Q&A with an international judge

> Judging alpacas in the ring – oral feedback from a judge gives you a better idea where you stand compared to the rest of the class

How do owners identify top quality alpaca in terms of conformation and fleece quality and is good conformation different in males and females?

Owners can choose between different ways to get information about an alpaca either they trust the certificates, show awards, and fibre screenings – or they pull up their sleeves and get their hands on the alpaca themselves. The best option, of course, is to do both. Apart from the slight deviations in size and weight, there are only a few differences between males and females. And it’s mainly about the genitals. Studs need to have two palpable testicles and the dam’s vulva needs to be big enough to make penetration possible. That’s it! Age is far more important than sex.

First and foremost good quality means a healthy alpaca. Top quality, however, can be certified by fibre screenings and show awards on a transregional or national level. An alpaca is like a puzzle, you need to create the whole image piece by piece.

Nothing works better than observing alpacas in real life. Depending on your experience, you might want to use some rules of thumb: Beautiful, consistent crimp counts as a good indicator for both micron and uniformity amongst the blanket. An alpaca in motion often reveals faults or strengths in its physical conformation.

Use every piece of information that you can get, ask questions, look at the pedigree and show awards. What kind of show was it? How many alpacas were registered? Choosing an alpaca is more complicated than a job interview. Alpacas won’t tell you about their qualities – you’ve got to find them. Added to this you also have to look at the pedigree and not only the animal itself.

How do owners learn to identify quality animals and recognise negative traits or faults?

Practice and mentoring are the main ingredients for successful alpaca judging. That’s why the training for professional judges takes years. Alpacas can be quite overwhelming, especially in the beginning. The easiest way to get to learn the traits and quality is to look at one’s own herd. Read up on standards, take a micron chart, a national evaluation scoresheet and judge your alpacas as best as you can. Then, let it be judged by others. Fleece shows, for example, give you a profound evaluation of your alpaca’s fleece, with comprehensible scores and details.

In the best case, you let an expert judge your herd at your farm. It doesn’t need to be the world’s best alpaca judge, but someone without “farm blindness”. An objective, independent, and reasonable opinion can reveal one’s own blind

Robin Näsemann – Alpaca Judge Robin Näsemann was born in Germany, went to school in England and has a master’s degree in economics from the University of Lugano, Switzerland. His family began breeding alpacas in 2003 and has a herd of 70 alpacas in Germany. Robin is a certified screener for the AZVD (Alpaca Breeders Association of Germany) and has screened alpacas throughout Europe and South America. He is an Alpaca Owners Assocation (AOA) certified judge for halter, fleece and performance and has judged alpaca shows in the US, Canada, France, Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and Germany.

spots – sometimes a fellow breeder can give you that too. We all love our alpacas – and often, we tend to evaluate their merits a little higher than their faults. Benchmarking, first within your own herd and then amongst other pedigrees, helps to identify strengths and weaknesses.

Have you an image of an ideal or elite alpaca as a breeder and judge?

Yes, I have something in my mind. But you won’t find it in reality, not in the best herd. The ideal alpaca is always, well, an ideal. Every judge needs an ideal concept in his or her mind, even though it’s an illusion to think any alpaca would ever be ideal – the standards change over time. Besides that, as a judge, I must stay objective and not mix my own breeding goals with the breed standards. Another skill of an international alpaca judge is flexibility.

Some associations like the CCLA in Canada openly publish their concept of an ideal alpaca as a so called “standard of perfection”. What might sound a little dramatic, is indeed a great help for judges and breeders alike. Standards, emphasis and prioritisations vary from country to country. With the Canadian concept of an ideal alpaca in mind, it is easier to understand what’s important there and hence judge on the basis of the national standards. Of course, you will always have to adapt to different expectations. But when they’re written down, it makes the job easier – and also more comprehensible for the breeders.

Does a breed standard, stud register or agreed ideal alpaca help owners to identify top quality alpacas, recognise faults and improve herds?

As I said before: Every piece of information adds to the whole. Screenings and breed standards form a threshold for an alpaca’s quality to ensure breeding with healthy animals. I am a big supporter of the system which we find in most continental European countries. Our screenings or herd book evaluations are meant for every alpaca of the national herd – not just the import alpacas.

In my position as a screener in Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands I was able to identify alpacas, that otherwise might have been used for breeding. It’s good to keep an objective minimum standard to ensure breeding only with healthy alpacas. Yet, it’s only a threshold, not a guarantee for top quality alpacas.

Stud registries, on the other hand, are a tool to identify suitable animals. Technology and centralised organisation have been a big help for pushing the quality of the national herd, but we also need to know how to use it. I also support the concept of a DNA registry. Although the alpaca community consists of honest and keen breeders, proof about a certain bloodline provides for all contingencies.

The concept of an ideal alpaca might be the most useful tool, although it’s only imaginary. Compare your own alpacas with that ideal and you’ll find what’s missing. From that starting point, you can formulate one or two breeding goals and use the other tools to find suitable mates for your own herd.

What are your own herd breeding goals and have these changed over time?

Of course, an alpaca judge needs a breeding male with a micron of 14 for his or her own credibility. All jokes aside, good physical condition throughout the herd was our first breeding goal and it is also what I emphasise on every seminar for beginning breeders.

Apart from that, we focus on white alpacas. Firstly, because it’s a long-lasting trend and there is still a high demand for white alpaca. Secondly, we use the fibre primarily for our own products: beddings, pillows, blankets. Uniformity in colour is very important for us – as well as micron to ensure the highest comfort of our products.

How essential is it for breeders to identify their own goals and work within a selective breeding programme?

It’s the first step towards professional breeding. If I don’t know about my possibilities or where my own herd scores best, how could I sell myself or improve my herd? Setting goals is the foundation of development. Without breeding goals, I can’t track my success and cannot grow my experience.

Selective breeding means focusing on only a few traits. Improve it and identify the next goal. But take care that one trait doesn’t grow at another one’s expense. The best micron is worth nothing if your herd’s health and fertility suffer.

Continued on the next page >>

> Robin Nasemann

> Differences in quality of crimp

What information is necessary to inform good breeding decisions and how is this best managed by breeders?

Best breeding decisions are based on a profound analysis of the animal’s pedigree. Fibre charts are important, show awards give information about the alpaca’s overall position. Use the whole toolbox, if you can. If you can’t do your own hands-on research. If you’re unsure and you don’t have good proof of the quality of an alpaca, leave it. There are enough good alpacas with transparent qualities out there. Serious breeders will usually provide you with the necessary information.

What advice would you give owners who want to enhance quality?

Breeding is a process – and a slow one, too. We only have one new generation, one try, every year. However, you can see some improvement from generation to generation if you take a closer look. In some years, it might even be a step back. A good phenotype is no guarantee for a good genotype. Often, roughly 50% of the time, it’s the lower quality which prevails. Take it easy.

In recent years I have also been giving personal training and herd evaluations to breeders. I found that it makes sense to divide one’s own herd into three groups. The top group is meant for breeding. These are your strongest animals which already carry your breeding goals in their phenotype. Group two needs to be treated with caution. They are not the best animals but some of their traits might be worthy to be used for breeding. Here, you have to be most selective. Group three are the alpacas that you own, because you love alpacas. You can also sell them. Some might be great for other breeders’ goals, but already below your own standards.

It also depends on your own character; do you want to be a pure breeder rather than an alpaca enthusiast? Then sell alpacas which you don’t need for your goals, get new ones and be as selective as possible. Are you an alpaca lover? Breed as good as possible and enjoy the view in your backyard every day.

> Proportions

What is the best piece of advice you have been given?

In 2006, Eric Hoffman used the ARI screening standards to develop the screening standards for the AZVD e.V. in Germany. I was not a judge back then and was keen to learn about alpacas. “The most important aspect of an alpaca is it’s conformation”, Eric told us, “it’s the foundation of the animal”. It’s like a building; you need a good foundation to build upon. If the foundation breaks, everything else will fall to pieces. Ever since, this has been the standard for my own herd and one of the main aspects of any seminar. There is no compromise concerning health.

In 2013, I visited Dr. Julio Sumar in Peru, he told me: “For us humans, alpacas are fibre animals in the first place. By improving their fibre quality, we justify their existence as livestock forever.” It sounds hard, but alpacas are domesticated animals. From a commercial point of view, we need a reason to continue breeding these beautiful animals. That reason is exceptional and improving fibre quality.

> Ideal crimp

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