https://www.dancinghorsealpacas.comOur Focus is Fiberhttps://www.dancinghorsealpacas.com/blog/1683/keeping-alpacas-happy-and-healthy-in-the-heatWed, 24 Jun 2026 14:29:00 +0000<p>Given that alpacas are native to mountainous regions in South America, they do not deal with heat and humidity in this country well. That is why most parts of US shear their herds early Spring so they have as little fiber growth as possible heading into the Summer months. There are other management practices that can really help them to be comfortable during the hot months too.</p> <p>One of the easiest things to do to cool alpacas when it is hot is to simply hose them with...https://www.dancinghorsealpacas.com/blog/1654/levels-of-alpaca-ownershipWed, 06 Aug 2025 18:08:39 +0000<table> <tbody> <tr> <td> <p>We get so many curious visitors to our farm each year and inevitably they ask, "what do you do with alpacas?". Well, the answer is simple: Anything!. There are several levels of alpaca ownership making them very affordable and versatile as pets or as a business. This brief article will outline the major levels of ownership and we encourage readers to contact us to learn more about an exciting adventure and life with alpacas...https://www.dancinghorsealpacas.com/blog/1584/managing-the-problem-breederFri, 13 Dec 2024 17:27:06 +0000 Coming Soon!!https://www.dancinghorsealpacas.com/blog/1576/the-color-of-dilution-in-alpacasWed, 22 Oct 2025 15:44:58 +0000<p>Thank you for your interest in this new article. This is a comprehensive review of color dilution genetics in alpacas, and results of a 10 year long study into dilution inheritance on our farm ! This article has been published in the current issue of Alpacas Magazine, Spring 2024. Contact the Alpacas Owners Association to order your own copy, or use the link below. Our article starts on page 50:</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="https://www.alpacainfo.c...https://www.dancinghorsealpacas.com/blog/1574/dhf-first-in-the-world-to-successfully-freeze-alpaca-embryosFri, 19 Jul 2024 18:44:07 +0000Working in the field of human embryology for my entire life and freezing literally thousands of eggs and embryos, it was only a matter of time before I decided to try to freeze alpaca embryos. Historically all of the literature recording various attempts at freezing embryos in alpacas had failed, and it was presumed that it was just not possible. I assembled my research team at the time that included Lynn Edens and Arturo Peno and we set up a series of trials breeding females and then flushing r...https://www.dancinghorsealpacas.com/blog/1564/the-striking-uniqueness-of-alpaca-embryosFri, 19 Jul 2024 17:46:29 +0000Thank you for reading our amazing study into alpaca embryology!https://www.dancinghorsealpacas.com/blog/1562/time-of-breeding-can-influence-cria-gender-ratios-in-alpacasWed, 08 Jan 2025 16:10:41 +0000Time of Breeding Can Influence Cria Gender Ratios in Alpacas Kim Gleason, PhD1, Lynn Edens2, Arturo Pena2 1 Dancing Horse Farm, Pemberton, NJ 08068, 2 Little Creek Farm, North Salem, NY 10560 The control of gender for economic gains in livestock production has been widely investigated, and anecdotally unsuccessful. Production gender ratios are generally left to chance, except for usage of commercial sperm sorting or other invasive and costly reproductive technologies. The objective of th...https://www.dancinghorsealpacas.com/blog/1561/striped-alpacas-oh-myFri, 19 Jul 2024 17:48:11 +0000https://www.dancinghorsealpacas.com/blog/1406/whats-popping-up-in-your-pastures?Fri, 19 Jul 2024 17:48:55 +0000 There are so many common poisonous or noxious plants, trees and berries in our region that we have to watch out for around our alpacas. We hear of these over and over: wild cherry, buttercups, red oak, azalea, rhododendron, hemlock, the list goes on and on. But what about the more unusual health threats that can pop up in your pastures? In this article, I will describe a few dangerous plants found in the mid-atlantic region that may be overlooked for their rarity, or toxic and negative eff...https://www.dancinghorsealpacas.com/blog/1405/the-costs-and-benefits-of-line-breeding-alpacasFri, 19 Jul 2024 17:49:35 +0000In recent years, US alpaca breeders’ continued efforts to produce incremental improvements in alpaca phenotypes, combined with the related and parallel trend of loss of genetic diversity within the closed US alpaca population, has increased interest in understanding the implications of line breeding alpacas. Unfortunately, while there has been substantial research on line breeding results in some other livestock species, there is little species-specific guidance available for alpaca breeders, a...https://www.dancinghorsealpacas.com/blog/1079/can-a-cria’s-immunity-be-predicted-by-the-dam’s-igg-before-birth?Fri, 19 Jul 2024 17:50:08 +0000Can a Cria’s Immunity Be Predicted By the Dam’s IgG Before Birth? Kim Gleason1, PhD, Lynn Edens2, and Arturo Pena2 1 Dancing Horse Farm, Pemberton, NJ; 2Little Creek Farm, North Salem, NY That is one question that Kim Gleason and Lynn Edens asked over a year ago when they began a multi-faceted, multi-site research study. One of the goals of their massive research project was to determine if an IgG sample taken from females within 60 days of anticipated birth could predict failure of passive...https://www.dancinghorsealpacas.com/blog/1004/do-differences-in-maternal-immunoglobulin-g-influence-passive-transfer-and-subsequent-cria-growth-in-alpacas?Fri, 19 Jul 2024 17:50:44 +0000We are very proud to announce that the first part of our year-long research study has been accepted for publication in the prestigious scientific veterinary journal, Theriogenology. I was thrilled to have our work recognized by the scientific community & given the opportunity to present our findings at the Theriogenology annual meeting in July. This important study was overwhelmingly received positively by veterinarians from all over the country: Do Differences I...https://www.dancinghorsealpacas.com/blog/835/what-is-an-alpaca?Mon, 27 Oct 2014 09:36:37 +0000 Alpacas are South American camelids, cousins to the larger framed llama and smaller deer-like vicuna. The majority of alpacas come from Chile, Bolivia, and the mountains of Peru. In Peru, native Indians, called the Quechua Indians maintain and preserve wild alpaca herds. Alpacas were first imported into this country in the mid 1980's. With the threat of mad cow disease and other deadly infectious diseases, howeve...https://www.dancinghorsealpacas.com/blog/691/one-lucky-dayFri, 19 Jul 2013 08:04:11 +0000 They say a watched pot never boils. Nothing could be more true when anticipating an alpaca birth. We spend countless hours staring at our pregnant females looking for signs of impending labor, despite the fact that there is no real consistency of what the heck we’re looking for. Some expectant moms may seem restless, a few may just lay around, but most don’t seem any different at all; even within a few hours of giving birth. We’ve looked and examined moms-to-be every which way, angle, direct...https://www.dancinghorsealpacas.com/blog/638/challenges-facing-breeders-todayFri, 16 Aug 2024 15:50:13 +0000Thank you for your interest in our articles. This article has been submitted to Alpacas Magazine and has been accepted. Please look for us in this 2013 spring issue!!! Copy and past the link below in your browser to read our article!   https://www.alpacainfo.com/members/am/2013-spring/assets/basic-html/page-48.htmlhttps://www.dancinghorsealpacas.com/blog/557/the-truth-about-common-alpaca-mythsFri, 16 Aug 2024 15:32:30 +0000There's so much information out there about alpacas and the alpaca industry today that quite often new folks thinking about first time investing in alpacas can become overwhelmed and confused. At Dancing Horse Farm, we're not only involved in agriculture tourism in New Jersey, we welcome anyone to our farm to learn about alpacas, the alpaca industry, and the micro-textile industry. We listen to what folks say about what they've "heard" about alpacas, investing, and where they think the alpaca in...