- When Doug and I first started Forest Glen Alpacas we were faced with the same question many farms face, how do we get people to come to our farm? As with most farms getting started our budget was very small and we had very limited knowledge of where to get the answers. So the advice of those who sold us our first animals became very important. After all what worked for them should work for us right? What worked for us was a combination of their advice and our own intuition as you will see. more »
- An alpaca evaluation sheet. more »
- When times are tough and they donʼt get much tougher than today, how can we develop a marketing programme that will allow us to communicate to our target market, develop relationships with these targets and successfully develop our alpaca business. The alpaca market has always been competitive. We all have to compete not just against other alpaca breeders but also against other livestock and farming options and alternative investment strategies. How can we identify those groups we are most likely to sell to and then develop effective and ongoing communication mechanisms to ensure that not only our business is successful but also that our clientsʼ businesses are successful. This is essential if we want to develop repeat business. Breeders are in the alpaca industry for a variety of reasons: lifestyle, income generation, advancing the breed are but a few reasons. By focusing your alpaca venture and developing both marketing and sales strategies, this will enable you to have the greatest number of options in achieving your alpaca goals. more »
- Alpaca reproduction is a complicated business. Unlike other farm animal species, the use of artificial insemination and other assisted reproductive techniques poses a great challenge for veterinarians working with these animals. And the gestation period is a lengthy 11 months. How then, can a breeder reproduce multiple crias from the most valuable animals in a relatively short period? Through embryo transfer, a technique now being perfected by the reproduction specialists at The Ohio State University Veterinary Medical Center. more »
- Embryo transfer offers great advantages to South American camelid farmers to reach their breeding goals but the technology still plays a relatively minor role in comparison to other domestic farm animals like cattle. The aim of the present study was to analyse a data set of 5547 single or multiple ovulation embryo transfers performed in commercial alpaca farms in Australia to determine the factors that influence number and quality of embryos produced, embryo transfer success (percentage of crias born) and gestation length following transfer. Logistic binary regression identified the variables day of flushing after mating, embryo diameter, embryo quality, day of transfer after GnRH, and the age of the recipient to have significant impact on the outcome measure embryo transfer success. Transfer of smaller embryos or lower quality embryos resulted in decreased transfer success rates. Optimal days for obtaining embryos from donors were Days 8 and 9 after mating, optimal days for transfer into recipients were Days 7 and 8 after GnRH treatment. Age (>15 years) and body condition of recipients more »