Breeding from mating to cria: the whole cycle

Breeding in AlpacaKeep runs across two screens. The top-level Breeding hub is where you plan pairings, log matings, record pregnancy checks, and confirm pregnancies. Each animal's own Breeding tab is where you see its pedigree and record a birth. This article walks the whole journey in order and points you to the detailed article for each step.

The cycle, step by step#

1. Plan a pairing. On the Breeding hub, open the Plan tab. Pick a dam (or a sire) and the recommender ranks your on-farm animals, flagging inbreeding and risky color crosses. See The mating recommender.
2. Log the mating. On the Breeding hub, press Log mating. Pick the sire, date, method, and one or more dams. See Log a mating.
3. It waits for confirmation. The mating now shows on the Breeding hub, Pregnancies tab, under Awaiting confirmation. A mating the planner recorded for a future day waits under Planned matings and moves to Awaiting confirmation by itself on its day.
4. Check and confirm. Record each spit-off test or scan with Log a check on her row. When you are sure she is pregnant, choose Confirm pregnancy in the row's ⋯ menu. AlpacaKeep works out the expected due date from the species' gestation. See Log pregnancy checks and confirm a pregnancy.
5. Record the birth. When the cria arrives, go to the dam's profile, open her Breeding tab, and press Record birth. See Record a birth.
6. The cria gets its pedigree. Recording the birth creates the cria as a new animal, linked to its dam and sire, so its pedigree tree is ready from day one.

Good to know. The History tab of the Breeding hub lists every mating, year by year, with its result once there is one. Matings still waiting for confirmation show there too; you log checks for them on Pregnancies.