Supplied by the Alpaca Directory Alpaca Directory Article Written by Tim Hey Inca Alpaca |
PhilBennetts (talk) 10:26, 25 October 2010 (UTC)
- This post looks more suitable for an Alpaca breeders discussion forum than Wikipedia. Andreclos (talk) 11:33, 25 October 2010 (UTC)
- Not done: As above. It more suited as an essay than an encyclopedia article. Thanks, Stickee (talk) 12:43, 25 October 2010 (UTC)
[edit] Alpaca are not slaughtered for their fiber
Alpaca are sheered periodically not "slaughtered for their fiber" as the article describes —Preceding unsigned comment added by Apneamd (talk • contribs) 00:43, 25 November 2010 (UTC)
Hi: In general, the comment is quite true. Alpacas are much less likely to want human contact than llamas. However, with special training (see for example, http://www.owning-alpaca.com/alpaca-training.html) they can be trained to tolerate handling. In extremis, alpaca males excessively handled as cria can imprint on humans to the point of becoming 'berserk males' as adults.
128.193.70.138 (talk) 16:54, 9 August 2011 (UTC)dlneiman
[edit] Edit request from Anuj.Kumar.Aggarwal, 22 May 2011
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I would like to add information to the Alpaca page about its use as a Mascot by the World Scholar's Cup: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Scholar%27s_Cup I believe it is relevant and possibly useful to some.
Information about use as a mascot: The World Scholar's Cup (<--hyperlink) currently uses an Alpaca as a mascot to its competition. The Alpaca is shown on every resource guide and logo distributed by the World Scholar's Cup. The Alpaca was chosen as a mascot during a vote amongst students, where the alpaca won by majority.
I hope you put this edit into the alpaca page as once again, I believe it is relevant and useful
Thank You Anuj.Kumar.Aggarwal (talk) 11:29, 22 May 2011 (UTC)
- ✗ Not done Addition is of unclear significance and is unreferenced. Feezo (send a signal | watch the sky) 13:33, 22 May 2011 (UTC)
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