Alpacas:Synthesis of a Miracle - Hardcover

Inhaltsangabe

For thousands of years, the alpaca, a New World camel related to the vicuña, has grazed quietly in the high altitude of the Peruvian Andes. However, since Peru created the Council of National Camelids of South America (CONACS), and it became to export alpacas to other nations, the animals renowned for producing the "fiber grown closest to heaven," have begun grazing worldwide, in North America, Australia, Europe. For many alpaca owners, breeding can be a hit or miss affair. Serious breeders have had to search out breeding information from texts written for sheep, cattle, or horse breeders. In Alpacas: Synthesis of a Miracle, Mike Safley has distilled 15 years of personal experience breeding alpacas, documented information gleaned from dozens of trips to Peru and conversations with Peruvian breeders and textile manufacturers, and gathered together for the first time all the information alpaca owners need to breed their animals for specific traits and to improve the quality of their animals. In this comprehensive text, Safley covers the history of alpacas and the production of fiber from the time of their domestication by the Incas through the use of modern genetic theory by Peruvian, North American, and Australian breeders. He discusses the role the show ring plays in the selection of animals now, and how breeders can use genetics and selection to scientifically raise the quality of their herds. Past-president of the Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association and the Alpaca Registry, Inc., Safley proposes breeding standards that will lead to an improvement in both suris and huacayas. He does not shy away from controversial subjects such as the crossbreeding of suris and huacayas, and the use of inbreeding to fix desirable characteristics and eliminate possible genetic defects.

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