Thistledown Alpacas - Latest Crias

We are proud to present our latest crias. They are all Thistledown originals, bred, owned and named after our farm. The offspring from our outside breedings ensure continued genetic diversity in our breeding program. Take a look at our Coming Soon! page, to see the crias we are looking forward to meeting soon!

Thistledown Lady X MacDhui daughter

Lady's black MacDhui daughter was born at another farm on October 22, 2012 - part of a deal where we sold her dam with breedings, but retained the right to her first daughter. We have only seen this girl once, when her dam was rebred to her sire. She was quite ill shortly after she was born, but you wouldn't have guessed it from her behavior when she arrived here, as it took three of us to catch her, after she decided to go on a whirlwind tour of the premises! Her dam, Lady, has award-winning black fleece; fine with very nice handle, character and staple. Her sire, Ben MacDhui, is our Champion medium silver grey herdsire, who always stamps his offspring with good bone, conformation, coverage, fiber density and staple length. His grey/black lineage goes back 4 generations and reads like a "who's who" of quality greys, and this young lady's maternal bloodlines include Bueno, Drambuie, Snowmass Peruvian Casanova (rose grey), Felix and Outback Gold. We own her true black full brother, nicknamed Yoda, and had held him back from our sales list, because he was the densest black cria ever born here. Now we may let him go, and keep this little girl for our foundation herd instead. Time will tell!

Might be available for sale - still undecided!

Thistledown Iris X Tundra son

Born November 9, 2012, this young man certainly has the "it" factor. His full brother, "Skippy" had the best fiber of all our Fall 2011 crias - uniform, fine, soft-handled and dense, with beautiful architecture and crimp - and this little one seems to be following in his brother's footsteps. His dam is the brown blue-ribbon winning Iris, and his sire is Tundra, our white producer of Champion colored offspring. His maternal bloodlines include his Champion rose grey sire, McGinnis, plus PPPeruvian Augusto and Peruvian Hemingway, while his paternal grandsire is the phenomenal Peruvian Presidio, possibly the best son of Caligula. Boisterous good-natured and healthy, this young male has beautiful fiber and excellent conformation. He will be offered for sale as a fiber male, without his ARI certificate, because he does not match our grey/black breeding profile and is related to one of our herdsires. However, his ARI certificate will be available for purchase, for anyone wishing to breed or show him.

Available for sale, with or without ARI papers.

Thistledown Isla X Tundra daughter

"NewMoo" was born on November 15, 2012, and completely surprised us - took a while to figure out that her dam was our medium silver grey Nikos daughter, Isla. Her sire is our white, color-Champion producing herdsire, Tundra, a son of Peruvian Presidio, making this young lady 3/4 Peruvian. She has phenomenal black fiber - uniform, crimpy and soft-handled with very nice density - and may show as a black, as she only has knee-high white socks on her front legs. Will have to check the most recent AOBA rules on that! She also has the potential to produce tuxedo grey, so is a very interesting, quality young female. Her maternal bloodlines include Felix, Yupanqui, Danko and Peruvian Platinum, and she is a granddaughter of Peruvian Presidio, possibly the best son of Caligula, and a granddaughter of Peruvian Marcela, the white female who produced the notable colored herdsires, "Show Me the Money" and "Silver Dollar". Her conformation, coverage and presence are all excellent, and she will probably be in our Fall 2013 show string. Breaking news: February 17th - this little lady has white fibers in her blanket and appears to be a poorly expressed dark silver grey. That may make her a keeper for our grey breeding program!
NFS

Thistledown Nola X MacDhui daughter

Nicknamed "GiGi", short for gorgeous girl, this personable young lady is possibly my favorite of all the crias born this year. Born November 18, 2012, her dam, Nola, is our MAPACA brown fleece Champion, and her sire is our Champion medium silver grey, Ben MacDhui, a reliable producer of black and grey. GiGi is solid medium silver grey, under those brownish cria tips, with possibly one black, and one brown spot in her blanket. Her fleece is extremely dense, a characteristic she inherits from both parents, and at a couple of months of age, her fiber is developing nice architecture. Very pleased with this young lady, who we plan to keep for our foundation herd, because believe it or not, even though her sire is 13 years old, and we have owned him since he was a yearling, we have never managed to keep any of his daughters! They have all sold off the farm, usually before breeding age. So this year, we plan to keep a couple of his daughters, to breed back to our fine, soft-handled 3X Champion dark silver grey herdsire, PV Nikos. Her maternal bloodlines include Peruvian Matador and 4Peruvian Black Magic, and her sire's 4 generation pedigree reads like a "who's who" of the top grey alpacas in the nation! We expect GiGi to be in our Fall 2013 show string.

NFS

Thistledown Lakisha X Nikos son

What can we say about this boy - he is stunning and he knows it! This solid medium silver grey son of our 3X Champion dark silver grey son of Aussie Rockford, PV Nikos, has extremely dense, wonderfully soft-handled, uniform fiber, with great staple length, which is developing a nice crimp structure. Born November 19, 2012, he is the son of Lakisha, an award-winning black female, whose show-skirted juvenile fleece had an annualized shearing weight of 4lbs. His maternal grandsire is the brown AOBA Champion LBA Remington, and his paternal grandsire is the renowned silver grey, Aussie Rockford. This boy's bloodlines are rare in the grey world, and include Felix, Yupanqui and LBA Remington, whose parents are both imports. It is difficult to take a bad picture of this guy - this one was taken the day he was born, and he even exuded confidence and class then! His conformation and carriage are outstanding, his bite is perfect, his fiber is just beautiful and he holds himself like royalty. We expect him to be in our Fall 2013 show string.
A half-interest may be available, to a compatible farm in the right location with similar breeding goals.

Thistledown Bronwen X MacDhui daughter

We have bred Bronwen, our full Peruvian, genetically patterned, beige female to Ben MacDhui on four occasions, and they have always produced the most beautiful offspring, with such wonderful conformation, coverage, fiber and temperaments that they literally sell themselves. Born November 21, 2012, their latest daughter is dark silver grey, and we will probably keep her as a long-term replacement for her dam, who will be 10 years old this year. This little lady looks black, but she is actually a uniform dark silver grey, throughout her neck and blanket and all the way down her legs. Her fiber is very fine, bright and soft-handled, and at 2 1/2 months, is exhibiting a uniform crimp. She is a beautiful, feminine young lady, and we trust she will be an excellent mother, just like Bronwen. We're not sure if she has the "pizzaz" and crimp structure the judges seem to favor in the showring, so are uncertain about showing her in 2013, but are confident her genetics, conformation, fineness and hand will make her an excellent foundation female in our grey breeding program.

NFS

Thistledown "Teddy"

Just under 20lbs at birth, this boy came out fighting, and had virtually doubled his body weight in the first month! Born December 2, 2012, this son of our Champion silver grey male, Ben MacDhui is out of our white female, Chiffon, who produced the brown MAPACA 2012 / PAOBA 2012 fleece Champion. His fiber is dense, developing nice character and his dam's wonderful smooth handle. His coloring is unusual - he has taupe / grey on his lower legs and face, and his blanket appears to be a mix of black and fawn. He does not appear to have any white spots, but almost has vicuna patterning on the inside of his legs. Not sure if he would show as modern rose grey, indefinite light or dark fawn, but he certainly has potential to produce quality grey offspring, so could be a really good fit for a modern grey breeding program. Maternal bloodlines include Pperuvian Victor, Sunset Hills Farm Andean Gold and PPPeruvian Augusto, while his sire's 4 generation black and grey pedigree reads like a "who's who" of the best colored alpacas in the US! We can't keep this little guy, as he is related to our herdsire, but we may show him and retain breedings as part of any sale.

Available for sale, with or without ARI papers.

Thistledown Kerensa X Nikos son

This black boy was born at 5.00 p.m. on December 17, 2012 and we honestly didn't think he was going to make it. His temperature was 90.8 at birth, and he was weak, so we knew he must have had a tough time making it out into the world. Dried him off, bundled him up in three cria coats, sat him on a piglet heat pad and prepared for the worst. But he turned out to be a fighter! His temperature gradually increased, we gave him supportive care for a couple of weeks, and he surprised us by picking himself up and getting on with his life. He is now a robust and healthy black youngster, with gorgeous, silky-soft black fleece - a hand-spinner's dream! His dam, Kerensa, is a black Compadre daughter and a 4X blue ribbon-winner for her fiber, and his sire is our 3X Champion dark silver grey herdsire, PV Nikos. This little guy is available for sale as a fiber male and is a hand-spinner's dream!

Available for sale at his dam's side, including the right to register both with the ARI.

Thistledown Lady X MacDhui daughter

	Lady's black MacDhui daughter was born at another farm on October 22, 2012 - part of a deal where we sold her dam with breedings, but retained the right to her first daughter. We have only seen this girl once, when her dam was rebred to her sire. She was quite ill shortly after she was born, but you wouldn't have guessed it from her behavior when she arrived here, as it took three of us to catch her, after she decided to go on a whirlwind tour of the premises! Her dam, Lady, has award-winning black fleece; fine with very nice handle, character and staple. Her sire, Ben MacDhui, is our Champion medium silver grey herdsire, who always stamps his offspring with good bone, conformation, coverage, fiber density and staple length. His grey/black lineage goes back 4 generations and reads like a "who's who" of quality greys, and this young lady's maternal bloodlines include Bueno, Drambuie, Snowmass Peruvian Casanova (rose grey), Felix and Outback Gold. We own her true black full brother, nicknamed Yoda, and had held him back from our sales list, because he was the densest black cria ever born here. Now we may let him go, and keep this little girl for our foundation herd instead. Time will tell! Might be available for sale - still undecided!

Thistledown Iris X Tundra son

	Born November 9, 2012, this young man certainly has the "it" factor. His full brother, "Skippy" had the best fiber of all our Fall 2011 crias - uniform, fine, soft-handled and dense, with beautiful architecture and crimp - and this little one seems to be following in his brother's footsteps. His dam is the brown blue-ribbon winning Iris, and his sire is Tundra, our white producer of Champion colored offspring. His maternal bloodlines include his Champion rose grey sire, McGinnis, plus PPPeruvian Augusto and Peruvian Hemingway, while his paternal grandsire is the phenomenal Peruvian Presidio, possibly the best son of Caligula. Boisterous good-natured and healthy, this young male has beautiful fiber and excellent conformation. He will be offered for sale as a fiber male, without his ARI certificate, because he does not match our grey/black breeding profile and is related to one of our herdsires. However, his ARI certificate will be available for purchase, for anyone wishing to breed or show him. Available for sale, with or without ARI papers.

Thistledown Isla X Tundra daughter

	"NewMoo" was born on November 15, 2012, and completely surprised us - took a while to figure out that her dam was our medium silver grey Nikos daughter, Isla. Her sire is our white, color-Champion producing herdsire, Tundra, a son of Peruvian Presidio, making this young lady 3/4 Peruvian. She has phenomenal black fiber - uniform, crimpy and soft-handled with very nice density - and may show as a black, as she only has knee-high white socks on her front legs. Will have to check the most recent AOBA rules on that! She also has the potential to produce tuxedo grey, so is a very interesting, quality young female. Her maternal bloodlines include Felix, Yupanqui, Danko and Peruvian Platinum, and she is a granddaughter of Peruvian Presidio, possibly the best son of Caligula, and a granddaughter of Peruvian Marcela, the white female who produced the notable colored herdsires, "Show Me the Money" and "Silver Dollar". Her conformation, coverage and presence are all excellent, and she will probably be in our Fall 2013 show string. Breaking news: February 17th - this little lady has white fibers in her blanket and appears to be a poorly expressed dark silver grey. That may make her a keeper for our grey breeding program! NFS

Thistledown Nola X MacDhui daughter

	Nicknamed "GiGi", short for gorgeous girl, this personable young lady is possibly my favorite of all the crias born this year. Born November 18, 2012, her dam, Nola, is our MAPACA brown fleece Champion, and her sire is our Champion medium silver grey, Ben MacDhui, a reliable producer of black and grey. GiGi is solid medium silver grey, under those brownish cria tips, with possibly one black, and one brown spot in her blanket. Her fleece is extremely dense, a characteristic she inherits from both parents, and at a couple of months of age, her fiber is developing nice architecture. Very pleased with this young lady, who we plan to keep for our foundation herd, because believe it or not, even though her sire is 13 years old, and we have owned him since he was a yearling, we have never managed to keep any of his daughters! They have all sold off the farm, usually before breeding age. So this year, we plan to keep a couple of his daughters, to breed back to our fine, soft-handled 3X Champion dark silver grey herdsire, PV Nikos. Her maternal bloodlines include Peruvian Matador and 4Peruvian Black Magic, and her sire's 4 generation pedigree reads like a "who's who" of the top grey alpacas in the nation! We expect GiGi to be in our Fall 2013 show string. NFS

Thistledown Lakisha X Nikos son

	What can we say about this boy - he is stunning and he knows it! This solid medium silver grey son of our 3X Champion dark silver grey son of Aussie Rockford, PV Nikos, has extremely dense, wonderfully soft-handled, uniform fiber, with great staple length, which is developing a nice crimp structure. Born November 19, 2012, he is the son of Lakisha, an award-winning black female, whose show-skirted juvenile fleece had an annualized shearing weight of 4lbs. His maternal grandsire is the brown AOBA Champion LBA Remington, and his paternal grandsire is the renowned silver grey, Aussie Rockford. This boy's bloodlines are rare in the grey world, and include Felix, Yupanqui and LBA Remington, whose parents are both imports. It is difficult to take a bad picture of this guy - this one was taken the day he was born, and he even exuded confidence and class then! His conformation and carriage are outstanding, his bite is perfect, his fiber is just beautiful and he holds himself like royalty. We expect him to be in our Fall 2013 show string. A half-interest may be available, to a compatible farm in the right location with similar breeding goals.

Thistledown Bronwen X MacDhui daughter

	We have bred Bronwen, our full Peruvian, genetically patterned, beige female to Ben MacDhui on four occasions, and they have always produced the most beautiful offspring, with such wonderful conformation, coverage, fiber and temperaments that they literally sell themselves. Born November 21, 2012, their latest daughter is dark silver grey, and we will probably keep her as a long-term replacement for her dam, who will be 10 years old this year. This little lady looks black, but she is actually a uniform dark silver grey, throughout her neck and blanket and all the way down her legs. Her fiber is very fine, bright and soft-handled, and at 2 1/2 months, is exhibiting a uniform crimp. She is a beautiful, feminine young lady, and we trust she will be an excellent mother, just like Bronwen. We're not sure if she has the "pizzaz" and crimp structure the judges seem to favor in the showring, so are uncertain about showing her in 2013, but are confident her genetics, conformation, fineness and hand will make her an excellent foundation female in our grey breeding program. NFS

Thistledown "Teddy"

	Just under 20lbs at birth, this boy came out fighting, and had virtually doubled his body weight in the first month! Born December 2, 2012, this son of our Champion silver grey male, Ben MacDhui is out of our white female, Chiffon, who produced the brown MAPACA 2012 / PAOBA 2012 fleece Champion. His fiber is dense, developing nice character and his dam's wonderful smooth handle. His coloring is unusual - he has taupe / grey on his lower legs and face, and his blanket appears to be a mix of black and fawn. He does not appear to have any white spots, but almost has vicuna patterning on the inside of his legs. Not sure if he would show as modern rose grey, indefinite light or dark fawn, but he certainly has potential to produce quality grey offspring, so could be a really good fit for a modern grey breeding program. Maternal bloodlines include Pperuvian Victor, Sunset Hills Farm Andean Gold and PPPeruvian Augusto, while his sire's 4 generation black and grey pedigree reads like a "who's who" of the best colored alpacas in the US! We can't keep this little guy, as he is related to our herdsire, but we may show him and retain breedings as part of any sale. Available for sale, with or without ARI papers.

Thistledown Kerensa X Nikos son

	This black boy was born at 5.00 p.m. on December 17, 2012 and we honestly didn't think he was going to make it. His temperature was 90.8 at birth, and he was weak, so we knew he must have had a tough time making it out into the world. Dried him off, bundled him up in three cria coats, sat him on a piglet heat pad and prepared for the worst. But he turned out to be a fighter! His temperature gradually increased, we gave him supportive care for a couple of weeks, and he surprised us by picking himself up and getting on with his life. He is now a robust and healthy black youngster, with gorgeous, silky-soft black fleece - a hand-spinner's dream! His dam, Kerensa, is a black Compadre daughter and a 4X blue ribbon-winner for her fiber, and his sire is our 3X Champion dark silver grey herdsire, PV Nikos. This little guy is available for sale as a fiber male and is a hand-spinner's dream! Available for sale at his dam's side, including the right to register both with the ARI.