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Accoyo: the Peruvian ranch of the world-famous alpaca breeder, Don Julio Barreda; imported animals that orignated on his ranch carry this name. agist: to board alpacas at a farm altiplano: the foothills of the Andes moutains in Peru, Chile, and Bolivia 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 [see IgG] conformation: the appropriate alignment of the alpaca's body structure in proportion to the whole animal cria: an unweaned camelid baby; from old Spanish word for "create." crimp: the wavy crinkle of fiber strands from a Huacaya alpaca [see photo of fleece below] cush: upright resting position, sitting with all legs tucked under; sometimes spelled 'kush.' A female ready for breeding will cush for the male so he can get into position behind her. dam: female parent fhleming: male behavior of sniffing pasture areas (especially the poop pile) where females have been, lifting their nose into the air to inhale the scent, much as a person would test the aroma of a wine 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. 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. IgG: Immunoglobulin G; a blood test during the first days of a cria's life determines IgG levels, to monitor absorbtion the necessasry colostral antibodies from its mothers milk. 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 yet mature for breeding lama: umbrella term for sub-category of camelids that includes llamas and alpacas. An alpaca is a lama. llama: larger cousin of the alpaca. A llama is a lama. luster: the rich gleam of the 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: the trumpeting love song that 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' according to their maturity and readiness; less human involvement than with pen breeding. pen breeding: purposefully placing one male and one female in a pen together with the intention of breeding pronk: romping, cavorting 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 and rolled (much like a clay 'snake'), ready for spinning ruminant: having a multiple stomach digestive system, maximizing low-quality food sources shearing: the annual clipping of the fleece off of the animal 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: creating yarn from the fleece — using a spinning wheel or a drop spindle — to be woven, knitted, crocheted or felted into clothing and accessory items spit test: parading a bred female in front of a potent male. If she 'spits him off, ' his services no longer interest her. This is a low-level pregnancy test. |
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