| Alpaca Herdsire
Selection: The Art and The Science |
| The herdsire for any breeding program is the
single most important determinant of overall herd quality. It's true
for cattle, sheep, horses, or any other breed. For alpacas in North
America the sire is even more important. Alpaca bloodlines are
currently available for only four or five generations. |
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| Alpaca Breeding
for Genetic Gain |
| Mother Nature hatched a plan. She encoded the
Vicuna with a blueprint for the alpaca. She could see a time when
certain Vicuna would evolve and become known as alpaca. |
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(84 KB) |
| The Suri Gene
Supreme -- A Crossbreeding Conundrum |
| Colored suris by design? What if the suri gene is
dominant and found at a single location on the alpacas DNA map. What
if huacayas from crossbred parents were as pure as any other alpaca?
The ramifications would be significant. |
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(152 KB) |
| A Comparative
Analysis of Alpaca |
Breed standards for American alpacas were
formerly controversial. Over time, the leadership of the industry
has uniformly opposed adopting breed standards. With this article,
we endeavor to look at breed standards analytically.
|
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(167 KB) |
| Pure Blood -
Part I - The Mechanics of Inheritance |
| The first in this series, outlining: The
Mechanics of Inheritance; Ratio of Generations Inheritance, Galton's
Law; An Alpaca's Phenotype vs. Genotype; Plant vs. Animal
Breeding. |
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(102 KB) |
| Pure Blood -
Part II - Pure Blood or Pure Money Measurement |
| The second in this series, outlining: Pure Blood
or Pure Money Measurement; Prepotency; Heritability; Breeding
Values; Repeatability; Variability; The Concept of Selection;
Warning Blood; Breeding as an Art; Following the Geneticists
Advice |
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(161 KB) |
| Pure Blood -
Part III - Breeding Systems |
| Part III in this series, outlining: Creating a
Breeding Program; Four Keys to Genetic Change; Mating Systems;
Creating a Strain or a Breed Within a Breed; Bloodlines; Using the
Five Mating Systems |
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(189 KB) |
| Pure Blood -
Part IV - Industry Goals |
| The final article in this series, outlining:
Breeding Goals:Formulating a Breed Standard |
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(220 KB) |
| Planned Breeding
by Lloyd C. Bracket |
| One of the fathers of the German Shepherd in this
country and the oldest living continuous fancier of the breed in
America (since 1912) his theories on breeding have been more than
proven in his Long-Worth Kennels where he established his own strain
in the breed and produced more than 90 champions in only 12 years, a
world's record for any breed. Known affectionately as "Mr. German
Shepherd" he has proven beyond doubt the soundness of his breeding
program. |
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(256 KB) |
| Jiggling Genes
by Dr. Philip Sponenberg |
| Genetics is the science of how traits pass down
generation to generation. Many people think that genetics can be a
predictive science - accurately predicting the next baby to hit the
ground. Alas, genetics does not work that way. Instead, genetics can
be viewed as a science of possibilities. |
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(96 KB) |
| Genetic
Improvement in the Alpaca Industry by Chris Tuckwell |
| A paper for the Alpaca Owners and Breeders
Association 1997 Annual Conference, June 11-15, 1997, Pueblo,
Colorado. |
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(344 KB) |
| Glossary of
Genetic Terms |
| This glossary of genetic terms is a handy
reference while reading the above articles. |
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(86 KB) |