- For alpacas, as is the case with many fibre-producing species, the finest fibre is of the greatest value. It has been well established in many fibre-producing species that fibre diameter increases with increasing animal age; a phenomenon known as micron blowout. In addition, micron blowout can also be caused by over-nutrition, or by a combination of both factors. The results of this research confirm that micron blowout has a moderate genetic component in alpacas. Therefore, it may be possible for breeders to select animals that do not exhibit the trait (or do not exhibit it as strongly), thereby improving the yield of high quality fibre over the lifetime of an animal. more »
- Despite being widely used for long-term storage and dissemination of male genetic material in many species, semen cryopreservation and artificial insemination (AI) are not well-developed for camelids. The main reason for the delay in developing these technologies is the poor semen quality of camelids and the viscous nature of the seminal plasma, particularly in alpacas and llamas. An effective sperm cryopreservation and artificial insemination program would allow alpaca producers to cheaply and safely disseminate superior male genetics throughout the national herd and beyond. This report is aimed at all alpaca industry members and researchers in camelid reproduction and production. Alpaca farms are spread across Australia, but concentrated in the eastern states. All alpaca producers will find this report relevant. It will be of particular interest to those already incorporating assisted reproductive technologies (such as embryo transfer) into their husbandry or those wanting to increase the genetic diversity of their herd. more »
- The sustainable expansion of the Australian alpaca industry, predominantly a pasture based system, requires the development of a market for meat in addition to traditional fibre to improve commercial returns. Establishment of an alpaca meat industry will likely increase the demand for otherwise unprofitable animals and lead to genetic gains across the industry. For successful entrance into the competitive red meat market, it is important that key production traits common to red meat industries, such as beef and lamb, are taken into consideration to ensure the supply of a consistent quality product. However, there is a paucity of information on alpaca meat, especially in terms of carcass composition and yield, and the impact of gender and age on these traits. Producers and processors now have information which will assist in predicting the carcass yield and meat quality traits of alpacas of differing sex (female and castrated male) at three age periods (18, 24 and 36 months). This information will be beneficial to the on-farm and processing aspects of the alpaca meat supply chain. more »
- This project explored the production of therapeutic alpaca immunoglobulin products, as an alternative use of alpaca to fibre or meat production. A research herd of alpaca was hyperimmunised with various snake venoms, the immune response monitored and serum harvested for various purposes at different time periods. These results show that alpaca can be used for antivenom production as well as making antibodies for diagnostic tests. However, some barriers exist to full scale commercial production of antivenom using alpaca, including development of more effective antibody extraction methods. The field is open for commercialisation as the patent landscape search revealed no obstructions in Australia. This work is a continuation of research undertaken as part of a previous RIRDC project Alpaca immunoglobulins. more »
- This report documents the findings on the use of alpaca for producing a therapeutic immunoglobulin product (snake antivenom), for treating snake bite envenomation. Additional research regarding commercialisation opportunities is explored in the report Alpaca immunoglobulins: Phase 2 more »