Farewell to Giants

Do bad things happen in threes? A lot of people seem to think so. In the course of human events, that certainly seemed to hold true this past week, when celebrity news was dominated by the deaths of Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and Michael Jackson.  Just like that, one shocking passing after another.

It caused me to think about the tough year we’ve had for alpaca herdsire deaths. Starting with the end of 2008, some big name males have passed on. Some at an age where you might expect it, but others shockingly taken before their time, when their potential was just being explored.

Here’s to some of those males , who I hope are enjoying green pastures in alpaca valhalla.

Legacy

Accoyo Peruvian Legacy

It would be hard to come up with a list of herdsires who have had a greater impact on the American alpaca population than Legacy. Perhaps the most important passing of an alpaca stud since Caligula, Legacy made news late in his life when half interest in him was sold for $750,000. Born in 1991, his genetics are widespread throughout the alpaca population and it has yet to be seen which of his sons will equal his accomplishments.

Legacy was owned by Crescent Moon Ranch and Virginia Alpaca Farm.

Pedro

AML Legacy’s El Duro (Pedro)

Tragically, one of Legacy’s most well-known sons passed away shortly after him at just six and a half years of age. The male retained by Alpacas of Maple Lane to replace Legacy when they sold him, Pedro (as he was commonly known) made his mark by producing such outstanding offspring as AML El Duro’s Principio.

Pedro was owned by Gore Mountain Farm and Alpacas of Maple Lane.

 

PCA Accoyo El Nino

El Nino

 

It is always our goal as breeders to produce animals that exceed the previous generation.  In reality, though, it’s much harder than it sounds. So when you have a son out of as potent a male as Caligula that succeeds in establishing himself as his own name brand, you know you have a very special male indeed.  When most people hear El Nino, there is no suffix such as “son of Caligula” following. People know the name, just as they know the pedigree. Ten years old when he died,  El Nino left behind a multitude of sons to carry on his legacy, including seven active working sons at his owner’s.

El Nino was owned by Pacific Crest Alpacas.

 

Silver Celebration

AofO Silver Celebration

The biggest shocker of all, Silver Celebration was just five years old when he passed away at the end of 2008. Probably the winningest silver grey male ever, he won a total of 21 banners and 23 blue ribbons, with an elite fleece style that was shocking for its approximation to the quality of white. At his young age, the alpaca industry was still waiting to see if he could consistently replicate his quality and take his place among the greats. Now we’ll never know.

Silver Celebration was owned by Alpacas of Ohio and Hilltop Alpacas.

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Hold on that Herdsire Purchase!

I just purchased my first herdsire. Unbelievable as it may sound, I have been breeding alpacas for five years without ever owning a breeding male.  Of those five years, I have spent almost two actively looking for a herdsire.

Many new breeders make the purchase of a breeding male one of their top priorities.  From a cash flow perspective, this makes a lot of sense – you not only save yourself the cost of outside breedings but you also can generate immediate revenue through the sale of stud services. But I’d like to make an argument for the opposite: holding on the purchase of your first herdsire.

When I first started out, it was clear that farms were often known by their herdsire. In other words, a really good male had branded their farm and their breeding program. As one well-known breeder told me, “People come to buy females but it’s the quality of the males that attract their attention.” So from that day on, I knew that a herdsire purchase would be the most important buying decision I could ever make.

With the implications of making a poor decision in this area, as a new breeder I then decided I needed to gain more knowledge before I knew what I wanted in a male and also before I felt I could adequately assess animals. So I spent a lot of time consciously recognizing what I liked and what I didn’t like. What colors? What look? Did I like a particular fiber style? What would I prioritize – size? capacity? bite? fineness of fiber? density? Where was I willing to compromise and where was I not? Some of these have changed in importance to me over time but others have not. Without knowing what I was breeding for though, it didn’t seem that I was in a position to purchase a male that would shape my breeding program in the direction I wanted.

A third reason why I decided to hold off was for a business reason.  Besides feeling the stud would have the breeding value I wanted, I also needed a male that had a lot of market value. That means the right bloodlines that would attract outside breedings, the right heritage, and (although I hesitate to say it) the right show record.  Now I have always derided the people who breed purely on show wins because I refute the misconception that show wins translate directly to breeding value.  Ribbons are important for marketing value, but I’ve seen plenty of champions and blue ribbon winners who I would never breed a dam to. Their qualities do not align with my breeding goals.  Having said that, I do look at show wins and I do show – this is a crucial part of the business to add marketing value. Got that? Breeding vs. marketing value are not always the same thing.

The last reason I held off purchasing a herdsire when I started out was purely practical. Every female I bought came with one or two breedings and I only purchased from people who had herdsires that I knew I wanted to use. So I really didn’t have to pay for any breedings for the first few years. And every time I bought an animal, I always asked for an additional breeding and often got it. Even today, I have a tidy little stockpile of high-value free breedings tucked away for when I need them.

I think I also had a vague niggling idea in my head that I would just breed a beautiful stud myself and therefore save myself the cost. Naive, huh?  Especially with my micro-sized herd. That homegrown showstopper will come someday -in fact,  I think now that I finally have purchased a herdsire, he might just pop up this year.  Alpaca breeding seems to work that way, with a strange sense of humor saturated in irony.

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