[Alpacasite] Amniotic Fluid

On Sat Nov 26, 2005, Nancy Ogan wrote in "Showing Juveniles without
removal of amniotic cria fleece":

> Being new to the business I was interested in breeders thoughts
> around showing juveniles this spring whose amniotic cria fleece
> has not been removed.

My response won't answer your question directly, but instead will
deal with the premise.

Being new, someone has given you wrong information about the tips on
alpaca fleece. It has nothing to do with amniotic fluid! We have
discussed this several times in the past, but the myth persists.
Not only does it *NOT* bleach the fiber, but the fluid is acidic.

Below are some previous messages.

Ken Madl
Aviana Farms

------------------------

Subject: Amniotic fluid bleaches fiber?
Date: Tue Feb 17, 2004
From: <GenesisAlpacas@a...>
To: Alpacasite@yahoogroups.com

Hi folks,

I can't tell you how many times over the past five years I've heard
folks say that amniotic fluid bleaches fiber, and that this is why
the cria tips are lighter than what grows next. Where did this
notion come from?

I know I'm really sticking my neck out here, but is there really any
science or truth behind this? What substance exactly, in the fluid,
would you suppose is responsible for bleaching fiber, and why would
this fluid not hurt the fetus as he drinks it and opens his eyes in
it? (Ian, you made my point so much more eloquently). Amniotic
fluid has got to be one of the most neutral environments possible.

Could it possibly be that the cria tips are light colored and
"velcro-like" because of the stage of maturation those folllicles
are in? A follicle can change the type and color of fiber it
produces based on the age of the mammal. Look at how your newborn's
down becomes your 14 year old son's peach fuzz "mustache" becomes
his stiff beard 10 years later, and how the color changes!

Okay, I'm challenging someone to prove to me that amniotic fluid
bleaches alpaca fiber. Sounds like a good science fair experiment,
except I don't know how you keep a bath of amniotic fluid from
spoiling long enough to "bleach" the fiber (a month or two??)

Good naturedly stirring the pot,

Alise
Alise & John Schmitt
Genesis Alpacas

=======================================

Subject: RE: Amniotic fluid bleaches fiber?
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004
From: Elizabeth Paul <erehwonalpacas@hotmail.com>
To: kenneth.madl@prodigy.net

Ken yes, well said Alise, I have been wondering when someone would
refute this idea that the amniotic fluid, as a protective bath in
which the baby grows and develops, and does indeed swallow in the
last stages of pregnancy, is acid/burns/bleaches/destroys fibre and
so on. If amniotic fluid was destructive enough to be able to damage
hair fibre (which is remarkably tough stuff) what then would it have
already done to the soft tissues of the baby????

Regards ElizP

=======================================

Subject: Re: [Alpacasite] Amniotic fluid bleaches fiber?
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004
From: Kenneth E. Madl <kenneth.madl@prodigy.net>
To: Alpacasite@yahoogroups.com

On Tue Feb 17, 2004, Alise Schmitt <GenesisAlpacas@aol.com> wrote:

> I can't tell you how many times over the past five years I've
> heard folks say that amniotic fluid bleaches fiber, and that
> this is why the cria tips are lighter than what grows next.
> Where did this notion come from?

In 1998, someone dreamed this up as a way of explaining why their
black alpacas weren't solid black, and it caught on. There has been
absolutely *NO* scientific evidence to indicate this takes place.
(This replaced a previous theory which I commented on back then:
"Usually, these tips are referred to by some people as "sun
bleached", even when the animals are born in the Pacific Northwest
during the Winter and never see the sun.")

If amniotic fluid bleaching was actually happening, why don't *ALL*
black alpacas have brown tips when they are born?

Ken Madl
Aviana Farms

=======================================

Subject: Amniotic Fluid vs.Fiber
Date: Wed Feb 18, 2004
From: Shouvlins <bluebirdhills@v...>
To: Alpacasite@yahoogroups.com

Hello Again,

Hate to say it folks, but we are all forgetting one very obvious
reason why amniotic fluid is not a factor in bleaching fiber in
utero. Remember the epidermal membrane, that extra covering we
sometimes have to strip off the cria? It completely encloses the
outer surface of the cria for the last months of gestation, before
and after the fetus develops hair. It keeps the amniotic fluid from
coming into contact with the cria's skin and only allows it to
contact the mucus membranes of the nose and mouth, the toe coronets
and footpad, the vulva or prepuce, ears, eyelids, and anus.

Laurel

Tim & Laurel Shouvlin
Bluebird Hills Farm
Springfield, Ohio 45503

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