Psalm23Farm: November 2012

Monday, November 12, 2012

Goat Breeding Groups 2012

On Sun. I put all the breeding groups of sheep together as they should be done breeding. (I had a couple groups combined on Sat. and finished on Sun.) Boy chores sure are easier now! I finally got the goats together on Sun. as well. (I would have waited until Mon., but Mon.'s weather was supposed to be cold and snowy, which it is, and 4 of my 12 goats were in heat.) Next spring at the tail end of lambing I'll have kids which is a good thing as I won't have to shear the goats as early and it hopefully will be warmer for the more sensitive kids.

Lavendar Hill Nepal-fine "black" (charcoal) Hopeing for intense color in this group!

PS23 Germany-white color carrier out of Pearl and Danburry the TX buck

Colorfield China-"black" (charcoal)

PS23 England-"black" (med. grey)

PS23 France-white color carrier (Henry's full sister)

Colorfield Pearl-faded red/taupe

PS23 Heath-white color carrier out of Pearl and Albee the OR buck.

PS23 Henry-white color carrier out of Belle and Goathill Caspian (a faded red.) All of the goats in this group have really nice mohair- I'm hoping for a few colored kids to pop up!

PS23 Geneva-(Germany's twin)

PS23 Hailey-white color carrier out of China and Danburry

STAG Rocky-AAGBA (pure white) from TX. All of his does are AAGBA whites.

STAG Eden-TX doe

RCF Terra-OR doe

DFD Jade-OR doe

KSF Ivy-super fine fleece (I actually mistook her fleece for a first cut kid fleece, but then realized that it was too curly and remembered that I sold most of it.)

Dyed Chicks

I just found out that some people dye chicks! Crazy! The eggs are injected with dye before they hatch. As the chick grows up they do loose the color. Personally I like to natural colored chicks best and some may buy these guys as pets and not take care of them. Though I do wonder what a broody hen would think if some of the dyed ones were put under her. "Oh My, what happened to my children!?"

A video of the little guys: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3sfUakyaoU&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3sfUakyaoU&feature=related

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

Monday, November 12, 2012

Goat Breeding Groups 2012

Dyed Chicks

Followers

About Me