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Alpaca Show question
Are there age restrictions on certain shows? I have a BEW male that I would love to show in Owatonna, MN next spring, but seems to me that most of the packies at the show last year were very young. Also, can gelded males be shown or no? Just don't know the ins and outs of all the show stuff yet, and it can be very overwhelming! ANy input would be greatly appreciated :) Also, could someone let me know what you need to do and where to send samples for micron testing?? I'm sure Sandy knows ;)
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Maryann Marsh on -
Nicki,
You can show your BEW if he is intact. Be aware that MANY people feel that sending a BEW in the ring is sudden death. It has been said that some judges don't like seeing it because of the genetic trait but the AOBA rules don't disqualify or have points off for it. Different people have different views about it.
They have 3 different age groups, Juvenile (under 1 year), Yearling (1 year up to 2 years) and the 2 year and over class. You will see less in the 2 and over classes because the boys and girls are starting their breeding years.
Some shows offer an Obstacle class which you can have your gelding be in. If a male is gelded, no sense in showing him since he will not be able to reproduce ;)
If you have samples ready, meaning you took a sample of the fleece from the alpaca usually on shearing day, then you can go to: www.alpacaconsultingusa.com this is Ian Watt's site that tells you all about sampling, how to send in your fleece, a print out sheet to put all the information about your alpaca and work sheet. Its very informative and pretty easy to understand. If you have any issues or questions, post them here or email me directly if you need more help! chewee67@cfl.rr.com
Hope we have helped!
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Permalink Reply by Nicki Blowers on -
Hi Maryann, Thank you very much for your very informative response! You answered just about every question I had, and the rest I can find on that website. I didn't take a sample on shearing day because I hadn't acquired him yet. But I will see if Sandy ever had him tested. His eyes are not completely blue, there is just a pretty crackling of blue through the brown. I don't know if we will show him simply because he cannot be bred per the arrangment I made with the farm we got him from, which is fine with us. I primarly have the boys at this point so that the kids can do their 4H projects and I can learn the ins and outs of alpacas:) But I didn't realize til after the big show in Owatonna last year that most of the show animals are babies or breeding animals. My boys are 2, 4 and 5 years old (actually, getting close to 3, 5 and 6 years old!) And my kids are fairly young yet so I don't know how they would do in the ring. Thanks again for all your advice/info. I really appreciate it!
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Permalink Reply by Tracey Koehler on -
Hi Nicki, I too have a BEW male, he is just 4 months old. There is not reason that you could not show him. I do not believe that gelded males can be shown in halter classes. But if there are kids performance classes they can be show.
That is more about the handling of them not so much the fleece of conformation. They have courses set up, steps, a ramp, cones, sometimes different textures for them to walk on. The kids enjoy it and they really have to work with the animal to get them to do all that is required. They also have different age classes.
As for fleece samples you can send to Ian Watts or Yocum McCall, I have used both. You just need a small sample cut as close to the skin as possible.
Hope this helps a bit.
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Permalink Reply by Tracey Koehler on
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Geez, I did not go down far enough. Maryann already answered your questions!
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