Coolaroo & Illawarra Alpaca Studs present a ALPACA NEW BREEDERS WORKSHOP

Date: 11 May 2008
Location: Coolaroo Alpaca Stud, Mittagong
Please contact us for further detail.

GETTING STARTED OR INTRODUCTION TO BREEDING ALPACAS

These mini workshops and are a mixture of theory (a full powerpoint presentation) and hands on practical exercises in the yards with the alpacas. It includes an introduction to the SRS® Breeding system and then a comprehensive examination of a group of alpacas to understand the better or poorer attributes of an animal. By the end of the session potential breeders will have a clear understanding of a poor or better quality animal and what to expect of its genetic potential. Predictability of breeding is the hardest goal to achieve. Other areas may be covered, such as farm infrastructure, daily husbandry, reproduction and artificial breeding techniques etc depending on the needs of the individual participant.

Please contact us for bookings and prepayment for the mini training workshop are essential.

Participant Cost: $35.00 per private session (approximately 3 hours).

 

ADVANCED FIBRE PRODUCTION WORKSHOPS

Learn or update your skills of breeding and selecting SRS® Alpacas including advanced alpaca fibre production & introducing advanced artificial reproduction techniques in alpacas.

The program of each of these days will:

  • Teach breeders the effectiveness of the genetic pathway utilizing SRS® Breeding techniques.
  • Examine live exhibits of various SRS® species: Angora, Merino and Alpaca.
  • Investigate the latest information sourced from around Australia and internationally to see the levels of density and fineness achievable in the breed.
  • Discuss fibre follicle development from primitive to advanced fleece types.
  • Learn about advanced artificial reproduction techniques and its practical application on your farms.

The program for each day will be hands on practical training with SRS® presenters and breeders. Dr Jane Vaughan will also outline the latest in Embryo Transfer.

Proposed format for the day:

  • Breeding objectives.
  • Identifying fleece markers.
  • Identifying the better and lesser animal.
  • How to advance your herd.
  • Processing performance.
  • Nutrition in alpacas.
  • Understanding the pre-papilla cell concept for producing advanced alpacas.
  • Seeing the great advances already made in SRS® breeding of Merino sheep and Angora goats.
  • Breeding strategies in more details.
  • Artificial insemination and embryo transfer.
  • Displays from different alpaca breeders.

Our main speakers for the day are:

  • Dr Jim Watts - Managing Director of SRS Company Pty Ltd, which operates a breeding quality assurance system throughout the Australian Alpaca industry and sets new standards for improved density and length of fibres grown by Alpacas. The outcome is more wool and finer wool of better processing qualities.
  • Dr Jane Vaughan - will give breeders an insight into the most advanced artificial reproduction techniques being applied to the alpaca worldwide as well as her recent success with her own embryo transfer project in conjunction with Dr David Hopkins of Bellarine Veterinary Practice.

However individual workshop is presented by different experts to keep us informed with the latest breakthroughs in the industry.