Buying a Power Stud

Question:

We have been told that we need to get a better male if we want to improve our herd. What do we look for and how will we know that we are selecting the correct male as a stud?

Answer:

There are a lot of issues to cover when discussing the purchase of a stud that is powerful enough to dramatically upgrade your herd in one generation. For this discussion lets call this guy a Power Male.

How important is it to have a Power Male? Simply stated, it can make or break your breeding program. A Power Male is the single most important ingredient in improving the cria over the Dam. The male cannot do the job by himself, and depending on the quality of the Dam, it may take several generations of breeding high quality males to see a marked improvement. Not to say the male is not important. A true Power Male can do it in one generation. An old livestock adage says, “If you buy the correct breeding male he will be 50% of the future of your herd and if you purchase the wrong male he will be 100% of the future of your herd.” The breeding male being used is so influential to the future of the herd that the most critical and the most important decision is the selection of the herd sire.

So, when should one start looking for this Power Male? An old successful livestock breeder once told me that he starts looking as soon as he finishes paying for his last one. The point is, the true Power Males are few and far between. The last one I purchased took me five years to find and then I bought him when he was only 3 weeks old. He is now a Reserve National Champion, his first kids are on the ground and they are winners. The point is, it was worth the search.

The big question is always, what to look for in this Power Male? There are many things to be considered.

A Plan and a Program: Do you have a breeding program? Do you have an actual written plan with regard to where you want to be in your breeding program? If not, it is suggested that you develop one prior to purchasing your Power Male. This plan should include many of the criteria you will then use to purchase you new stud. Remembering that the stud will influence the future of your herd you need to consider the following traits.

Size: For example if you want llamas with good size do not buy a small herd sire.

Fiber: If you want fine fiber in your herd you need to plan for it by purchasing a fine fibered stud.

Color: Should you want paints it will not behoove you to buy a dark, solid colored male.

Style: A Power Male should display that awesome presence where he is always upright and proud with that attitude of “Hey, look at me”.

There are many other things to consider but these may be the most important.

Fad or Trend: How do you determine if the type of llama that is selling at action is the future of the industry or just a current fad? For example, is the suri llama a fad or an indication of what we will see industry wide ten years from now? Ask yourself if the basic conformation structure of the llama is being changed and if so, will the new structure hold up over the next ten generations. Another good barometer is to watch what type of animal is winning in the show ring. You may in fact need to re-evaluate your breeding plan if there is a change in the type of llama that is being bred industry wide.

Conformation: Perhaps the most important factor is that your herd sire must have great conformation, be athletic, and have a smooth way of going. These are all traits that will be passed on to his offspring. If you do not fully understand correct conformation and way of going, I might suggest that you take an ALSA judges’ clinic or ask a judge to evaluate him prior to purchase.

Pedigree: Quality bloodlines beget quality cria. It is very important to study bloodlines in the llama community. One of the errors that have often been made in all livestock industries is that too much emphasis is often placed on slick advertising instead of actual research and evaluation of the animals in a given bloodline. There is no shortcut to actually evaluating as many other llamas in the bloodlines of the prospective future herdsire as possible. The easiest way to accomplish this is to be active in the llama community by going to shows, attending sales and visiting successful llama farms and ranches. As you do these things you will find that certain bloodlines seem to meet more of your criteria than others. Then, when you make your purchase make sure that these bloodlines are included.

Price: What will you have to pay for this wonderful Power Male? Remembering that the herd sire has as much or more influence on the future of your herd as all of your females together it is important that you buy the highest quality herd sire that you can find. This usually means that the price is also high. If the sire you select to buy is in fact beyond your budget consider one or more partnerships. In the next issue of Banner we will discuss, in depth, the pros and cons of owning a herd sire in partnership with another breeder.

Emotional purchases: Yes, all major purchases are emotional. However, the more emotional purchases are not made with the most intelligent decision making process. With the importance of buying the correct herd sire it is important to not buy one because he is cute or to get caught up in the bidding frenzy at an auction. Emotional purchases often result in paying more for less.

Many articles have been written about the actual herd sire selection process. Let us simply conclude by saying that it is important to purchase the best herd sire possible, one that has a pedigree that portrays the traits you are looking for and is likely to produce the traits that you would like to improve in your females.