Herdsires for breedings and sales
We have a small but select group of herdsires from which you can choose suitable partners
for your females.
All of our alpacas have been selected for their fleece qualities. Unlike many farms, we do
not focus primarily on fine micron counts, and we certainly don't focus on blue ribbons!
We are more interested in commercial fleece characteristics, particularly yield and
density. There are two main reasons for this:
- Fineness is relatively easy to breed into a line. Major gains can be achieved in
one generation, as opposed to some other traits that may take up to three generations
(about nine years!).
- A fine micron count is ephemeral. It is likely to last only for the alpaca's
first five or six years (less for a breeding female), as natural degeneration takes its
toll.
As we progress toward a national fiber industry, fiber producing farms will have to
concentrate more on the weight and less on fineness. Although a premium is paid for the
finer qualities, at the moment, fineness goes hand-in-hand with reduced shearing weight.
So there comes a point where the trade-off of lower weight eliminates the advantage of a
finer micron count.
In the short to medium term, the national clip is going to be made up predominantly of adult
grade fiber, and the markets we look for should reflect this.
Our boys are white or light fawn: again reflecting the most desirable traits for a
commercial market. Large scale processors do not want colored or multi-colored fleeces,
and we are not going to be able to build a national herd based on those animals. It will
be difficult enough to produce sufficient white fiber to keep a commercial mill going, let
alone enough, brown, black, gray, etc. Anyway - who wants to wear those colors all the time?
The fashion industry wants white fiber so that it can easily be dyed to whatever color
the season dictates.
So, if your interest in alpacas is driven by the future market for alpaca fleece, we have
herdsires who can contribute to the achievement of your breeding objectives.
Our herdsires
They both shear better than the national average, and have good fleece characteristics.
If I had to pick one, I would probably go for Ricco as his offspring have shown beautiful
fleece with great qualities and yield. But there again, Enrique has thrown consistently
beautiful crias (Diego and Rocco) with soft, luxurious fleece as well!
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