Fiber
What are characteristics of alpaca fiber?
Vaccines given under the skin by 'pinching' the skin and injecting at a 45 degree angle to the animal are delivered this way.
What is subcutaneously?
Alpacas are always walked from this side.
What is the left side?
Our very friendly grey female alpaca. Also the oldest on the farm!
Who is Yasmina?
Location found between the alpacas ears.
What is the poll?
A unit of measurement to describe average fiber diameter. Used frequently to describe the fineness of the fiber.
What is micron?
Annual vaccine given to every alpaca and can only be done by a vet.
White shirt, black pants, black close toed shoes, no blingy jewelry and hair tied up.
What is proper show attire?
This old guy tore his ACL and fractured his pelvis last year. He's doing well now but still has a limp.
Who is Pagonis?
The joint just above the toes and below the knee.
What is the fetlock?
The amount of clean fiber sheared from a particular alpaca.
What is yield?
A type of parasite common in our region transmitted by white tail deer. It often causes neurologic symptoms and paralysis.
What is meningeal worm?
6-8 inches off the snap loose lead shaped like a J
Only one of our alpacas who can be considered a pattern.
Who is Cobblestone?
Region on the rear leg between the stifle and the hock.
What is the gaskin?
True hair fibers which contain a hollow core. Often coarser than the overall fleece, less desirable portion of the fiber produced.
What are guard hairs?
The relative amount of muscle and fat that is carried on the frame of the alpaca. Often a number on a scale of 1-9 is used to describe it.
What is body condition?
When a handler does this they are not necessarily disqualified but they cannot place in a class above someone who did this correctly.
What is going off course?
This alpaca has a complicated name that can be translated to 'rain' but we call him something else.
Who is JJ?
Ears that curve inward, commonly found on llamas.
What are banana ears?
The process of removing lower grade fiber, debris or other excess matter from the fleece. This is done before processing or showing.
What is skirting?
There is only 1 of these, so often a gelding is kept on property for transfusions if there is a sick animal on the farm.
What is a blood type?
This type of turn is done by the alpaca pivoting on a front foot and hips turning around that point to the right.
What is a turn on the forehand?
When this alpaca showed at MAPACA in 2017 the judge in the halter class told us there she could find no faults on this animal.
Who is McFly?
The rump of the alpaca, just before the tail.
What is the croup?