Weave of the Gods: The Real-Life Golden Fleece Paleontologists tell us the camel family arose in the North American Great Plains about 45 million years ago. One group took the Bering land bridge into Asia to establish the populations of Bactrian camels and dromedaries, while the other chose the southern route through Panama when that…
There are two ways that Huacaya breeders think about crimp in the United States. One group believes that crimp is not an important trait. The other camp says crimp is highly desirable. The show rings in all countries value crimp and many breeders around the world select for crimp. Is it important, or not? Animal…
What is Important in the Fleece? How much attention do we pay to different fiber traits? Introduction I want to talk about “the fleece on the alpaca”, and should like to start asking, which are those important characteristics in the fleece?, and are those characteristics all equal in economical and technical terms? According to the…
Fiber Diameter Measurement and Distribution Fiber diameter is measured in microns. One micron is equal to 1/1,000,000th of a meter or 1/25,400th of one inch. Mean Fiber Diameter (MFD) is in common use internationally. MFD, Standard Deviation (SD) and Coefficient of Variation (CV) all relate to the (approximate) normal distribution of the animal fiber diameters….
Objective fiber testing can be a powerful marketing and genetic selection tool when used properly. Objective measurement is an assessment made without the influence of personal feelings or prejudice. Visual appraisal and fiber handling are fundamental aspects of fiber judging, but are very weak appraisal methods for accurately identifying average fiber diameter. Instrumentation can accomplish…