Inca Alpaca and Alpaca Pals will be exhibiting at the BAS National Show at the Bury
Equestrian Centre on the 11th and 12th of May.
Please come and visit us at this incredible event. We will have the full range of Alpaca Pals for sale
and we will be available to introduce you to some of our alpacas and talk through why alpacas are
now a very popular and sound livestock investment.
For more information please visit:
Bury Equestrian Centre
British Alpaca Society
SRS® Breeding System Workshop
All BAS members are invited to attend a workshop on SRS® alpaca breeding presented by Dr. Jim Watts at Inca Alpaca on Wednesday the 18th of April from 10:30 am – 5 pm.
The SRS® breeding system, developed by Dr. Jim Watts in the 1980s, has been used successfully in Australia to improve fleece quantity and quality in Merino sheep and Angora goats by selecting for increased fibre density and fibre length (see www.srswool.com). If an animal grows more fibres (density) and if those fibres are longer, then it will produce more weight of fleece. The higher density also reduces the mean fibre diameter and the variation in fibre diameter of the fleece.
For over 6 years now these selection techniques have been used successfully by alpaca breeders to improve fleece quantity and quality whilst moving rapidly towards eliminating "guard hair".
This full day workshop is designed to introduce you to the facts behind the highly successful and world renowned SRS® breeding system and the techniques that have proven to increase quality and productivity in herds throughout Australia.
This practical and theoretical day will cover:
- Breeding objective
- Scientific basis
- Genetic improvement achieved across alpaca herds
- Animal selection
- Recommended herdsires
- Mating strategies
- New breeding standards
- Value adding fleeces
- Setting up the SRS® breeding in the UK and Europe
The workshop fee is £75 per single or £69 each per double. Lunch and refreshments are included as well as comprehensive workshop notes.
A limited number of farm visits carried out by Dr. Jim Watts
are available on the 16th, 17th and 19th of April.
These farm visits involve;
When Jim visits your farm he can assess whether the alpaca herdsire have the fleece traits to improve the quantity and quality of fleeces in the progeny.
If the herdsire is suitable, he can, by taking a skin sample and fleece sample, measure the density, length and uniformity of fibres produced by that animal. Each of these follicle and fibre traits is moderately to highly heritable.
Advanced sires for these follicle and fibre traits can be listed on the SRSAI website www.srsalpacas.com for other alpaca breeders to consider using.
In a similar way, the breeding females in the herd can be assessed and allocated specifically for sire matings that improve the targeted follicle and fibre traits.
In a reasonable time frame and with people’s co-operation, Jim can identify leading industry sires and dams (for embryo transfer work).
SRS® welcomes all breeders to attend the SRS® workshop to learn about the breeding system. The breeding and technical services found in the farm visits are also available to all alpaca breeders in the UK.
