Alpaca Breeding Book

Book Information

This alpaca book started out as a reference book for breeders having difficulty getting their females pregnant.  As you may already know, alpacas breed different than other livestock.  I want to help breeders understand their behavior and how it affects their ability to reproduce.  The book has grown into so much more as we share many years of experience breeding hundreds of alpacas.

 Our book includes the many factors affecting reproduction in females and males such as behavior, health, hormones, stress, wormers, weather and more.  We also include information on nutrition, breeding strategies, herd sire selection, proven breeding schedule, and pregnancy testing.

This breeding book was written after so many emails sent to us, for the past 12 years, from many breeders around the world asking questions about breeding alpacas.  If you are a new owner, I know this book will be very helpful and a great reference tool.  You will gain insight as to what is normal and what isn't within normal range so you know when to seek help from your veterinarian.

Many questions are answered, for example:

• When is the best time to breed?
• How soon can I breed my female after she delivers her cria?
• How often can a male breed?
• What is Estrumate and how should it be used?
• My female is open but she doesn't want to breed.  What do we do?
• Can males and females run together?
• What are the risks of transporting a pregnant female in the last trimester of pregnancy?

This book answers all of the questions mentioned above as well as many more.  See the full table of contents below to see exactly what is included in this book.

Table of Contents

• Chapter 1 - Breeding Introduction
  • Basic Breeding Questions
  • Induced Ovulation
  • Factors Affecting Reproduction
• Chapter 2 - Female Alpacas
  • Breeding Age ~ Females
  • Behavior ~ Females
    • Attraction
    • Difficult females
    • Fear
    • Personality
    • Group Behavior
  • Health Problems ~ Females
    • Uterine Infection
    • Retained Corpus Luteum
  • Hormones ~ Females
    • Progesterone
    • Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone (GnRH)
    • Estrumate (cloprostenol sodium)
  • Physical ~ Females
    • Persistent Hymen
    • Uterine Prolapse
  • Stress ~ Females
    • During Breeding
    • Pecking Order
    • Transport
    • Unknown Sources
  • Twins ~ Females
    • Goldie's Story
  • Weather ~ Females
    • Heat Stress
  • Weight ~ Females
    • Thin
    • Overweight
  • Wormers/ Medications ~ Females
    • Reactions
    • Precautions
• Chapter 3 - Male Alpacas
  • Breeding Age ~ Males
  • Behavior/ Stress ~ Males
    • Clueless young males
    • Young male aggression
    • After shearing
  • Injury/ Infection ~ Males
    • Fighting teeth
    • Injury
    • Infection
  • Sperm ~ Males
    • Abnormal sperm
  • Weather ~ Males
    • Heat stress
• Chapter 4 - Nutrition
  • Supplement
  • Vitamin E deficiency
  • Selenium deficiency
  • Vitamin D deficiency
• Chapter 5 - Breeding
  • Breeding Methods
    • Pasture Breeding
    • Hand Breeding
  • Breeding Frequency
    • Females
    • Males
  • Location/ Strategies
  • Moon Phase Breeding
• Chapter 6 - Herd Sire Selection
  • Phenotype versus Genotype
  • Line breeding
  • Breeding for color
• Chapter 7 - Breeding Schedule
  • Proven Breeding Schedule
  • Different Scenarios
  • Reproductive Examination
• Chapter 8 - Pregnancy Testing
  • Behavior or Spit test
  • Preg-Tone
  • Progesterone test
  • Ultrasound
• Chapter 9 - Additional Information
  • Transporting in Last Trimester
• Resources
  • References & Further Reading
• Appendix
  • Glossary
• Index
  
  

Please note the information in this book should not replace the expertise of a licensed veterinarian.

We wish you all many successful breeding seasons and a brighter future raising these wonderful animals.  If you have any questions or if we can be of any help you are welcome to visit us on our blog or join us on facebook.  Thank you! ~ KD