Psalm23Farm: Lambing update

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Lambing update

Down to nine ewes left to lamb! Yahoo! (Four to purebred and five that were crossbred.)

So far :

15 purebred Shetland ewes

10 purebred Shetland rams

8 Angora kids-5 bucks, 3 does (1 doe is a pure white!)That's all for the goats.

12 crossbred ewes

10 crossbred rams

In-between taking care of lambs I have finished up with shearing my yearlings and rams and have started on the goats (6 left to shear.) I also got all the (wool) fleeces ready to sell.

PS23 Emrald's twin ewe lambs out of SheltringPines Justinian. One is gulmoget and the other a double patterned gulmoget/katmoget. Emrald unfortunately will have to go to market this summer as last year she got mastitis on one side. I thought "she should have enough on one side to feed lambs and I can always supplement." Well she has no milk on either side. Both lambs are now bottle babies. At least they should get tame!

SheepyHollow Sienna's twin musket ewe lambs out of PS23 Drummond.

Windswept Lime's twin "Hoto bunny" lambs out of PS23 Fandango. One has a gray patch on he neck.

I had two oops ram lambs out of PS23 Drummond, a musket, who visited the ewes who were to be crossbred. The result was two ewes each had a crossbred ewe lamb and a purebred ram lamb. Both ram lambs have these markings and also have dark bellies! Weird thing is they are not katmoget as neither dam is katmoget (and Drummond is not either!) Both have darker wool at the skin than at the tip too. (Note neither will be registered.)

PS23 EveningPrimrose's twin Corriedale cross ram lambs. They are so cute!

Lovely pure white doe kid (out of the Texas buck and Texas doe)! She has the softest birth coat I have ever felt! She was born in the middle of the night when we had a thick frost and was severely chilled I held her in warm/hot water for about an hour and the blow dryed her for another hour. After getting a coat and some colostrum she was ready to go.

2 comments:

RaynaApril 6, 2010 at 7:37 PM
Oooo bottle baby gulmoget and gulkat?! Please tell me you're keeping them both!! :) Congrats on all the lovely babies :)
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Jen and Rich JohnsonApril 7, 2010 at 5:33 AM
Wow, that little white goat is SO cute! Just want to sweep her up and give her a cuddle! - Jen
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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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Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Lambing update

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