At Autumn Sun Alpacas, we know that is no secret that this true black herdsire is an all-around package that you will want to cover any dam, light or dark colored! Secret is a black that had no fading at his tips or interspersed white fibers when he was showing (he's getting a few 'old man' white hairs now). This isn't surprising with a lineage that includes notable black sires like Othello, recently deceased, and Snowmass Nova's Dark Quest. With his distinctive head and leg coverage, along with his inky black fiber, many stopped and stared at Secret the ring. And worthy of that attention, his fiber has extreme density, bright shine, bundled crimp, and soft handle. These are traits that you want to add or amplify in your breeding program! This is obvious in the 10x champion true black son, AutumnSun's Black Maelstrom. We were fortunate to have had our program benefit from such an exceptional offspring, especially as he was just one of only a few we have performed to Secret! We have the fortune of several excellent herdsires, including grey and black, so Secret has had to be patient. And, Maelstrom is just as a precocious stud just as his sire, as both started breeding under 2 years old. Father and son both breed black well into our program. As our Secret is getting up there in years and we we don't want to overtax him (he is still breeding for us), we are closing him to outside breedings.

Marcy is a mature dam but all the positive ways. She is proven to produce improved crias following the colors of their sires. She has bred, birthed, nursed and nurtured with ease all females except for one male, and in fawn and brown colors from fawn sires and black color from brown, grey and black sires. Marcy has herself and has passed to her crias an uniformity of micron and style across her blanket, which leads to a lasting next-to-skin comfort-feel. Her fiber is still soft and bright now, with a smooth handle after several pregnancies. When bred to different males she has taken their attributes and added them to hers for an improved cria. Marcy is a calm alpaca -- not a 'troublemaker' in the herd, easy to handle, and while being a good mom she isn't overly protective of her crias so as to make cria care a problem. She has no or care issues and is in good health. She is an attentive dam and productive nurser, with all of her crias having grown well. She is nicely conformed, still well balanced and relaxed in her easy, healthy movement. Our shearer had commented on how good her condition was, never guessing her to be a senior girl until told, and asked us how we kept our older alpacas looking good. His assessment reinforced our belief that good breeding and robust fiber come from healthy alpacas not 'dieting' to reduce their micron. She was sweet, calm female. She .passed away in the summer if 2022 at a few months shy of 22 years old. RIP.