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 Severn Nikos

Severn was quite the surprise, out of 3X Champion dark silver grey sire, Nikos, and our blue ribbon-winning true black dam, Lady. Born on December 13th, with a pedigree to die for - Felix, Yupanqui, Snowmass Nova, Hannaruh, Fantasy's Gremlin and Outback Gold - his coloration is most unusual. He has a bay black head, neck and lower legs, plus black fibers shot through his brown blanket, and a white "7" on his face. He is like a negative rose grey, and has wonderful conformation and presence. Interesting little guy, with lovely fine fiber - we are looking forward to seeing him shorn, when his markings should look even more dramatic!
Awards: Old enough to show in Fall 2009.

Thistledown Excalibur Tundra

Lakisha's 17lb solid black son arrived on November 19th, and we couldn't be more excited that our multiple award-winning white male, Tundra, has produced black from white in only one generation, or about the fact that this cria is a 7/8 Peruvian boy! Named after Arthur's magical sword, Excalibur has extremely dense fiber, with handle like satin, plus his dam's excellent, heavy-boned conformation. Looks like we now have two new black boys to show next Fall...
Awards: Old enough to show in Fall 2009. Retained for breeding program.

Thistledown Kelvin Cairngorm

Iris's true black son, Kelvin, arrived on November 8, 2008. He has awesome conformation - strong broad neck and shoulders with heavy bone, and carries himself like a macho already. Fiber is very soft-handled, fine and crimpy and feels downright oily. Both his parents are remarkably dense, with excellent staple length and compact, heavy-boned conformation, and this little guy is built like a proverbial brick outhouse. At 4 months, he weighed 60lbs. This one is an absolute beauty and the fifth black cria this year that his Champion silver grey sire, MacDhui, has sired, out of all brown and beige dams. Kelvin will be fun to show next year.
Awards: Old enough to show in Fall 2009. Retained for breeding program.

Thistledown Gwendolen Tundra

Kerensa's white daughter, Gwendolen, arrived on November 6, 2008. She has incredibly silky-soft fiber, which hangs straight, like suri fiber, and is completely unlike the fiber of any other Tundra cria born to date. Curious and curiouser! Gwen is a really feisty little character, and has no trouble holding her own with the young males around here. Her dam, Kerensa, is one of our most intelligent females, who won many ribbons in performance classes, as well as halter and fleece. Gwen is the great granddaughter of one of our original females, and our eldest daughter has trained and shown both her mother, Kerenza, and her grandmother, Demelza, before her.
Awards: Old enough to show in Fall 2009.

Thistledown Meriadoc Tundra

	Cedrych's full brother, Meriadoc, arrived on November 5, 2008. Same incredible density, softness and crimp to his fiber as his big bro, but a darker color - nicknamed Butterfinger at birth, as he has the colors of a caramel and chocolate bar mixed throughout his blanket! His dam is a full Peruvian maroon, and his sire is our award-winning, full Peruvian white male, Tundra. Awards: Old enough to show in Fall 2009.

Thistledown Meliora Cairngorm

This typey black daughter of brown halter Champion, Holly Hawk, and silver grey Champion, Ben MacDhui, arrived on May 20th, 2008. Meliora is the second black daughter Dhui produced for us this Spring and her half sister is already sold, at less than 6 months of age! The name Meliora is derived from the Latin "melior", meaning "better", and is also a name strongly associated with Cornwall, where there is a church named after St. Meliorius. This little lady is a bright and playful character, with excellent coverage and staple length . Meliora certainly has "the look", and is like a miniature black version of her sire. She will be shown in 2009.
Awards: Will be shown in Spring/Fall 2009.

Learn more about Meliora

Thistledown Kieran Knightrider

On May 16th, 2008, Caterina delivered this 3/4 Peruvian, 1/4 Accoyo male, with a solid black blanket, a white head and knee length socks, plus black shoes on all four feet. Caterina is the MAPACA fleece Champion half Accoyo granddaughter of Accoyo Camilio and Victor's VAccoyo, and even at 5 years of age, she has fiber with handle to die for - last year her fiber still felt as good as many of our award-winning yearlings. Kieran's Champion sire, Knightrider, is the full Peruvian son of Black Ice and a black dam from the 6th Peruvian importation. Shown here being welcomed into the herd on his birthday by his half-siblings, Lexi and Shaun, Kieran has dense, crimpy, bright black fiber that feels like spun silk. His name is derived from both Cair, Welsh for "dark", and Ciaran, Irish for "dark", "black".
Awards: Will be shown in Spring/Fall 2009.

Learn more about Kieran

Thistledown's Nerys Cairngorm

Born on May 1st, 2008, Nerys is the healthy 19lb solid black granddaughter of Accoyo Yupanqui (white), and multiple Champion silver grey, Request the Best. Her dam, Bronwen is the half Accoyo daughter of two full Peruvian whites, who showed as a white at MAPACA. Bronwen was bred with our silver grey Champion, Ben MacDhui in the hope of producing color. Their black daughter, Nerys, feels very fine, with a silky soft handle, and very consistent coloring. She does not appear to have any white spots anywhere on her body and is growing like a weed! Her name is Welsh for "Lady" and Cairngorm represents her sire, MacDhui, named after the tallest mountain in the Cairngorm mountain range in Scotland.
Awards: Too young to show until Spring 2009. Sold!

Learn more about Nerys

Thistledown's Octavius Knightrider

Octavius arrived on New Year's Day, 2008, hence the name, which is Latin for "eighth". This maroon, recessive black, 15/16 Peruvian male is the genetically blessed son of two colored, Champion parents. Weighing nearly 23lbs at birth, and standing as tall as our month old crias on the day he arrived, this youngster was racing neck and neck with the rest of the gang at only one week of age. His maroon fiber is so glossy it looks and feels wet - wonderful handle, uniformity and crimp already, and he is exhibiting the same excellent density of both of his parents, together with their outstanding conformation, carriage and coverage.
Awards: Too young to show until Fall 2008. Sold!

Learn more about Octavius

Thistledown's Shaun Knightrider

Shaun is the full Peruvian fawn / recessive black son of Goldie, a white female whose fleece placed second at the AOBA Nationals, and our Champion true black herdsire, Peruvian Knightrider. Shaun has soft-handled, crimpy fiber and the most beautiful face. Both his parents have excellent conformation and coverage and with a black sire and two black grandparents he has potential to produce black and grey offspring. His award-winning maternal half-brother Magnus and his maroon paternal half-brother, Octavius, will remain in our herd, which is why Shaun and his dam Goldie are currently available for sale.
Awards: Too young to show until Fall 2008. Sold!

Learn more about Shaun

Thistledown's Boadicca Nikos

This jet black daughter of our 3X Champion dark silver grey male Nikos, and a multiple award-winning true black dam, is named after Boadicca, the Celtic warrior Queen who defeated the Romans in Britain, and whose name means victory. Boadicca is exactly what we are breeding for in black - solid, non-fading and true. She is so black it is difficult to make out any features on her at all! Her fiber is dense and curly with handle like velvet. Her dam is Lakisha, daughter of the 5X Champion brown male, CPeruvian LB Remington. Lakisha has beautiful, square, heavy-boned conformation and excellent fiber density - her show-skirted, juvenile blanket had an annualized shearing weight of over 4lbs. Boadicca's sire is our half-Accoyo grey male, Nikos, whose 30 month shearing was awarded 20/20 points for fineness and hand by Diana Timmerman when he won Reserve Champion grey fleece at MAPACA 2006. A grandson of Accoyo Felix and Accoyo Yupanqui, Nikos also won the halter Championship out of 33 grey males at the 2005 Virginia Classic, a blue ribbon in halter at MAPACA 2005 under Julio Sumar, and Best Multi/Grey fiber in show at the huge OABA Spinoff. He holds fineness over time and offers excellent quality in colored fiber.
Awards: Ready to show in Spring 2009. Sold!

Learn more about Boadicca

Thistledown's Alexia Knightrider

Alexia is the fawn / recessive black daughter of our 4X blue ribbon-winning pinto Aurora, and our Champion true black herdsire, Peruvian Knightrider. Her full sister, Agnes, is a pinto like their dam, but Alexia appears to be solid fawn. From a genetic perspective, breeding a white spot with a solid should produce a solid offspring 50% of the time, and a white spot offspring 50% of the time, so these results conform with that theory of color inheritance. Alexia has soft-handled, crimpy fiber and the most beautiful face. Both her parents have excellent conformation and coverage and with two black grandparents, one grey and one white, Alexia should be a good choice to produce black and grey offspring. We are considering keeping her in our breeding program as a replacement for her dam, Aurora, who is currently available for sale.
Awards: Too young to show until Fall 2008. Sold!

Learn more about Alexia

Thistledown's Cedrych Tundra

Cedrych (pronounced ked-rick) is the first-born son of our full Peruvian, award-winning white male Tundra. Cedrych is a full Peruvian fawn and white pinto male, with some of the best fiber we have seen on any cria born on our farm in the last 7 years. His fiber is dense, bright, soft and thick with crimp - you can barely find his skin - and full Peruvian patterns are about as rare as hen's teeth! His dam is a solid full Peruvian maroon, and Cedrych has dark markings around his eyes, so has potential to produce solid colored offspring. The name Cedrych is welsh for "bounty" (ced) and "pattern" (drych), and he really is "all that". Look for this one in the showring next year.
Awards: Cedrych placed second in full fleece halter at his first show, the Level IV VAOBA Expo in October 2008, with the judge commenting on his extreme density and character. Sold!

Learn more about Cedrych

Thistledown Severn Nikos

	Severn was quite the surprise, out of 3X Champion dark silver grey sire, Nikos, and our blue ribbon-winning true black dam, Lady. Born on December 13th, with a pedigree to die for - Felix, Yupanqui, Snowmass Nova, Hannaruh, Fantasy's Gremlin and Outback Gold - his coloration is most unusual. He has a bay black head, neck and lower legs, plus black fibers shot through his brown blanket, and a white "7" on his face. He is like a negative rose grey, and has wonderful conformation and presence. Interesting little guy, with lovely fine fiber - we are looking forward to seeing him shorn, when his markings should look even more dramatic! Awards: Old enough to show in Fall 2009.

Thistledown Excalibur Tundra

	Lakisha's 17lb solid black son arrived on November 19th, and we couldn't be more excited that our multiple award-winning white male, Tundra, has produced black from white in only one generation, or about the fact that this cria is a 7/8 Peruvian boy! Named after Arthur's magical sword, Excalibur has extremely dense fiber, with handle like satin, plus his dam's excellent, heavy-boned conformation. Looks like we now have two new black boys to show next Fall... Awards: Old enough to show in Fall 2009. Retained for breeding program.

Thistledown Kelvin Cairngorm

	Iris's true black son, Kelvin, arrived on November 8, 2008. He has awesome conformation - strong broad neck and shoulders with heavy bone, and carries himself like a macho already. Fiber is very soft-handled, fine and crimpy and feels downright oily. Both his parents are remarkably dense, with excellent staple length and compact, heavy-boned conformation, and this little guy is built like a proverbial brick outhouse. At 4 months, he weighed 60lbs. This one is an absolute beauty and the fifth black cria this year that his Champion silver grey sire, MacDhui, has sired, out of all brown and beige dams. Kelvin will be fun to show next year. Awards: Old enough to show in Fall 2009. Retained for breeding program.

Thistledown Gwendolen Tundra

	Kerensa's white daughter, Gwendolen, arrived on November 6, 2008. She has incredibly silky-soft fiber, which hangs straight, like suri fiber, and is completely unlike the fiber of any other Tundra cria born to date. Curious and curiouser! Gwen is a really feisty little character, and has no trouble holding her own with the young males around here. Her dam, Kerensa, is one of our most intelligent females, who won many ribbons in performance classes, as well as halter and fleece. Gwen is the great granddaughter of one of our original females, and our eldest daughter has trained and shown both her mother, Kerenza, and her grandmother, Demelza, before her. Awards: Old enough to show in Fall 2009.

Thistledown Meliora Cairngorm

	This typey black daughter of brown halter Champion, Holly Hawk, and silver grey Champion, Ben MacDhui, arrived on May 20th, 2008. Meliora is the second black daughter Dhui produced for us this Spring and her half sister is already sold, at less than 6 months of age! The name Meliora is derived from the Latin "melior", meaning "better", and is also a name strongly associated with Cornwall, where there is a church named after St. Meliorius. This little lady is a bright and playful character, with excellent coverage and staple length . Meliora certainly has "the look", and is like a miniature black version of her sire. She will be shown in 2009. Awards: Will be shown in Spring/Fall 2009.
Learn more about Meliora

Thistledown Kieran Knightrider

	On May 16th, 2008, Caterina delivered this 3/4 Peruvian, 1/4 Accoyo male, with a solid black blanket, a white head and knee length socks, plus black shoes on all four feet. Caterina is the MAPACA fleece Champion half Accoyo granddaughter of Accoyo Camilio and Victor's VAccoyo, and even at 5 years of age, she has fiber with handle to die for - last year her fiber still felt as good as many of our award-winning yearlings. Kieran's Champion sire, Knightrider, is the full Peruvian son of Black Ice and a black dam from the 6th Peruvian importation. Shown here being welcomed into the herd on his birthday by his half-siblings, Lexi and Shaun, Kieran has dense, crimpy, bright black fiber that feels like spun silk. His name is derived from both Cair, Welsh for "dark", and Ciaran, Irish for "dark", "black". Awards: Will be shown in Spring/Fall 2009.
Learn more about Kieran

Thistledown's Nerys Cairngorm

	Born on May 1st, 2008, Nerys is the healthy 19lb solid black granddaughter of Accoyo Yupanqui (white), and multiple Champion silver grey, Request the Best. Her dam, Bronwen is the half Accoyo daughter of two full Peruvian whites, who showed as a white at MAPACA. Bronwen was bred with our silver grey Champion, Ben MacDhui in the hope of producing color. Their black daughter, Nerys, feels very fine, with a silky soft handle, and very consistent coloring. She does not appear to have any white spots anywhere on her body and is growing like a weed! Her name is Welsh for "Lady" and Cairngorm represents her sire, MacDhui, named after the tallest mountain in the Cairngorm mountain range in Scotland. Awards: Too young to show until Spring 2009. Sold!
Learn more about Nerys

Thistledown's Octavius Knightrider

	Octavius arrived on New Year's Day, 2008, hence the name, which is Latin for "eighth". This maroon, recessive black, 15/16 Peruvian male is the genetically blessed son of two colored, Champion parents. Weighing nearly 23lbs at birth, and standing as tall as our month old crias on the day he arrived, this youngster was racing neck and neck with the rest of the gang at only one week of age. His maroon fiber is so glossy it looks and feels wet - wonderful handle, uniformity and crimp already, and he is exhibiting the same excellent density of both of his parents, together with their outstanding conformation, carriage and coverage. Awards: Too young to show until Fall 2008. Sold!
Learn more about Octavius

Thistledown's Shaun Knightrider

	Shaun is the full Peruvian fawn / recessive black son of Goldie, a white female whose fleece placed second at the AOBA Nationals, and our Champion true black herdsire, Peruvian Knightrider. Shaun has soft-handled, crimpy fiber and the most beautiful face. Both his parents have excellent conformation and coverage and with a black sire and two black grandparents he has potential to produce black and grey offspring. His award-winning maternal half-brother Magnus and his maroon paternal half-brother, Octavius, will remain in our herd, which is why Shaun and his dam Goldie are currently available for sale. Awards: Too young to show until Fall 2008. Sold!
Learn more about Shaun

Thistledown's Boadicca Nikos

	This jet black daughter of our 3X Champion dark silver grey male Nikos, and a multiple award-winning true black dam, is named after Boadicca, the Celtic warrior Queen who defeated the Romans in Britain, and whose name means victory. Boadicca is exactly what we are breeding for in black - solid, non-fading and true. She is so black it is difficult to make out any features on her at all! Her fiber is dense and curly with handle like velvet. Her dam is Lakisha, daughter of the 5X Champion brown male, CPeruvian LB Remington. Lakisha has beautiful, square, heavy-boned conformation and excellent fiber density - her show-skirted, juvenile blanket had an annualized shearing weight of over 4lbs. Boadicca's sire is our half-Accoyo grey male, Nikos, whose 30 month shearing was awarded 20/20 points for fineness and hand by Diana Timmerman when he won Reserve Champion grey fleece at MAPACA 2006. A grandson of Accoyo Felix and Accoyo Yupanqui, Nikos also won the halter Championship out of 33 grey males at the 2005 Virginia Classic, a blue ribbon in halter at MAPACA 2005 under Julio Sumar, and Best Multi/Grey fiber in show at the huge OABA Spinoff. He holds fineness over time and offers excellent quality in colored fiber. Awards: Ready to show in Spring 2009. Sold!
Learn more about Boadicca

Thistledown's Alexia Knightrider

	Alexia is the fawn / recessive black daughter of our 4X blue ribbon-winning pinto Aurora, and our Champion true black herdsire, Peruvian Knightrider. Her full sister, Agnes, is a pinto like their dam, but Alexia appears to be solid fawn. From a genetic perspective, breeding a white spot with a solid should produce a solid offspring 50% of the time, and a white spot offspring 50% of the time, so these results conform with that theory of color inheritance. Alexia has soft-handled, crimpy fiber and the most beautiful face. Both her parents have excellent conformation and coverage and with two black grandparents, one grey and one white, Alexia should be a good choice to produce black and grey offspring. We are considering keeping her in our breeding program as a replacement for her dam, Aurora, who is currently available for sale. Awards: Too young to show until Fall 2008. Sold!
Learn more about Alexia

Thistledown's Cedrych Tundra

	Cedrych (pronounced ked-rick) is the first-born son of our full Peruvian, award-winning white male Tundra. Cedrych is a full Peruvian fawn and white pinto male, with some of the best fiber we have seen on any cria born on our farm in the last 7 years. His fiber is dense, bright, soft and thick with crimp - you can barely find his skin - and full Peruvian patterns are about as rare as hen's teeth! His dam is a solid full Peruvian maroon, and Cedrych has dark markings around his eyes, so has potential to produce solid colored offspring. The name Cedrych is welsh for "bounty" (ced) and "pattern" (drych), and he really is "all that". Look for this one in the showring next year. Awards: Cedrych placed second in full fleece halter at his first show, the Level IV VAOBA Expo in October 2008, with the judge commenting on his extreme density and character. Sold!
Learn more about Cedrych