RE: [AlpacaTalk] Another writer question
Marie:
Some of your questions have answers we all agree on, and others will get you
many opinions. Here are mine:
1. Alpacas have breedings like dogs and cats, not artificial
insemination like cattle. That's because female alpacas are induced
ovulators, i.e., the act of intercourse causes them to ovulate. Perhaps
another reader will tell you all about how the boy sings to the girl the
whole time they are mating (20-45 minutes) and she sings back (well, some
do). So farms with girls often pay for herdsire services.
2. Crias are left in the pasture with their mom. Some people leave
both in the big girls pasture, while others separate them out. A lot
depends on how many paddocks (pastures) the farm has to work with.
3. Crias are supposed to be born head-first. On rare occasion breech
births occur.
4. "Shaving" - we call it shearing, and we do it once a year. Some
people also shear a new-born cria ("cria-tipping"
5. When shearing most of us use professional shearers. Some people
shear their own. Either way you must be gentle with the animal, make sure
they don't get nicked by the shears, and usually we do their toenails and
other similar maintenance on them at the same time.
6. No computer programs to tell you what to breed to whom.
7. Colors are unpredictable. There are 22 (?) recognized colors of
alpacas, and breeding any two together can get you different colors.
However, breeding two of the same color (two whites, two blacks, for
instance) gives you a better chance of getting that color. But two blacks
bred together can get you brown, grey, fawn, etc.
8. Most of us feed our alpacas once a day or less. Some people spend
hours each day with their alpacas, others spend 5 minutes every other day.
On our farm we typically spend about 20 minutes each morning with our girls
and babies, 5 minutes with our young boys, and 10 minutes every other day
with our fiber boys (they are in a distant pasture we lease from someone
else). That doesn't include the time we or our farmhand spend raking their
droppings ("poop-scooping"
well socialized and come running when they see us. They each know their
name, and each will each from our hands or the hands of visitors. (Some
people do not allow visitors to feed their animals for bio-security
reasons.)
I hope this helps. I'm sure you will get many other answers posted and
privately.
Don Stanwyck
Carnation, WA
From: AlpacaTalk@yahoogro
Behalf Of CapeCodCat@aol.
Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2008 5:31 AM
To: Alpacasite@yahoogro
Cc: AlpacaTalk@yahoogro
Subject: [AlpacaTalk] Another writer question
Ok it's me .. the writer.
Remember, if the question seems stupid, it's because it probably is.
I have cats. Not alpacas, except in my story, and I'm trying to portray
alpacas and alpaca owners in a good light, and as natural and realistic as
possible within the confines of the story.
In the beginning of the story, her husband gets some alpacas thinking they
are easy money. Mary initially struggles with these 'things' that she has to
feed and muck and chase around the field and she doesn't like these "things"
that he bought before he died in a car crash.
Then..... she falls in love.. with them. Those adorable alpacas.
Ok.. now she's ready to turn professional. It is love, but she also wants
to breed them, and create great wool, through breeding and nutrition.
What does she she need to learn?
Do you have breeding like cats and dogs? (in other words, do you pay the
sire a fee?) Do you have to keep the sire in a separate field from the
"girls"? Do you have frozen semen like dairy cow farms?
All those creas, do you have a nursery pasture.
Birthing. Do the creas come head first?
Ok. that shaving stuff. When do you do it? And what do you need to watch
out for?
Do you have computer programs for deciding breeding?
Are there color issues? (I know in some cats, two colors mixed get an
entirely different offspring color)
Any suggestions would be great!
I know I horrified one reader when I tried to feed the alpacas in my story,
in a minimal way. (I asked if someone who is depressed, could just feed
them once a day.) She was ready to drive down and have an alpaca
intervention
and take my alpacas away. I explained I could "fix" my alpaca owner with a
few key strokes. So again if I've said something horrifying, remember I'm
not torturing any alpacas except in my imagination and lack of experience.
I'm asking questions so in the final version, she transforms into a
responsibly loving and in love with her alpacas farmer.
Best to you,
Marie (http://postcardsfro
,
************
Read reviews on AOL Autos.
(http://autos.
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posted by Chaddo at 6:36 AM
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