The difference between proven and unproven Alpaca is whether they have carried a baby Alpaca, or a Cria, full term. This is a term is typically how sellers will classify a female Alpaca they are selling. If they can say that she has successfully birthed a young Cria, it will allow the seller to be comfortable that they can breed her.
This is important because some Alpaca have trouble with birthing. Classifying a female as proven or unproven stops breeders from selling a female Alpaca that failed to reproduce and say “you never asked”. Most reliable breeders will give you a guarantee of live birth to ensure you that they are confident in the animal you are buying.
It is important to remember that an unproven Alpaca does not mean that they cannot reproduce, it means they have never been bred. If a female Alpaca has failed to reproduce then they will be considered a “pet” or “fiber” Alpaca. Successfully carrying a Cria full term means that they are consider a “proven Alpaca”.
If you are looking to be a proven Alpaca then you should always ask more questions on the topic. They are considered proven as long as they have a single live birth. That does not mean that they didn’t leave the new Cria in the barn and hoped never to see it again.
Remember that an Alpaca is not considered unproven if the Cria passes away the next day because the mother did not produce any milk. Make sure that you ask about how she did with milk and how were her mothering skills. It doesn’t help to have a proven Alpaca if they do not survive!
How It Affects The Price Of An Alpaca
People that are looking to begin their own Alpaca farm will want to purchase females that they can breed to expand their herd. They are looking for the best female proven Alpaca that they can find so that they produce the best offspring. If the females they purchase cannot reproduce, that is a huge blow to how many Alpaca they will be able to reproduce.
As we mentioned before, most new breeders look for “live birth” clauses in writing when purchasing a proven Alpaca. This is essentially a warrantee saying that the new female will have a live birth and produce a live Cria. If they do not, the selling will buy back the Alpaca or allow for another stud from any male Alpaca free of charge.
If an Alpaca is proven, then it is worth more money because you can say they it will produce more Alpaca. This allows you to charge a higher price for the Alpaca than you could on an unproven Alpaca.
An Unproven Alpaca has not produced a Cria yet, but they have also not tried. This does not mean that the breeder doesn’t believe that they can. Typically it means that the farm they live in is short on space and they are not actively breeding every animal possible.
They are worth less because they cannot be sold with the guarantee that they will reproduce successfully. That makes them less desirable to someone who is looking to start their own breeding program.
Conclusion
If you are looking to start your own Alpaca farm that includes breeding then you will want to pay the extra for a proven Alpaca. There is no promise that an unproven Alpaca is going be able to help you expand like you plan. You will be rolling the dice on them and chancing that they cannot reproduce. The extra cost is almost always better than taking the risk.
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