Selecting Foundation Stock
There is nothing more important than the selection of your first foundation female alpacas, and no one will know exactly what you need better than you yourself will. That being said, I encourage you to visit as many farms as you possibly can squeeze into your hectic schedule before you buy one single alpaca! Get your hands on animals, get to know what a straight topline actually feels like, what straight legs and proper carriage is all about. Watch an animal that catches your eye walk aroun... read full article
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Managing Your Herd Through Facilities Planning
Originally published in International Camelid Quarterly.
Introduction
As with so many elements of alpaca breeding, there is no one correct way to properly house and manage one’s alpaca herd. However, proper planning for pasturing and housing of your alpacas is one of the single most important elements in assuring their health and well-being. The greater the forethought given to planning barn and paddock layout and integration of pastures to these, the lower will be the stress factor in d... read full article
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Maximizing the Profit from Your Annual Fiber Harvest
It’s shearing day. Do those three words make you want to click your heels together three times and find you have missed the day entirely, or is it the most important day of your year? After all, as a fiber producer, shearing day is harvest day! As an apprentice fiber sorter, my goal is to work with other fiber producers to make shearing day not only a much-awaited event but also one from which fiber producers can actually count on extracting the maximum value-added from the wonderful fleece o... read full article
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