Sunday, March 15, 2015

THE MATURE EWE FLOCK AND THEIR FLEECES

 Wintertime Blurred Lines(3)--28.2/4.6/16.2/8.1/70.9/26.4 CF.  Bred to BoB for April.  Black gulmoget/katmoget with exceptionally nice type overall.  Fleece is consistent and has nice lock structure, crimp, luster and length.  She will be retained in the flock despite being over our limit for AFD.

 Sheltrgpines Lien(2)22.3/3.7/16.4/6.4/98.2/20.9 CF.  Bred to BoB for later April lambs.  Lovely white ewe I purchased from my friend Stephen at Sheltering Pines.  He retained her twin sister Gavotte.  Her fleece easily won GCH fleece at the 2014 MSSBA show under judge Mary Gibbings despite being very grey on the lock end(it never rained prior to shearing to give her a good bathing).  This ewe exhibits good type and a fairly easygoing demeanor.  She will be retained.

 Ramble N Chiquita(2)23.4/4.5/19.0/8.4/93.3/22.4 CF.  Fawn.  Bred to BoB for mid-April lambs.  Another really typey ewe who is sired by BoB's full brother Blake.  Unrelated lines to our flock on her dam's side make her one of the ewe's we plan to retain.  She hates people and was just barely under control for her photo shoot.  She has the longest fleece in the flock but is very consistent from front to back.


 Wintertime Morocco(3)27.2/5.9/21.8/10.4/71.6/26.7 CF. Spotted musket. Bred to Moose for late April lambs.  GCH Fleece MSSBA 2013 under judge Gillian Wakeling and GCH Shetland Fleece at MFF with her second fleece under judge Letty Klein.  Morocco needs a nicer head on her so she is bred to Moose who is just "pretty".  Morocco's fleece has a higher AFD and SD but has a very silky hand to it that makes you just want to keep sinking your fingers into it.  She has a perfect little Shetland tail and is spotted.   She may be for sale this summer as we have two half-sisters and many other related sheep in the flock.

 Sheltrgpines Blue Danube(3)25.5/4.7/18.6/8.0/86.7/24.3 CF.  Bred to Skylark for mid-April lambs.  Danube is a complete flake and can never decide if she wants to be around people or absolutely fears us all.  Her fleece is that deep blue color that doesn't translate in photos well.  Nice handle to it and lock structure.  She is a little weak in the back end, so we crossed her with Skylark who is a solid modified black polled ram in the hopes of some lovely emsket lambs.  She is spoke for if we decide to sell her.

 Sheltrgpines Mustang Sally(6)24.2/4.6/19.1/7.4/93.0/23.2 CF.  Bred to BoB for early April lambs.  Another deep blue-grey katmoget ewe with a very typey look about her and an attitude to match.  I know she would survive anything the Islands threw at her if she could take a plane trip over there.  Sally can be rooed completely every spring.  Her fleece is dense with a more cottony handle to it.  She has produced some really nice ram lambs crossed with BoB.  I am hoping for a ewe lamb this season.  She will probably be retained.

 Wintertime Cinnamon Sugar(2)22.6/4.0/17.8/6.8/97.9/21.5 CF. Fawn katmoget with spotting on her head. Bred to Moose for early May.  The only resident in our flock from the Maple Sugar line Cinnamon has it all in my opinion.  Very strong, solid, large ewe with a nice tail and very typey head.  This will be her first lambing.  She is being retained.

 Winter Sky Mandalay(4)25.4/5.0/19.7/9.0/86.2/24.4 CF.  Black with some grey fibers coming in now.  Bred to BoB for April lambs.  Out of my favorite ewe Marrakech(photos next photo shoot)this ewe won Best Fleece on Hoof and Best Dam and Daughter with her dam as a ewe lamb at the first MSSBA Show judged by UK judges.  We skipped a year and brought her back in 2013 when she won GCH Ewe and Reserve Supreme CH despite being completely wild and almost getting away from Meg a couple times(She was on fire.).  This past fall her son won Best Fleece on Hoof as a yearling ram.  The cross with BoB produced two beautiful ewe lambs for us last spring.  We hope for the same again this spring.  Mandalay may be for sale depending on how many lambs and yearlings we retain.

 Wintertime Alanis(5)27.1/4.7/17.5/8.3/78.1/25.6 CF.  Black.  Bred to Moose for mid-April lambs.  GCH Ewe and Reserve Supreme CH 2014 MSSBA Show(the only time she was shown).  We would love an entire flock of ewes like Alanis.  She has twinned for four years in a row and holds condition well while producing nice healthy, growthy lambs.  She is BoB's dam.  She is probably going to be retained but we won't know for sure until we have lambed everyone out and made some tough decisions.

 Undertheson Moire(4)26.4/4.8/18.1/8.3/81.1/25.1 CF.  Bred to BoB for early April lambs.  An attempt to bring in some outside lines this ewe has a very solid build on her, good tail, lovely head.  She has put on quite a bit of body capacity since joining our flock in August.  She does love her hay!  Not keen on her mixed fibered fleece although the handle is nice and silky and it should produce a nice tweedy yarn.  Bred to BoB who has shown the ability to produce quality fleeced lambs from a wide range of ewes.  She is for sale after lambs are weaned.

 Wintertime Ruby(9)25.1/5.7/22.6/10.6/83.3/24.8 CF.  Bred to Moose for later April lambs.  Moose has produced some really good breeding stock that has gone on to make a difference in the Shetlands being produced in N.A.  She has earned a nice retirement and this will be her last lambing.  She will be spending the rest of her winters with the ewe lambs that don't get bred.
 Wintertime Kerry Hill(2)24.0/4.4/18.5/8.2/92.4/22.9 CF.  Bred to Moose for April lambs.  A rare grey ilget patterned ewe sired by BoB.  Her fleece exhibits a lot of the qualities BoB puts on his offspring.  She is a smaller ewe with nice solid build.  Tail needs improving as it is short but more triangular.  She is for sale after lambs are weaned.

 Winter Sky Marrakech(6)25.1/6.1/24.4/11.1/80.2/25.2.  This ewe had a rough start in life and some setbacks but this year she is in excellent shape and bred to BoB for mid-April lambs.  She is our best producer for very fine/soft/lustrous fleeces.  She is being retained and kept on a diet of some fresh kale once a day.

 Spinnersend Mousa(2)24.6/4.5/18.3/8.2/90.9/23.4.  Bred to Wintertime Skylark for later April lambs.  This ewe is smaller like most BoB's offspring with an extremely nice, consistent fleece and lovely type.  She is being retained as she is a rare shaela gulmoget.

3 comments:

Spinners End Farm said...

Nice! They all look so chubby too....lambs soon! :)

Karen Valley said...

Lambs begin on the 30th with Maire the Merino first-timer bred to BoB. Then Sally and Moire and then more of the large girls with Shetland lambs expected through the beginning of May. 20 are bred on the farm. 5 are expecting on other farms. Big year for lambs.

erica said...

If you decide to sell Mousa let me know!