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Have you ever
thought about how many stresses you are introducing this
female to while accomplishing this goal?
Let’s go on a road
trip (only pretend) and get an alpaca’s perspective of the
issues she has to deal with.
For the purposes of
this article we will assume that the female has a cria at
side.
First we load her
and her cria into a trailer. Even though the trailer has
straw to cushion the ride, rubber matts for a non-skid grip
and excellent ventilation; traveling is still a stressful
experience for the alpaca. Taking a companion animal along
might reduce some of the stress, but it won’t eliminate it.
Next we arrive at a
strange farm, and leave the female and the cria she wants to
protect in the hands of a strange (Ok different) person to
care for her. She may have to go through the whole issue of
finding her place in the herd, or being penned near but not
in contact with other alpacas. Her feeding schedule and
food may be different. More stress.
After a couple of
days of getting used to her new environment she gets her
date with the stud of her dreams. This is another stress,
but one she “wants” to handle.
Over the next few
weeks she becomes acclimatized to her new surroundings, a
pregnancy is verified and just when life was getting to be
stress free, it’s time to go home.
The same comfy
trailer arrives to pick her and her cria up. Her owners now
seem like strangers. More stress.
She returns to her
home and has to go through the issues of getting
re-acquainted with the herd and changing feed schedules all
over again. Your alpaca is really starting to wonder if
that date with the stud of her dreams was really worth it.
Now let’s talk about
stress. Stress applies to people, alpacas and maybe even
slugs. There are two kinds of stress. The “oh my god that
coyote is after me” kind of stress and the “if that alpaca
looks at me like that one more time I’m going to spit” kind
of stress.
The first kind of
stress is actually easier to live with (providing you don’t
get eaten). In the case of the coyote all the stops are
pulled out, the body releases hormones to help with fight or
flight. These hormones give you or your alpaca extra
strength and sharpen the senses. When the coyote has been
evaded, the hormone levels return to normal and life is good
again.
The second kind of stress is a lot
trickier. These stresses are ongoing and can’t be avoided.
In the case of the aforementioned
alpaca, it’s likely been one of those
years where somebody just doesn’t get it that they are
supposed to eat out of their own dish, not shove at the hay
feeder, and give this poor alpaca some privacy at the pooh
pile. The same hormones are released as in the fight or
flight scenario but at lower levels and because the stress
doesn’t go away the hormones just kind of hang around in
case there may be a need to let somebody “have it”.
It’s a constant state of stress that
increases the incidence of Early Embryonic Death (EED),
lower fertility in
both males and females, reluctance to go
to the hay feeder, etc, etc, etc.
What does all of this have to do with a
less stressful way of getting an alpaca pregnant, you ask?
I have two
answers for you - Mobile Matings and
Drive-by Breedings.
We won’t discuss Mobile Matings in this
article. I just had to get a “plug” in, is all.
After a considerable amount of thought
(my brain never shuts off, just ask anyone who knows me
well) I think it’s time to promote a novel (although by no
means new) concept ---Drive-by Breedings
There is stress involved in most things
we don’t have any control over. Remember the alpaca we took
for a
drive? Let’s travel with the same alpaca
a year later for a drive-by breeding.
First we load her
and her cria into the trailer. We provide the same comfy
trailer ride as in the On Farm Breeding scenario. Taking a
companion animal along might reduce some of the stress, but
it won’t eliminate it.
Next we arrive at a strange farm where
the female is introduced to this year’s stud of her dreams.
Stress? - you
decide. Her cria is close by to ease any
stress. After the breeding and
required conversation between alpaca breeders the female and
her cria are put back in the trailer for the return trip
home. Another stress. By
suppertime this female is back with her herd-mates to tell
them all about the day’s adventures and how handsome this
year’s stud of her dreams was. Stress is over in just a few
hours and life’s good.
This female is in her own pasture, with
her herd-mates in as stress less an environment as is
possible when
ovulation and implantation occur. It
seems to me that next to Mobile Mating (not a “plug”, only
fact) Drive-By
Breedings greatly reduce stress over the
more traditional On Farm Breedings.
Considering a
Drive-By Breeding for a maiden will require some planning.
If the maiden “goes down” for a male on your farm she should
react the same way when she meets the stud of your choice.
If she doesn’t “go down” at home she likely won’t if you try
a Drive-By Breeding.
Here’s some more info I came across
written by
Dr. Ahmed
Tibary (an alpaca reproductive specialist)
that helps put the use of Drive-By
Breedings into perspective.
·
▪
In 30-60 minutes
after breeding, the female has produced the hormone (LH)
necessary for ovulation.
·
▪
In 26-48 hours after
breeding, ovulation occurs as the mature follicle bursts
releasing the "egg".
Given these facts, the theory is that travel stress may not
be an issue for quite a few days. Dr. Tibary recommends that
the female should not be transported home for at least a
half hour after breeding while her system is
producing LH. However, moving a
female within 48 hours of breeding does not seem to affect
conception rates.
·
▪
In 5-6 days after
breeding, the fertilized egg finishes its journey and rests
in the uterus.
·
▪
In 20-27 days the egg
implants (attaches to the wall of the uterus).
·
▪
It is not considered
to be a good idea to transport a pregnant female until 60
days after the breeding she is confirmed pregnant to.
Although the egg has implanted there is a greater chance of
EED (Early Embryonic Death) before 60 days. It is best to
avoid unnecessary stresses to reduce the possibility of EED.
The traditional On Farm Breeding works well for someone who
would rather have somebody else take charge of the breeding
schedule and pregnancy verification of their female for
them. It comes at the cost of extra stress for the alpaca
involved.
Drive-By Breedings require a bit
of work on your part. You need to transport your female, and
you’ll have to put up with me for an hour or so. (We’re not
talking about human stress here.) You have to spit check
the female yourself, and if she doesn’t spit off you will
need to bring her back for a re-breeding and put up with me
again, but your alpaca will be less stressed.
Why consider drive
by breedings...
(A quote from
Dr. Tibary)
Consider them,
first and foremost, for the health and well being of your
female alpaca, the cria by her side and the other members of
both herds.
This is the point where each of you has
to decide for yourself if the thoughts presented in this
article make sense
to you. The intent of this article is to
get you to look at the way you approach breeding and animal
stress
differently. Each of you must decide if
there is a way of making changes on your farm that will
improve your
conception rate while reducing animal
stress. Sometimes small changes produce huge rewards.
May you all have genetic improvement in
the next generation.
Deb Griffey back to top |
