Psalm23Farm: Spring Is Here!

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Spring Is Here!

I've been busy (blade) shearing, hoof trimming and vaccinating with CDT my sheep and crotching the goats. (I'll shear the goats in April as they aren't as cold tolerant as sheep.) I got done with the ewes just in time as they are due to start laming on this Sat. I still have to shear my rams and yearlings. I have been skirting and weighing the fleeces and they are about 6-8 oz. heavier on average (skirted weight) than last year! The sheep are in very good condition this year and last year they were a bit on the thin side. (They got good Alfalfa hay this year and last year they had lowish quality grass hay.)

The first set of babies came on Tue.! China a black Angora doe gave birth to triplet bucks. The sire is Danbury a pure white Texas Angora. The surprise is the color of the kids. Pure white Angoras have been bred against color for so long that most pure whites don't have a color gene. I guess my buck does! I'm happy because these kids should have really nice mohair as pure whites generally have better mohair than the colored goats. The med. colored kid had weak tendons from being in a weird position in the womb-he was side ways. I put splints on and he is fine now. (I took the splints off tonight.) The poor white kid was rejected, so he is a bottle baby. It was partly his fault as he was stupid and refused to drink (I tried to get him to nurse from her.) He had to be tubed and then finally accepted a bottle at 4 AM after being born at about 5 PM.

This is one of the "ladies in waiting." Triplets?

2 comments:

Donna SchoonoverMarch 19, 2010 at 3:40 PM
Gorgeous colors on those kids, especially since it was unexpected. And your "lady in waiting" is quite huge. I hope there's triplets in there!
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LauraMarch 23, 2010 at 6:07 PM
Thanks!
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Welcome to Psalm 23 Farm

I'm breeding my NASSA registered Shetland sheep for fine and med. fine lustrous single coated fleeces in both the crimpy and the locky, wavy fleece styles. I have a wide range of colors and makings as well as the bright pure whites. I'm emphasizing on production, mothering ability and sound conformation. I have both horned and naturally polled Shetland rams and a few horned Shetland ewes.

I also produce fast growing grass-fed market lambs and commercial ewes with excellent fleece. (Shetland x Coopworth and Shetland x Australian Corriedale.) These F1 (first generation cross) ewes are great maternal ewes to put under a terminal sire for the ultimate grass fed market lamb.

Angora goats are my other love. I'm selecting for fine yearling grade mohair in adult animals. All of my goats are CAGBA (colored) or AAGBA (white) registered. I'm also selecting for sound healthy goats.

Posts will be about the Shetlands and Angoras with an occasional post about the other animals on the farm. Posts will also be about wool, spinning and a variety of other topics.

Psalm 23 Farm sells raw "jacketed" wool and mohair fleeces, mohair locks, dyed and natural Shetland and Shetland/mohair roving. Also sheepskins, quilt batts, handspun yarn, mohair lock yarn, and mill spun yarn.

From the Shetland Sheep Society

"Shetland sheep have for generations been noted for their very soft and well crimped fleece. The wool is the finest of all native breeds and shows an amazing variety of colours and patterns. There are 11 main whole colours and 30 recognized markings.

By selecting from coloured fleeces a range of naturally coloured yarn can be produced. This eliminates the need for dyeing and therefore retains the soft feel of the natural fibre and is favoured by those who prefer a totally natural approach.

Shetland wool fibres are of a simple construction witha central cortex covered by a thin scaly cuticle, and have an average diameter of about 23 microns. However there is a range from 10-20 microns for neck and shoulder wool to 25 to 35 microns for britch wool. the average staple length is 3.5 inches. The amount of crimp varies, and is most important in providing the 'bounce' required for knitwear. There is a positive correlation between fineness and crimp, with wool of the finest quality being crimped at between 8 and 12 to the inch. Wool from Shetland sheep is used to produce gossamer lace, the famous 'Fair Isle' knitwear, and fine tweeds. Pure bred Shetland sheep tend to shed their fleece in spring. The growth of new fleece can cause a rise or weak point and where this is present the fleece can sometimes be plucked or 'rooed' by hand. The timing of this can be different in each sheep, however, it is worth taking the care to get it right as rooed fleece can be amongst the softest because the fibers have no harsh cut ends as occurs with a sheared fleece.

Shetland fleece can be handspun straight from the fleece or made into rolags and then woollen spun. It can also be worsted spun by hand, used on a peg loom or handwoven. It also felts well using either dry or wet methods. When processed commercially the wool can be made into the finest lightweight worsted cloth or heavier weight, harder wearing fabrics and tweeds."

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Thursday, March 18, 2010

Spring Is Here!

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