Melody falls into the elite category because of her fiber characteristics, coverage and conformation. She also has a wonderful personality. Her fiber stats from 2023 speak to the quality of fiber Melody has maintained over time. At nearly 16 years of age, Melody has maintained 24 AFD, with less than 12% of fibers over 30 microns. All of her offspring have maintained superior degrees of fineness with age. Melody and her siblings consistently yield high fleece weights, averaging between 7-10 pounds. The Sandusky and Symphony breeding combination was one of a kind. The level of offspring produced between the two was spectacular, consistently giving us crias with great coverage, coloration, and lock structure. Melody had beautiful long lustrous locks from her chin to her toes at birth, and still -- at almost 15 years of age -- sports facial fiber and a top knot so dense she's always bordering being fiber blind...
Even at her current age, Melody still holds her beauty. It's no wonder her crias are gorgeous! Melody still has an individual, penciled, lustrous lock structure, that hasn't declined at all since she was a cria herself. She has very strong fiber genetics, with her and her mother still shearing around seven pounds annually! That's far above average and hardly anything less than her first shearing was!!
Melody delivered her first beautiful Bachelor daughter in July of 2010. She was a beautiful Dark Brown female, Melody Mist's Isabella. In September of 2011 Melody gave us again a beautiful Bachelor daughter but this time true Black, Melody's Eight Belles, A.K.A. Bella. In 2013, Melody delivered a beautiful light rose gray male, Melody's Rosemont of Sandhills Suri, who is truly the best combination of his dam and sire.
Mel is one of the most athletic alpacas in our herd, and that trait has been passed down to her offspring and her offspring's offspring! Over or under, Mel and her lineage can find their way out of or into any paddock or pasture of their choosing. Melody's favorite evening activity is pronking and playing with granddaughter Tori (2-year-old true black daughter of Bella). They keep us on our toes!
2023 update -- Nearly ten years after delivering Rosemont, Melody welcomed her own mini-me, sired by Molly's California Crew, on June 20th. Melody has settled back into cria mode with ease; she truly is a phenomenal production female and we are thrilled to have another Melody cria! Melody's Makaia Mist is tall and stretchy, with dainty features and curly locks.
