Alpaca Terminology

All organisations have their own jargon and the Alpaca industry is no different. Here are some words/terms you may encounter:-

In South America (the alpaca's native countries) the terms for Male and Female are: Macho (yeah, it would be) and Hembra but these terms are rarely used in NZ.

Cria - Baby alpaca

Sire - Daddy

Dam - Mummy

Weanling - 6-12 months of age. From 5-6 months of age, depending on growth rate and dam’s condition, cria are weaned off & halter trained. The girls later return to the herd, the boys usually form their own herd in a separate paddock.

Tui - yearling (1-2 year old, but we personally don't use this term).

Maiden - young female coming up to her first mating and in her first pregnancy.

Cush (Kush) - the sitting position with legs tucked underneath that is both a resting position and the female's mating position.

Pronking - going from a run to bouncing with all four feet off the ground (a bit like a Springbok - the animal - not the rugby player!). It is a playful behaviour, most often seen at dusk and mainly with cria, but some less sedate older animals often join in!!! 

Breeding Terminology

On-farm Matings - your girl comes to stay for a period of time to allow for the mating, subsequent spit-offs and sometimes pregnancy scanning before returning home. This method is preferable for maidens who can take longer to get pregnant or can be uncertain in their behaviour signals.

Mobile Mating - bringing the stud male to your place to visit your girl. Most males love getting into a float or van for a trip because they know there's a girl waiting for them at the end of the journey!!!!!

Drive-by Mating - (nothing like a drive-by shooting) - you bring your girl to the male for the mating then she goes home.

Orgling - the nasal / throat noise made by the male just prior to and during the mating process. This can sound utterly boring and monotonous to us but is necessary to stimulate ovulation in the female.

Spit-off - Running a female who has been mated past a male, from 1 week after mating through to any time during the pregnancy. If she is pregnant she will evade him and usually spit at him to say "naff off". If she is receptive because she is not pregnant, she is likely to drop to the cush position for mating and the process begins again.

Unpacking - parturition - giving birth.

Live Birth Guarantee - this means a free remate to the same sire or one of equivalent quality if the cria does not survive - some breeders specify 24 hours after birth, others up to 5-7 days.

Fleece Terminology

Micron - a measurement of the thickness (diameter) of individual fibres. The smaller the number, the finer the fleece.

Density - refers to the fleece as a whole and relates to the number of fleece fibres produced per square cm of skin. The greater the density the more fleece produced per animal.

Crimp - this is the ‘waviness' of the fleece and helps provide ‘memory' or spring back qualities to the ‘wool' when it's spun. Crimp is measured both by the depth and height of the wave (amplitude) and the distance apart of the ‘peaks' of the waves (frequency). There are different crimp styles between different animal's fleeces.

Staple Length - the length of fleece an animal grows in a given period of time (usually measured by a years growth). The longer the fleece at shearing, the greater the fleece weight and quantity for processing.

Lock Structure (bundling) - the way the fibres line up together and produce ‘locks'. This is a sought after fleece characteristic as it correlates to fineness.

Lustre - the shine (light reflection) of the fleece. If you need to wear "shades" on a sunny day because of the shine in an alpaca's fleece (especially a cria), then that's great lustre!!