Alpaca Speak
Terms used around the barn
accoyo: the Peruvian ranch of the world-famous alpaca breeder, Don Julio Barreda; imported animals that originated on his ranch carry this name.
agist: board alpacas at a ranch; used originally of the feeding of cattle in the king's forests, and collecting the money for the same.
blanket: prime fleece on the main body of the animal; best quality for spinning
breed back: a breeding with any herdsire from the ranch from which a pregnant female is purchased, following her delivery; offered in contracts as a three-in-one deal.
brightness [of fleece]: the quality of alpaca fiber that reflects light
camelid: mammal family to which the alpaca belongs; also includes camel, llama, vicuna, and guanaco
colostrum: the initial rich milk produced by a new mother soon after delivery; vital to stimulate immunities in the newborn
conformation: the appropriate alignment of the alpaca's body structure in proportion to the whole animal
cria: (CRE-A) an unweaned camelid baby; from old Spanish word for "create."
crimp: the wavy crinkle of fiber strands from a Huacaya alpaca
cush: upright resting position, sitting with all legs tucked under; similar to a cat
dam: female parent
Density: how tightly packed together the individual fibers of a fleece are.
fiber: the product of shearing an alpaca; interchangeable with 'fleece;' never referred to as 'fur' or 'wool.'
fighting teeth: the tiny sharp teeth that grow mid-jaw in adult alpacas; males use them to render other males in the herd impotent. These teeth are filed down in a managed herd situation.
alpaca fleece: the fiber of an alpaca; lanolin-free. Huacaya fiber is crimpy, while fleece of the Suri alpaca is silken.
gelding: a castrated male
guard hair: the longer, medulated single hairs interspersed with the finer fiber on a huacaya alpaca or llama
guanaco: the rarest relative of the alpaca, native to the Andes
hembra: adult female alpaca
herdsire: adult male alpaca used for breeding
huacaya (wah-KI-yah): one of two types of alpaca, with thick, fluffy fleece suggesting the 'teddy bear' look
humming: the most common audio communication between alpacas; a melodic, purring sound that indicates nervous attention, as a mom calling to her cria, or an adult separted from the herd.
husbandry: the watchful care and intervention by humans to the herd for optimal health maintenance; vaccinations, toe-nail trimming, nutrition, protection, etc.
ideal alpaca: perfect in every sense of conformation — proportional body, straight legs, dense fleece, overall coverage, crimpy fiber, presence and stature, aligned teeth.
improved alpaca: the overall look of the animal is balanced and typey
induced ovulator: the female is stimulated by the breeding process to release an egg for fertilization; cats are also induced ovulators, different from a female cycle that the male then responds to.
junior herdsire: intact young adult male alpaca, not mature for breeding
llama: larger cousin of the alpaca.
lock: Long twisted strands of Suri fiber
luster: a bright shine on a Suri's silky fiber
macho: adult male alpaca
maiden: young adult female, not yet bred
medulated fiber: the thicker, hollow-shaft fiber that sometimes populates the fleece and sticks out beyond the finer, crimped fleece of a Huacaya
micron: one-millionth of a meter; referring to the width of single fiber of alpaca fleece
micron count: the average of measurements within a fiber sample
orgling: a sound a male sings to the female during breeding
orchard grass: low-protein grasses either growing in the pasture or baled as hay; not alfalfa
pasture breeding: placing a male in a pasture with females in a to breed 'at will'
pen breeding: purposefully placing one male and one female in a pen together with the intention of breeding
PPPeruvian: the 3 "p's" indicate the third Peruvian import of alpacas into the US
primitive alpaca: an alpaca whose overall conformation and structure is out of symmetry
pronk: romping, playing and prancing behavior, especially between young animals
proven: an animal, either male or female, who has successfully parented an offspring
retained CL: "corpus lutum" = yellow body, referring to the casing of the unfertilized egg. When not shed by the body (i.e., retained), hormones may still respond, thus giving a "false pregnancy" reading when spit-testing (see below).
roving: fiber that has been cleaned, carded into strips ready for spinning
ruminant: having multiple stomachs - digestive system
shearing: the annual clipping of the fleece off of the alpaca
show ring: events sponsored by by national and regional organizations to judge the quality of animals; show divisions are by type, fleece color, age and gender
sire: male parent
spinning: making yarn from fleece, by adding twist to the strands — using a spinning wheel or a drop spindle —
spit test: bringing a bred female to a mature male. If she 'spits him off, she may be pregnant – this is a primitive pregnancy test. And needs to be repeated for several weeks
suri : one of two types of alpacas, marked by silky fleece that hangs in long, curled pencil 'dreadlocks'
unproven: an animal that has not yet been bred; if female, has never been pregnant; if male, he has not yet impregnated a female; no offspring has been born
vicuña: smaller cousin of the alpaca and llama with even softer fleece; native to the Andes of South America but not allowed for export.
vicuña coloring: red-brown above with cream under neck, belly and insides of legs; referred to in Huacaya alpacas that probably carry vicuña genes.
weanling: a newly weaned alpaca, usually at least six months old but less than one year.
Friday, April 14, 2017