AlpacaKeep uses some short words and abbreviations. Here is what each one means, in plain language. They are grouped by topic, then roughly alphabetical.
Events and tasks#
| Term | Stands for | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Event | (no abbreviation) | A record of something that already happened to an animal, like a vaccination or a shearing. Its date is today or earlier, never in the future. A logged medication event starts withdrawal tracking. See Events vs. tasks. |
| Task | (no abbreviation) | A job on your to-do list with a due date, one-off or repeating. To plan future work, make a task; completing it can open a pre-filled event form. See Events vs. tasks. |
Fiber numbers#
| Term | Stands for | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| AFD (also MFD) | Average (mean) Fiber Diameter, in microns (µm) | How thick the fiber is. Lower is finer. |
| SD | Standard Deviation of fiber diameter (µm) | How much the thickness varies. Lower is more even. |
| CV | Coefficient of Variation (%) | SD divided by the mean. Lower means more uniform fleece. |
| CF | Comfort Factor (%) | Share of fibers 30 µm or finer. Higher means less prickle. |
| SF | Spin Fineness | Predicted spinning fineness. Lower means finer yarn potential. |
| CRV | Curvature (degrees per mm) | How curly the fiber is. Higher usually means more crimp. |
Health and breeding#
| Term | Stands for | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| BCS | Body Condition Score | A 1 to 5 fat-and-muscle scale (in 0.5 steps). The healthy band is 2.5 to 4.0. |
| BVDV | Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus status | A disease-test status with five values (untested, negative, positive, inconclusive, pending). It is never just yes or no. |
| COI | Coefficient of Inbreeding | The chance two animals share copies of the same gene because they are related. Safe is under 6.25%, linebreeding is 6.25 to 12.5%, close mating is 12.5% or more. See Inbreeding and COI. |
| EDD | Expected Due Date | When a pregnant dam is expected to give birth. Alpaca pregnancy is about 11.5 months. |
| Withdrawal period | (no abbreviation) | The wait after a medication before an animal is safe for milk, meat, or sale. It is advisory, so always confirm with your vet. See Withdrawal periods. |
Farm and animal settings#
| Term | Stands for | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Herd code | (no abbreviation) | Your farm's short URL-safe slug used in sale-page web addresses. |
| Name prefix | (no abbreviation) | An optional readable farm prefix that AlpacaKeep suggests in an animal's Registered name field. |
| Registered name | (no abbreviation) | The full name on an animal's registration papers, stored as typed and shown everywhere. Pre-filled from your Name prefix as a suggestion when you add or edit an animal, and editable. |
| Origin | (the "ownership" choice) | Where an animal was bred, not who owns it now. "Bred on my farm" gets your prefix suggested; "Acquired from another farm" gets the breeder's prefix from the source contact. See Origin: bred here or acquired? |
| Reference animal | (no abbreviation) | A pedigree-only stub for an ancestor or rented stud you do not fully track. It does not count toward your animal limit. See Reference animals. |
| Fiber-tracked | (a per-animal switch) | When on (the default), the animal joins the 12-month "overdue for testing" fiber alert. Turn it off to opt out. An animal with no fiber sample yet is never flagged. |