Selecting a Herdsire

Date: 03/24/2007
By: HaSu Ranch: Susan Muther and Hazen Reed
Link: hasu.biz/index.cfm?fuseaction=feature.display&feature_id=172
Copyright: HaSu Ranch Alpacas
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Breeding Programs

The next time you attend an alpaca show, ask your fellow breeders what their goals as breeders are. You will likely hear many answers that involve 'the best bloodlines' or 'the highest quality alpacas.' If you continue to press your colleagues, you may even hear about 'breeding up.' However, how those breeders define 'breeding up' may vary significantly from breeder to breeder. Many simply want to acquire bloodlines that have the Peruvian or Bolivian designation. Some are looking for famous names in the pedigree. But how many mention prepotency and the selection of specific measurable traits as their goal for their breeding program? How many have established a specific breeding plan with measurable goals to obtain those traits?

The science of breeding successfully to predetermined goals requires a certain amount of knowledge and education. There is the science of genetics; dominant vs. recessive traits, genotype vs. phenotype, breed type vs. breed standards, sire selection (prepotency and progeny testing), and the random nature of inheritance. But there is also common sense, patience, and practical experience involved in a successful breeding program. A good breeder of alpacas knows alpacas, knows how to read alpaca statistics and also knows where to go for reliable information. Bloodlines tell you about the fine history of an alpaca's pedigree but not the specific traits of a particular animal. Bloodlines suggest ability to pass said traits to offspring, but say nothing of a specific animal's ability to do so. It is true that bloodlines give you an indication of past quality and future potential. But each alpaca needs to be judged by the traits it displays and not by bloodlines alone. Bloodlines are not a guarantee for a particular outcome. For a guarantee we look to dominant genes and more importantly, alpacas that are homozygous for their dominant trait.

Trait Selection

To be a successful breeder of livestock, you need to first understand your breed. Then you need to understand your herd. What are the strengths and weakness of your herd? What traits do you want to breed for and what traits would you like to breed out? This is needed to establish your goals for your herd. There are a variety of alpaca traits that are valuable from which you, as a breeder, will need to choose. For example, fiber is measured by a number of qualities; fineness, density, luster (suri), and crimp (huacaya). Alpacas are also judged by color, conformation, size, and type (huacaya or suri). Where are your priorities as a breeder? Each breeder may be focused on different goals or traits. But it would be cumbersome and overwhelming to focus on all desirable alpaca traits at once. Keep it simple.

Once you have established which traits you will measure and seek to obtain, you need a plan to meet those goals. What is your starting point? How are those traits exhibited in your herd now? If you are breeding to improve fiber traits, do you have clear knowledge of fiber and its measurement? Can you understand a histogram? Compare your females to your males. Your herdsire will contribute 50% of his genetics to the next generation; however, a female only contributes genetics to a single cria of the next generation. Therefore, a single herdsire can affect the quality of an entire generation of alpacas on your farm. Thus, the easiest way to improve your herd is through your selection of herdsires. Once you have established your goals you can select herdsires that will help you accomplish those goals. If you are breeding to improve fiber traits, you will choose a sire that has the traits you want your herd to exhibit. An understanding of prepotency can make this choice even more successful. Prepotency is the recorded ability of a sire to consistently pass on specific traits to offspring. Or in other words, a prepotent herdsire has already produced a number of offspring who are consistent in displaying specific traits of their sire. Herdsires can be prepotent in any number of measurable traits: color, conformation, fiber quality, etc. It is up to the breeder to choose a herdsire that meets the goals of his/her breeding program. It is not necessary to choose only a single herdsire but it is necessary to research each herdsire you choose. You will want to rely on proven males in order to have more control over the results yet you may want to try a single breeding to an unproven male with an excellent pedigree that is in line with your breeding goals.

Pre-Potent Herd Sires and Estimated Progeny Difference (EPD)

Finding a prepotent herdsire that meets the needs of your breeding program may seem like an intimidating task. However, breeders can take advantage of the Ideal Alpaca Community's Studmaster program. The IAC believes strongly in the idea that the value of alpacas is in their ability to produce fine, luxurious fleece. To protect this value, it is in the industry's best interest to improve the alpaca to its true genetic potential for fine fleece production. The way to realize this improvement, the IAC believes, is through a thorough understanding and utilization of genetic science and classic livestock breeding theory. The Studmaster Programs is a part of the IAC's effort to advance the national herd. All Studmaster males have been proven to be prepotent:
"The Studmaster males have been initially selected based on their pedigrees, performance, and their progeny. These elite animals are owned by participating IAC members. Each of the males is owned jointly. This shared ownership allows the males to be tested in several herds over a large number of females. The ongoing evaluation of their progeny will provide the records necessary to establish Estimated Progeny Differences (EPDs)." http://www.ideal-alpaca.com/Studmaster-Program-26.htm

It is important to understand that goals will not be met in a single generation. Each year new breeding decisions will need to be made. These decisions will need excellent record keeping to be effective. You need to know the results of last year's choices and the choices of the year before. If you are breeding to improve fiber, you will need histograms and shear weights for the cria produced by your herdsire selection of last year. Did your choices move your herd in the right direction? Which herdsire produced offspring with the most improved traits? Your records will help you make the next breeding choices. If you did use an unproven male, your records will become the data by which his potency will be determined. By carefully recording each trait's improvement you can track the improvement of your entire herd. As you consistently select herdsires that are prepotent, you are infusing your herd with dominant genes for the traits you desire. This strengthens the chances that those genes will be passed on to the next generation. Each year, your cria will display improvement and will be more likely to pass that improvement to their offspring.

There will be steps backward due to the unpredictability of nature, yet with careful selection you will find your successes will out number those failures. Each step forward is also a step back towards the alpaca of the great Incans. We know, by examining the fiber found in the tombs of Incan royalty, how far our modern alpacas have fallen from that pinnacle of quality. However, we have the science to recapture the excellence of the past. We just need the desire, patience and determination to make it happen.