“Quality Starts with K”
And the only place you’ll find
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Member: Alpaca
Registry, Inc. Member: Alpaca Owners and
breeders Association Member:
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Welcome
to Special K Alpacas! Conveniently located in Northeast Indiana, we are experienced
alpaca breeders who specialize in breeding high quality huacaya
alpacas having diverse genetics from outstanding bloodlines. Within our small herd you’ll find many unique treasures. Our herd has been built from high-quality
bloodlines and careful selection to produce the fine fleeces and correct
conformation important to the future of the alpaca industry. And visit our BLACK MARKET page to learn
about our black breeding program. We are a small farm - small by choice, so we can offer
individual attention to all our clients and our alpacas. We work with all of our alpacas on a daily
basis so that they’re comfortable with being handled. It makes routine maintenance so much
easier. We started our herd with alpacas chosen for their pedigrees and
potential. We maintain a diverse
selection of alpacas of all colors and of all origin, Peruvian, Bolivian, and
Chilean, all having their own strengths. Through careful selection, our
breeding program focuses on improvement with each generation while preserving
rare and elite genetics. Our focus as alpaca breeders is not on where we come from, but
where we’re going. We can help you get
going on a solid foundation with quality stock and unique bloodlines, and
work with you to build an exceptional herd you’ll be proud to call your own. If you’re searching for that “special” alpaca to start or add to
your herd, look over our selection. We
have alpacas for sale to suit every taste and every budget, whether you’re
looking for show-quality animals or good solid production stock with strong
genetics. We offer the services below, always with friendly attention. ·
ARI registered alpacas with superior pedigrees ·
Boarding ·
Stud service featuring our top-quality herdsires ·
Competitive pricing ·
Individual service and training based on your
needs and experience ·
Mobile shearing service- priority booking and
special pricing with any purchase |
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Kathy Kowal
About Us / Alpacas for Sale / Herdsires / Upcoming Events
/ Directions
/ Links/ BLACK
MARKET ALPACAS
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Performance data and EPDs 
Performance data are records and rankings of individual animals
according to measurable traits. Some of
the things we rank our alpacas for are conformation, bone structure, birth
weight, fleece character (fineness, consistency, staple length, etc) maternal
ability (ex: rate of growth of cria indirectly
measures milk output of dam), breeding ease.
We are participating
in the ARI’s Performance Record program, and we have
started ranking our alpacas according to performance data of our own. Our in-house Performance Data ranks alpacas
in our herd according to the qualities we
are looking for in our breeding
program.
All livestock breeders use performance data and EPDs (expected progeny differences) to measure where their
animals stand in relation to others.
Using a universal ranking system, you can make educated decisions about
breeding and purchasing livestock to attain the results you are looking for.
It’s the same thing as when I say “always breed up”, or “If she
needs density, find a really dense male to breed to”. How do you know how dense a male is? Do you look through the high-priced glossy
ads? Performance data QUANTIFIES the
trait you’re looking at. When you
honestly quantify all the individual traits of the alpacas in your herd, you
will see that some come out with high scores, and some come out with lower
scores. All this
means is that you are comparing your alpacas heads up on a level field for the
traits you think are important.
Understand that while many traits are universal, such as good
conformation and bite, some traits are desirable to individual breeding
programs only, and are not necessarily important to the alpaca industry as a
whole.
For instance, We
are looking for stocky, heavy boned animals of a smaller stature. We are also focusing on dark and black
animals. Therefore, animals that are
larger, or have that elegant, long look to them, do not fit our program, as do
many light-colored animals. We rank
these animals lower, according to our
preferences. A lower ranking does not
mean that an alpaca is inferior. It
means that for certain traits, this alpaca does not fit into our breeding
program. On your farm, if you
prefer a larger or leaner build, you would rank those animals higher.
What does this
mean for you? Our prices reflect this
ranking. A lower sale price does not mean that the alpaca is inferior in
any way. It just means that for certain
traits, she (or he) does not fit into our breeding program. I am also selling some of my older girls, who
have given me some very nice crias. I have their offspring now of breeding age,
so I can offer the original genetics to another farm for a reasonable
price.
Think about your
goals. What do you see as the “perfect”
alpaca? Do you like big alpacas, tall
stately alpacas, chunky alpacas, light or dark, or patterned alpacas? This could be your opportunity to pick up an
alpaca or two (at a VERY attractive price) that fits your breeding plan perfectly,
even though it doesn’t fit ours.
See something
you like? We’ll go over the numbers with
you. We’ll tell you how we ranked them,
and why we priced them as we have. We’ll
cover their strong points and their weaker areas (and yes, ALL alpacas have
their weak areas), and what we did to correct those weaker traits. We have birthing records, pictures or actual
offspring on the farm, and data to back our claims. We want your plan to be successful, and
selecting alpacas that meet your goals is the key to your success.
We breed for
high quality dark colors. Our bloodlines
are chosen for their rarity and ability to produce the elite fleeces we’re all
looking for. Before you purchase, look
at what’s available.
Don’t buy from
someone solely because they are located close to you. Visit multiple farms. Really look at what they have to offer. Make sure they will support you in your
enterprise.
And if you are
looking for outstanding qualities in dark color, you owe it to yourself to come
out and see what we have to offer. Right
now I have some wonderful animals on sale at VERY reasonable prices. And for a limited time, you can breed any
female purchased to an expanded line of herdsires at
our farm. Your choice! (we will offer
suggestions if you feel overwhelmed).