Reducing the diameter of Guard Hair in Alpacas using SRS Breeding techniques

So firstly what is Guard Hair? Guard Hair (or primary fibres) are the coarse hairs that form an outer coat on the alpaca, and in fact most mammals. In alpacas the primary fibres tend to be much higher in diameter than the rest of the fibres (called secondary fibres), and can be as high as 15% or more of total fibres. They are there for a very good evolutionary reason, a coat to protect the alpaca from the elements. However, one of the downsides of these coarser fibres for the Alpaca breeder is that they have a “prickly” feel that will take away from the smoothness and handle of the fleece.  In an attempt to counter this, the manufacturers remove the Guard Hair
during processing of the fleece (known as dehairing). Only problem is that this is a time consuming and expensive exercise and reduces fleece weights.

When we set up Walkley Fields in 2007 we had bit of good fortune: Glenda and Daryl Salmon, owners of the renowned Belbourie Alpaca Stud, decided to retire. As a result we were given the opportunity to buy their elite stock.  We knew they had something special the minute we ran our hands through the fleeces. We noticed a real difference,  a silky soft feel (or handle) that simply slipped across your finger tips.  Glenda explained that she had achieved this by focusing on reducing the diameter of the primary fibres using techniques championed by Jim Watts at SRS Alpaca.

The theory is pretty simple really. By selecting alpacas in your breeding program that have a reduced primary fibre diameter in comparison to the secondary fibres we can gradually bring the overall primary diameter down, eventually to less than that of the secondary fibres. SRS has already proven this can be done with fine merino sheep.

Not only do we test the diameter of the primary and secondary fibres, we also test the density of the wool follicles (the follicles in the skin which produce the fibre). The greater the density of the follicles, the more fibre and thus heavier fleece weights. By reducing the size of these nasty primary fibres we allow more room on the animal for those finer, silkier fibres. The other significant advantage of getting the primary fibres as fine as the secondaries is that it removes the need for dehairing (or removal of the coarse fibres) by the fibre processors.

We look for various fleece markers (or fleece attributes such as lustre, handle & length) on each animal, and in some cases an actual sample of the animals skin is assessed. This helps us determine the follicle density of the animal, and the diameter of primary and secondary fibres. 

Belbourie Moonshine

Our stud male, Belbourie Moonshine (pictured above) is an example of an SRS male where the primary fibres are getting very close to the secondary fibre diameter. We had a sample of Moonshine’s skin tested to get an accurate measure.  Below is a sample of the type of report you get back from the SRS skin test.

His primaries are getting closer to the diameter of his secondaries – only 7.2 micron difference (27.6 vs 20.4). In an average alpaca this difference can be up to 12 micron or more. He also has fine secondary fibres, good density, measured at 52.8 follicles per square mm, and impressive fleece length. You can feel the difference in the fleece, a silky smooth handle. The crucial next task is to prove that genetically Moonshine is pre-potent at passing on these traits (i.e. he passes on the same attributes with improvement to his off-spring, or progeny as we call them). We now have a number of his progeny that are exhibiting Moonshine’s traits. Moonshine himself shears over 4kg of 21 micron fleece at 4 years of age, and his half-sister Belbourie Ragamuffin is still shearing 3kg of 18 micron fleece at 3.5 years of age, at a comfort factor of over 99% (only 1% of  fibres on the animal above 30 micron).

If anyone is interested in learning more about SRS , the Breeding techniques we use, or simply getting a “hands-on” feel of the animals, we are holding a full-day workshop on the 19^th of February, 2012.  Jim Watts (SRS Founder) will be hosting the workshop, and we will have a number of other interesting speakers. To register for the event simply visit www.walkleyfieldsalpacas.com.au and hit the register button.