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Alpacas: Synthesis of a Miracle |
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About the Book |
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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 legal to export alpacas to other nations, the animals renowned for
producing the “fiber grown closest to heaven,” have begun grazing
world-wide, 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.
Woven throughout the text is the human story of the alpaca in the biographies
of Julio Barreda, one of the world's most highly regarded alpaca breeders, and
Frank Webster Michell, innovative textile producer, both of whom contributed to
the modern market for alpaca fiber. Safley traces Barreda's life from his
introduction to alpacas at six yearsof age, through the years of governmental
reform and bloody terrorism, to his determined and systematic improvement of
his herd. Michell, an Englishman, came to Peru looking for chinchilla, and
stayed to create a fully integrated alpaca textile producing industry that
keeps the income from this lovely fiber in Peru. Drawn from days of personal
interviews, family documents and old herd records, Safley's insight is of
inestimable value to those interested in alpaca.
Alpacas: Synthesis of a Miracle is compelling reading for anyone who owns or
breeds alpacas, or anyone merely interested in the history of these enchanting
animals whose high-quality fiber was once worn only by the Sun Kings who ruled
the Inca.
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Book Specials
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Upcoming Seminars
Getting Started in the Alpaca Business
Level:
Introductory Level
Type:
1 Day Course
Friday, May 16, 2008
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How to Buy, Breed and Succeed in the Alpaca Business
Level:
Introductory Level
Type:
3 Day Course
Friday, May 16, 2008
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How to Buy, Breed and Succeed in the Alpaca Business
Level:
Introductory Level
Type:
3 Day Course
Friday, June 20, 2008
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How to Buy, Breed and Succeed in the Alpaca Business
Level:
Introductory Level
Type:
3 Day Course
Friday, July 11, 2008
More Info
|
|
Getting Started in the Alpaca Business
Level:
Introductory Level
Type:
1 Day Course
Friday, July 11, 2008
More Info
|
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