Hi Wendy,
If his conformation and fiber are exceptional, then his “blue grey eyes” are not a problem as he’s not deaf. So long as you know how you will use him in your breeding program, you are not wrong to do so. I would not breed him to a white animal or a girl with a lot of white spots, (for instance for wristlets or sox and a white throat,) but neither would I automatically figure he’s going to have to be a gelding. He might be just the thing to cover a solid fawn or black animal or a good bayblack or brown female with lovely fiber. He might be a great asset in someone else’s breeding program as well if he is as good as you say he is.
All alpacas have a rectangular pupil just like goats do, so that is not unusual in itself.
We have a female gray alpaca here who has blue eyes….she is also a color champion and an important part of our breeding program because of her absolutely wonderful fleece. She is 5 now, her fleeces still win ribbons and are below 24 microns, 19 CV, and has had 2 lovely female crias with dark eyes for us. She just had a charcoal gray boy with deep blue/gray eyes…but the fiber is WONDERFUL and the conformation and bite are just fine at the moment, so I will probably show him this fall…he’s an unusual color fiber wise and I’m wondering where they will place him color wise.
BEW is a big scary thing in alpacas mostly because a lot of the alpaca folks have never bred livestock or petstock before coming to this industry. In other animals….when you breed two dilute grays together you sometimes get a BEW type situation…but not except in abour 1 of 4…so when the breeding is a good one, you just might take the chance. If you get an exceptional and rare “bi-blue” animal, then GREAT! You may also get one “defective” one in the litter as well. It is just something that happens…the animals are not removed from the breeding program, the world does not judge you badly for the sad event…etc.
Cats, dogs, hamsters, guinea pigs, some swine, occasional horses, all have a “similar” type genetic event in their genetic backgrounds. I don’t know whether that is true in sheep and goats, but it may be there as well.
Don’t be pushed by folks who do not know much but fear about genetics!
Allison
Allison E. Moss-Fritch
New Moon Alpacas
Santa Clara, CA
http://www.newmoonalpacas.com
408/248-3581
From: AlpacaTalk@yahoogroups.com [mailto:AlpacaTalk@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Wendy Edwards
Sent: Saturday, June 20, 2009 9:40 PM
To: AlpacaTalk@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [AlpacaTalk] BEW
hi - last year i had a white male born here - his eyes aren't bright blue as i've seen in some BEW but are an odd color, like a dark bluish-gray - they look different in different lights and are hard to describe - but his pupil appears to be rectangular,and from what i understand, this is a characteristic of BEW. - when he was born his nose and lips were bright pink and i wonder if that was an indication of something genetically out of balance.
i read everything i can about BEW as it is a concern to me, but most articles are written in language that is confusing to me as i'm not a scientist - this boy would be in the show ring except for the color of his eyes. - luckily he has exquisite fibre, a very sweet personality and is not deaf. He will be trained as a therapy / companion animal.
i'm having my boy gelded after fly season - and i won't be breeding his parents together again, even though both have dark eyes, well-known bloodlines and no history of BEW that i can find. I am very careful when breeding, and do a lot of research on the different bloodlines - it is really disappointing to know that no matter how careful i am, there are some things beyond my control.
