How enviroment can influence the fleece -GIFT example 2

We are looking at how much the first fleece can change over the period of time, which can reflect in the micron range of the fleece stats. Remember, when we are looking at histograms, we are looking at any point of time.We are looking at Alpaca "K"" for this purpose, who was born 30/12/06. If we look at Graph 1 we can see the point of birth, and all the influences that can change over the period of time that has been tested.

This is her first fleece, and pre and post natal influences does affect the fleece.

The fleece that you are seeing at that point of time, is influenced by 6 weeks prior, so in other words, under the skin, what enviromental influences you are seeing at that point, is from 6 weeks ago, which is how long it takes that fibre from the point of conception to the time it erupts through the skin is 6 weeks.

Again as we look through Graph 1, we can see the point of weaning, the stress Kasarni experienced through being weaned, which is very normal, and then the slight increase, being the spring flush, and then how she settles down after being weaned, and she is getting quite happy being now apart from mum, and also the beginning of summer as we see the nutritional intake is going down again as the grass dries out, and less nutrition in the grass.

Sheep farmers use these graphs to see how their farm is going, as if all the graphs of each sheep is the same, then any changes over the years, reflects the environmental influence on the fleece because maybe a bad or good year.

But if one graph is different to the rest, then it reflects, something is going on in that one sheep, maybe stressed, or suffering something that has not yet been picked up.

This is a vital tool for the breeder and farmer.

So if we go to graph 2, which is the first fleece test, and again, we can see how this is only part of the picture, as we can see in graph 3.

If we measure the points that the ODFA 2000 has picked up along the length of the fleece to come to the final fleece stats, we can see that the average of all the points is 19.2.

But if we just test the fleece 2 months later, on 27/10/07, on graph 3, we can see that there were other influences along the fleece, that affects the outcome of the micron.

as you can see graph 1 is the line graph from graph 3, and we have picked up 14 points along the graph, which brings the micron down to 18.9.

Interestingly, on year 2, we see a different picture, although i do not have a graph to show this, but i do have the statics which are.

Mic 16.9 SD 2.9 CV 17.1 Comf Fact 100 sp fineness 15.9 for a full years growth on her 2nd fleece.

So we now do not have the mothers influence on the fleece, here, Kasarni had settled down to being away from her dam, and her fleece reflects a different picture.

i would also like to note in this example, that the spin fineness in 2007 was 16.7, which is reflected again in the 2008 fleece.

I would also like to point out in Graph 2 and graph 3, different information was picked up.

so for instance graph 3 has picked up a little more information that graph 2.

Also in the 2008 fleece, her along fibre SD, was .9, which means along the length of the fleece, the micron range was only .9 difference, which reflects that this alpaca is a high quality female, as the environment is not affecting her nutritional intake, which also means that each fibre in the bundle is taking up a more even amount of nutrition, that the average alpaca, and that is also reflected in her SD 2.9.

I hope I have explained this so you can understand.

After being more heavily involved in GIFT, although i had a good understanding of reading histograms, i can pick up so much more now, which helps me to breed better fleeces, and helps people that i am associated with to understand breeding a lot more, which ultimately will assist them in making more precise breeding decisions, because of their fleece results and understanding these statics better.

GIFT has given me a great breeding tool.

My breeding experiences

I would like to say in my own experience, of selective breeding for a particular trait, although only a personal research but over a period that extends longer than 12 years, and on a herd size of 200+ alpacas in that time.The significant gains we made from average breeding females, has been immense, where i can honestly say we do earn a good income from our fleeces each year.We have also been approached from a number of fibre collection points for our fibre. almost a 1/4 of our clip going towards the ultra fine bale, and some also to the Super fine bale.Many year ago, in my own observation and studies i decided to breed very differently to the trend at the time.I identified in my breeding plan to aim for the lowest SD i could breed for,looking for the SD of the males (although a simplified personal research) compared to some other breeders at the time, we have improved our fleeces, from probably below average to above average in not only fleece weights but also fineness, and low SD, and reduced variation across bundle and across body of fleece.As we have three to four generations now of this study, i can use as an example.Stefano, (i only have fibre states of Stefano at an age greater than 12 yes of age), the following stats were taken when he was approx 15 yrs old, Mic 21.70 SD 4.3 CV 19.9 Comf Fact 96.3 spin fine 20.9 then his son, Olympic dream, 18.7 4.2 22.5 98.8to a granddaughter of Stefano, 19.23 4.24 22 98.5the result with a magnificent fleece14.6 2.8 18.9 100 14this is just one example of the lines i have kept records on.I would also like to add, that i was also breeding for a certain look and body type of an alpaca, so although fleece traits was main objective, i was not compromising any physical assets.But as we fined our herd up through observing SD, the fleece changes, and becomes so uniform over the whole body of the alpaca, that our 1sts every time, without fail, when weighed was 2/3rds of the total fleece, compared to unimproved dams, which would only be 1/2 of the total clip.Fleece weights are between 5-6 kgs per 12 m th growth, good fleece length, our heaviest to date is 7 kgs, with our progeny average out 14 micron, and our finest being 12.6 micron with SD always in low to mid 3's, with our lowest being 2.6 SD.As the fleeces fined up, increased fleece weights were experienced, including the highest lustre, and handle, resulting with all progeny coming in at 100% comfort factor. with low blow out with age.Through a conversation with Paul, and explaining what we have been looking for with our breeding, he then mentioned, that a similar method can be tested for, and that is when we discovered GIFT.I can see how GIFT can give my breeding program even more advancement, as it has highlighted to me, that although i have been breeding for low SD, i was not aware that i was also lowering my Along Fibre variation", and the importance of this.We have some animals that only vary .5 mic, along the length of the fleece, whilst i have seen reports of some varying up to 5 or microns along the fibre.I see this as an important factor to also take into mind for breeding, and to start breeding for.For an example, if we look at the Ultra Fine Bale which paid out $AUS60 a kilo last year.Because this bale has to be exact, to gain the high prices, some fleeces may only attract 500 grams towards this bale, and purely to simplify things for this example, so there were 20 breeders who contribute for the ultra fine bale.Once completed, 5 core samples are taken from the bale, and if any part of each core sample has a breaking point, then the whole bale is rejected, and so is 20 breeders income, that could have been earned from this bale.The other thing that GIFT has taught me, how important the Between Fibre SD is, and reducing the variance of nutritional intake on fibres standing beside each other has a huge bearing on low variance of micron between fibres in a bundle, which ultimately extends across the fleece.Although we were seeing these results, i was not totally aware of what i was experiencing.I have since introduced the GIFT breeding technology to a few friends, and they are quite impressed with the information the reports give them. As we take the environmental factors out, we can see what the real SD is displaying, and sometimes, this can be a finer SD, and sometimes it can be higher, than you see in a normal histogram.So not everyone are going to be happy.I think also, what GIFT does do, is highlight what we should be breeding for.When we all went into this industry, we were all told Alpacas produced the finest fibre, but when we all got our alpacas, they were not breeding fine.Many breeders over the years, are breeding and they do get advancements in their fleece, but really have no aim for what the end product will be.By identifying the end product, as supplying an Ultra Fine Bale, for example, gives breeders direction on what they should be breeding for, and how to achieve this in the shortest way.I would also like to say that in Australia, we are often referring to the Merino and sheep industries.I think the main reason for this, is as they say for many years Australia rode on the sheep's back.But also, we have seen over the years, the sheep f;fleece industry, go off breeding in many different directions, and in only a few generations on these trends the sheep breeders then would;d realise they went down the wrong path.It took them many more generations and often after culling to correct their breeding.Australian alpaca breeders, take note of the mistakes that the sheep breeders took, and try to avoid the same mistakes.When my husband and i started in the industry we were in our mid 30's, now in our mid 50's, although i have a daughter who is a full time alpaca breeder, and who we will hand our herd to, b but still in the same instance, looking at others at the same stage of life.making a wrong breeding decision, can take years to correct. Our working life do not have those years to waste with these wrong breeding decisions.Using a tool, that is affordable, and everyone has access to, i believe, is an asset to those who use it.I read in one of the posts, querying the amount of samples, etc.There has been a DVD published to show how the test is actually done, and the assets of the testing, which can be obtained through Paul, in this DVD you can see the fibre being tested, and instead of the normal measurements being taken every 5mm, there are over 10, 000 measurements taken every 1mm.If you want more sample spots Gift does not restrict you to just 3, the more samples per alpaca can give you more of an idea if that is what you want to test for, I know the cost of 3 samples spots and the report is $35.00, so i would guess that 3 others spots on an animal would be also approx the same price.You would have to confirm this with Paul.Paul says also that for those that use the Skin follicle testing, Gift could also be used to assist any breeding decisions.Above all, i believe GIFT will be a valuable tool for those new into the industry, as it gives them guidance on the traits each alpaca needs for improvement, and what to look for in a male to go over that alpaca.on the site i mentioned in an earlier post, there are some more samples of alpacas to show how in depth the individual report is.I hear Paul also has put some sample reports on his site as well.I was a t a show in the USA just recently, and i was speaking to a breeder who said to me, that her fleeces have a soft handle, but she cannot seem to fine up her herd.She has been breeding for low CV. But when i told her to look for lowering her SD she was really surprised.The above is only my experience, and i can see that GIFT is a breeding tool, to assist the breeder in making the right breeding dicisions.

How can you increase Fibre Density-Alpaca Fleece

fibredensity
if you concentrate on the proper aspects of breeding you will gain this.
click on this link to read this explaination by Paul Vallely
Genetic Improvement Fibre Technology

Been A while

We have been to many shows over the past few weeks, all seem to be a minimum of 3 days.

We had three vet students here for two weeks, and a hectic time.

This is a friend who took an alpaca into the show ring at the Royal Melbourne Show. English Rose has arrived in Belgium, at Yvonne Steinlet, from ALPACALANDGOED.
I have seen pictures from her farm, and she has a beautiful farm, (right), her farm looks like parkland. Both Yvonne and I have just found out that Primera has had a white Female girl, we are both pleased, and glad that it is a girl. This means that Primera can now start her testing, and hopefully both Primera and cria will be in Belgium very soon. Yvonne is looking forward to seeing them both. I hear Lady Titicata is doing well in Uk, and will be mated to CZAR who is on ANZAC alpaca stud in the UK. Dominic Lane owns ANZAC alpaca stud, and loves it in England. His farm has oodles of feed, and is not that far from London.We have been busy with Quarntines, one for New Zealand, and still the Canadian Quarantine is doing well. As the weather is warming up for us, we are starting to hand trim the alpacas for Canada. We have had a very cold winter, and so it has not been disreable to shear the alpacas earlier. But i hear they will be going to snow, and most likely temperatures of -20 degrees, which we never experience here. We have been advised to leave leags, underbelly, head and tail fleece on, as this will help them keep wamr, and are the most exposed places when they are kushing in the snow. We need to bring their fleece back a bit, as these alpacas mainly coming from NSW, have over 12 months fleece on them. In NSW, they will have most of their alpacas shorn by now, in fact they shear more likely before the end of August, where in Melbourne, we will shear more like November, and still we will have days we have to watch the alpacas do not get too cold, with the sudden cold change, brought on by heavy rains. We need to trim the fleece down to approx 2 inches long, this way, we have enough fleece on them to help them keep warm when they arrive in Vancouver, before their 3 day long journey to Winnipeg Beach, Manitoba. But they will have also less fleece for when they go into the shipping crates, and they will be more comfortable. I hear that there is much excitement for the alpacas to arrive in Canada. The picture above is of Elyse trimming one of the alpacas, and you can see how much fleece we have trimmed off. This fleece that we are trimming is too short now for processing. This is a picture of the fleece of one of the alpacas. I trimmed one of the larger alpacas, which took 4 hours, and now i have blisters over my fingers from th scissors, so i have to rest them while the blisters hear before i can trim again. ELyse also has some blisters on her hands, she has now trimmed 6 alpacas, a few more to go. We have also completed screening for the uk, of 9 alpacas. this procedure was over a two day period. This week proves a hectic week also. I am still completing the paperwork for both shipments, working around plane flights etc. There is a lot of planning when organising shipments, and it has to be just right. I take pride in our exports.

Before i go, I wish Yvonne and her husband, from ALPACALANDGOED Alpaca Stud in Belgium, lots of luck with her alpacas, now 4 female alpacas, and look forard to a long and happy business relationship.

Farm Chores

We have now 5 vet students to help s clean the quarantine, learning quarantine procuedures.
Todat they weighed some weanlings, wormed and innoculated for Vit D, and 5 in 1.
Frosted Rose, had a abcess on her Jaw.
The vet was up anyway, sho he treated this, and showed the vet students how to clean this out.
The weather has been extremely cold, and windy.
Heaps of rain, so the herd has been moved to the safe paddocks on the lower part of the farm, where the wind just goes over the hill.
Fibre samples were taken, to be sent off to the fleece testing.
We will take more fibre samples tomorrow. OUr average fibre test for the progeny has been 15 microns, over 100 weanlings, that is not a bad average.
Vallon De Oro' is producing a superb density, lustre, and evenness with fineness.
I have been trying to finalise all my paperwork for the end of the financial year.
must go now, just updating my webpage
www.mariahhillalpaca.homestead.com/mariahhillalpaca.html

Alpaca Farm Duties

There is a lot to do on an alpaca farm, we have over 400 alpacas on our farm, and winter is close by.

At the moment we are weaning babies off their mums, this happens when they are roughly 5 months old.

Some of the mums really put into the crias, and the crias are blooming, grown well, heaps of fleece, and very rounded.

These crias have drained a lot of goodness off the dams, as the dams have out all their energies into providing a great milk source for their offspring.

We need to seive through the herd, and identify these dams, so they can be put into a paddock with less competition, so they can put the weight on, so they are less affected if we get super cold weather.

With over 100 babies born so far, this job does take a few days to do, as the dams are weighed, innoculated with 5 in 1, wormed, etc.

Crias also identified, and body scored, also wormed, and given 5 in 1.

It is a very stressful time for these crias and dams, and the dams do not like to have their babies taken from them.

Babies cry for a few days, but it is easier to wean in large groups, as they do comfort each other.

We also assess the fleece qualities, and work out which ones we will show this year.

It is very hard, because there is so many we want to show.

But we have a van to transport them to the shows, and you only have a limit to how many you can take, and have time to halter train.

Babies are now all weaned, and dams are in a rested paddock, so they can put on weight very quickly. the end of another day, doing farm duties

Raelene still have many hours left tonight completing the book work.