Syke House Alpacas
About the Alpaca
The Alpaca Centre
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| Pre purchase considerations Conformation Most alpacas are of the Huacaya type, ideally a stocky animal with closely crimped dense fleece. Far less alpacas are of the Suri type, a more rangy animal with a lank silky fibre which parts along the spine and hangs down the sides in loose ringlets. Suri fleece is superior to Huacaya and much prized by designers, but the Suri gene is recessive and not easy to capture. It is possible to get a Suri calf from a pair of Huacaya and the reverse is also true. All but a few alpaca in Britain are Huacaya. An alpaca should look alert, strong and quietly confident. The feet should be directly under the knees and hocks and point forward. The size of the bone on the shin is an indication of the size of the bones throughout the skeleton. Alpacas should live and breed for 15 years or more for which they need to be strong. The back should be flat between withers and hips. The hips have a somewhat exaggerated 'crouch' compared to a llama or a horse - they are built to turn and flee rather than carry weights. The hind feet in an alpaca at rest can be well underneath the body. Also in an alpaca at rest, there is a slight slope from hips to root of the neck - about one inch. When an alpaca stands alert, the back will be level, the hind feet under the hips and tail carried low and close to the body; when alarmed, the tail is held out. What to buy Buy what you can afford and use the services of the best males you can find. A good male can make a vast difference to the offspring of mediocre females. You will pay more for better and younger females but you will be starting half way up the quality ladder. With the possible exception of white, all colours are of equal value. Just now, the fashion industry is demanding natural colours and only alpaca can provide the full range. White is needed in greater quantity because it can be dyed to provide other colours. The important thing about colour is that is should be consistent throughout the fleece - a black fleece should be black with no brown shading or white hairs, equally a white fleece should be white throughout. The closeness of crimp is an indication of fineness of the fibre. Look for a dense fleece. A small animal with a dense fleece may provide more fibre per year than a big animal with an open fleece. Selective breeding should ideally produce large alpacas with dense, fine fleece. |
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