Buying a Stud Male

Is it time to purchase a new Stud Male?
We have recently been looking into purchasing a new Stud Male in order to continue forward in our breeding programme and I thought I would give you some ideas on what process we have gone through to do this.

The first time we bought a male we were very new to alpaca breeding and in the end we bought based on Show results of the male in question as well as his father’s results.  We also trusted the person we were buying from and felt we could safely purchase the male based on their “say so”.   Not very thorough I know, but when you are just starting out there are a lot of things that you just don’t know enough about in order to make great decisions.  As it turns out, the boy we bought has been great so our trust was well placed.  I would not recommend that you spend big dollars on your first male purchase unless you have someone with you, that you trust, who knows what is needed in a good Alpaca Stud Male. This time around we have approached it quite differently.  Following, are some pointers for you to consider if you are looking at buying a Stud Male for the first time:

1. Do your homework on the animal first before you go and look at him.  (Don’t fall in love with him until you know he is up to the task you are purchasing him for).
2. Get several options to choose from, these options need to preferably come from several different Studs.
3. Decide what qualities you may be missing in your alpaca herd and then find a male that has those qualities in abundance.
4. Ask about his Show results but don’t trust all your decisions to these.
5. Make sure that he is a Certified Male. (You cannot register progeny from a mating that took place between any unregistered female or uncertified Male.)
6. Ask about any Warrantees and Guarantees that the Stud you are considering purchasing from offer, on the Stud Males they sell.
7. Check to see if the males you are considering have had a healthy birth/life to this date.  (You may not wish to consider a male that was born prematurely with complications, or  has suffered from some serious illness like Rye Grass Staggers or Facial Eczema in case this may make him a high risk animal, or, he may pass his vulnerability to these problems on to his offspring giving you a whole herd of sickly animals.)
8. Ask for photos of the animal so you can get a look at his face structure, body conformation, and fleece characteristics. (Do you want a herd of animals that look like him?)

Now it’s time to make an appoint to view the one or two animals you have narrowed your search down to.  If the males are already certified and have a current Vet Health Certificate then you shouldn’t be finding any major flaws in the Male, however, it is good to check on a few things for yourself so you can make informed decisions. There is a great document available called the NZ Alpaca Breed Standard to help you with knowing what a true Suri or Huacaya should look like. Contact the Alpaca Association to get a copy of this document.  www.alpaca.org.nz

• Check ears, eyes, nose.  (Are they healthy, normal in size etc)
• Check teeth.  (Does the alpaca have a good fitting ‘bite’ or is it under/over shot?)
• Look through the fleece thoroughly.  (Is it what you are wanting to add to your breeding programme, e.g. fineness/handle, density, lustre, length, lock structure, colour)
• Check the Testicle size.  (The vet will have already measured them when he certified the Male but in the case of Testis in alpaca, size does matter.  The bigger the better.  The Testis size in the male has direct correlation to any of his female progeny’s sexual organs and on her fertility etc.)
• Pick up each of his feet to check for any possible foot problems.
• Check on the upper/inside of his legs for any skin problems resulting from eczema or mites.
• If possible, view a recent poo sample.  Is he soft, or does he produce little pellets.  (Things like this can be passed on genetically, and little pellets are definitely less messy to a full fleeced alpaca.  We don’t want to have to start “dagging” our alpacas just because we were breeding from males with stools that were too soft.)
• Put on his halter, take him for a walk, then, take off the halter. (Is he going to be easy to work with?)
• Stand back and look at him as a whole.  Does he stand with good posture, tall and strong? Think about all you’ve seen.  Does he have enough of what you are wanting to add to your herd at this time? (Although the ‘Perfect’ male does not yet exist, you want to make sure that your new male will definitely be able to add something extra to your breeding programme.)

Well, I hope this is of some use to you and that you have great success in your future breeding programmes.

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The information presented here is from our own experiences, adapted from others to suit our situation, property and our animals. We don’t claim to be experts and you are welcome to disagree, if you find something useful – great. Everyone is welcome to comment and provide feedback – see Contact Us.