Psalm23Farm: September 2012

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Nepal in His Prime

I just found a picture of Nepal the black buck from Judy while looking up some information one a couple goats sites. http://tredd.com/lavenderhill/boys_of_lavender_hill.htm His sire Warlock is also pictured on the website from his original farm.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

WI Sheep And Wool

This year at the WI sheep and Wool Festival I got to visit with several other Shetland Sheep Breeders and an Angora Goat Breeder friend. One of the Angora Breeders, Judy, did not come back to vend so it was kind of sad not to see her with her booth filled with all sorts of wonderful mohair locks and yarn. She is just going to keep her goats for pets now and is getting out of both selling goats/breeding and vending. (I bought her last two bucks earlier.)

I don't have any pictures but http://underthesonshetlands.blogspot.com/ , http://www.okacres.com/ and http://ramsayfarms.blogspot.com/ have lots of nice pictures of the Shetland show and a few of the fleece show.

I entered five very crimpy single coated fleeces and won a second place with the white. The others did not place. One of the colored ones that did not place won a Reserve Champion last year at Greencastle. This years fleece is a little nicer as it is longer (shown after the rise instead of before.) The fleece that won Champion was a spectacular jet black of Theresa's . The Reserve Champion was also really nice- a soft, crimpy grey with black tips. I think it was either Garrett's or Kim Nikolai's.

Sales were good this year thanks to many return customers. Thank you!

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Pet Angora Goat For Sale

I have a yearling super fine (her mohair is kid fine now) and locky fleeced white Angora doe, Heidi for sale. She is available as a pet because of her size. She is too small to be bred. She was tested negative for CAE. Heidi is $60 after I shear her of $85 now.

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Lambs

Here are some pictures of my lambs. Most are crossbreds and are Shetland X Coopworth or Shetland X Corriedale. The grey katmoget is a Corriedle X and has very fine crimpy wool. I have two ewe lambs like that and they are for sale. I have a few black/charcoal grey/ dark brown Corriedale X lambs as well.

I also have several white Coopworth X ewe lambs that are fantastic. I'm selling all the white cross lambs this year so the best are available. They really are nice and big with long (some have 4 or 5 in already) silky, soft fleece.

The little grey ewe lamb (next to the black with horns) is Gloria's out of Gilroy.

Keeper doe kid. Both her and her sister look alike, one is a tad paler. Both are super fine and soft!

Kids....I have several very nice doe kids and could sell a starter group with an unrelated buck if anyone is interested. Or they are for sale individually too. All are to be registered with CAGBA.

(Not sure why blogger is changing the color on my pictures. Again. Grrr.)

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."

Psalm23Farm

Pages