Psalm23Farm: April 2012

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Ram and Ram Lamb Micron Counts

Crossing Sires:

Coopworth- 32.2Ave 6.0SD 18.5CV 10.2CEM 0<15 38.8CF 30.7SF 29.9Min 36.1Max 28.4CRV
Corriedale- 25.1Ave 5.0SD 19.9CV 9.5CEM 0.7<15 86.3CF 24.2SF 21.5Min 27.4Max 61.6CRV

Adult Shetlands:
Fairlight- 27.6Ave 5.7SD 20.6CV 10.2CEM 0.3<15 69.7CF 26.8SF 24.1Min 31.2Max 62.4CRV
Fandango-  26.0Ave 6.1SD 23.6CV 10.4CEM 2.7<15 75.5CF 25.9SF 22.6Min 29.9Max 69.2CRV
Fife-   27.3Ave 6.1SD 22.5CV 11.3CEM 1.1<15 72.1CF 26.9SF 24.7Min 30.1Max 56.9CRV
Craigrothie-27.1Ave 6.1SD 22.6CV 11.4CEM 0.5<15 72.5CF 26.8SF 24.5Min 29.0Max 50.2CRV
Gilroy- 24.9Ave 6.5SD 26.1CV 12.7CEM 3.5<15 81.4CF 25.4SF 24.1Min 26.2Max 74.6CRV

Ram Lambs/Yearlings:

Hector- 23.4Ave 5.2SD 22.3CV 10.3CEM 2.3<15 89.8CF 23.0SF 21.6 Min 25.8Max 69.7CRV
Huckleberry-27.5Ave 5.8SD 21.0CV 10.1CEM 0.9<15 71.3CF 26.8SF  23.4 Min 30.4Max 54.1CRV
Humphry- 24.7Ave 5.3SD 21.6CV 9.0CEM 2.1<15 86.8CF 24.1SF  22.5 Min 26.1Max 71.9CRV
Skeld Ram- 22.4Ave 5.3SD 23.5CV 9.7CEM 3.7<15 92.6CF 24.1SF  19.9Min 25.2Max 47.89CRV

Fairlight and Hector are F1 Jings, Humphry is Fairlight's son so is an F2 Jings

Huckleberry is an F1 Black/Ram (I culled the other Black/Ram ram lamb as he was aggressive and jumped fences-he may have been finer, but was less crimpy.)

Fandango is and F2 Greyling and Gilroy is and F4 Greyling (Gilroy is a leased ram.)

Fife is an F1 Orion

Craigrothie and Skeld Ram are F1 Skeld (I actually wasn't going to keep the yearling, but his fleeces was very soft and he grew really well. He is polled so may be for sale as I like horned better.)

Monday, April 16, 2012

Kids!

I got a red kid out of two AAGBA whites!!!!! It is quite unusual to get colored of of AAGBA (pure) whites. He, if he turns out, will be my next colored buck. He is completely unrelated to my CAGBA goats, except for a couple out of the same AAGBA buck and colored does. This fall I will use the black buck and next fall I can use him as he will be too young to use this year.

One the left is an AAGBA X CAGBA (colored) kid and the AAGBA kid on the right. He is darker! He is actually the darkest kid this year. A lot of times the apricot kids fade to white when they grow up. I don't know if he will or not.

Here he is again in the front.

Here he is with his twin, a white doe kid.

Triplets taking a siesta.

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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Saturday, April 28, 2012

Ram and Ram Lamb Micron Counts

Monday, April 16, 2012

Kids!

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