2010 Breeding Groups

I've been really busy around here. Last week we had a really strong wind storm and the goats' shed blew away and got smashed with the goats in it. The goats are fine, but were cold when I found them. They are temporarily living in the cow shed. The steer is a lot tougher than shorn Angoras! Got to work on fixing that now.

Did AI on 5 ewes this past Sat. at Hidden Valley Woolen Mill. There were a total of about 35- 40 sheep done. Breeds done included Shetlands, Coopworths, % Teeswaters, % Gotlands, one ewe was bred to Racka, and one Dorset to East Frisian. It's always nice to see other sheep producers.

PS23 Campbell- fawn katmoget (F1 Jericho) fine, very soft fleece is getting 7 ewes

PS23 Dingdong- fawn, very silky soft fleece, may carry spots (100% Dailley)
Windswept Lime-white, bold crimped, shiny fleece (F2 Jings)
PS23 Finch- black, cimpy fleece (F2 Greyling, F3 Holly/ Jericho)
PS23 Ferndale-black, crimpy fleece (F1 Gordon, F3 Jericho)
PS23 Flourance-white, bold crimped, very soft and silky fleece (F2 Skeld, F3 Brent, F4 Skeld, Jericho) smaller ewe
PS23 Evening Primrose-sheala gulmoget, long silky fleece (some UK way back)
PS23 Eastwind-emsket HST (spotted), long fleece (some UK way back)

PS23 Campbell's fleece

PS23 Fife- moorit (F1 Orion, F4 Minder/ Timothy) very fine and soft fleece is getting 5 girls

PS23 Daysong- grey katmoget, soft crimpy single coat, may carry spots and modified (F2 Jericho)
PS23 Edelweiss-musket katmoget, very silky soft single coat (F2 Brent, F3 Skeld/ Jericho)
PS23 Ely Cathedral-fawn katmoget, bold crimped fleece (F3 Jericho as well as some other UK way back)
PS23 Essex-moorit, soft loosely crimped fleece (F2 Jericho)
PS23 Finch-white, long silky fleece (F2 Dillon, F3 Jericho/ Skeld) PS23 Fife's fleece

PS23 Fairlight- white (F1 Jings, F3 Greyling/ Holly) very fine, crimpy and soft fleece. Polled/scurred. He is getting 2 Shetland girls and the Merino.

PS23 Emrald-grey katmoget (F2 Jericho) very silky soft fleece
SheepyHollow Sienna-moorit (F3 Timothy/ Minder, F4 Jamie) very fine single coat. Horned ewe
Alice-white purebred Merino PS23 Fairlight's fleece

AI Group (not sure who I'll use as a clean up ram/s yet.) I picked this group based on size, fleece, production (and potential production for the 2 maiden ewes) and all around conformation.

PS23 Funzie-grey katmoget (F1 Jings, F3 Greyling/Holly) very fine, crimpy and soft fleece. Horned ewe (Fairlight's twin.)
Sabbath Farm Sawn-musket (100% Dailley) Very silky, soft fleece (she had twins and one of her lambs, PS23 Goldenrod, is the biggest pure lamb I have)

Both these girls were AI'ed to Island Skeld a very nice white ram.

PS23 Forsythia-light grey (F2 Gretling/Holly, F3 Skeld) very fine, crimpy single coat

She was bred to Drum Jings a nice white ram.

Sabbath Farm Silvia-light grey (100% Dailley) Very silky, soft fleece (her twins are both good sizes and have better fleeces than her.)
Sabbth Farm Fonteyn-fawn katmoget (F2 Greyling/Holly) crimpy single coat (she had triplets that grew fairly well without being supplemented) Horned ewe.

Both these girls were bred to Drum Ram a nice black ram.


Cross groups for commercial ewes and market lambs:
(All PS23 sheep are purebred registered Shetlands.)

Cooper-white purebred Coopworth ram is getting 10 girls
5 unregistered Shetlands (3 light grey and 2 musket)
Febee-white Shetland x Merino
Fuzz-white Shetland X Corriedale/1/8 Dorset
PS23 Elm-light grey, fine double coat (100% Dailley)
PS23 Early Spring-mioget, fine double coat (Some UK way back)
PS23 Ewe Won-mioget HST (spotted), fine double coat (100% Dailley) Cooper's fleece

Windham-white (color carrier) purebred (Australian style-smaller than the show type) Corriedale is getting 7 ewes.

Fudge- charcoal Shetland X Bluefaced Leicester
Eco-grey katmoget Shetland X Bluefaced Leicester
PS23 Easterlilly-white, single coat (F2 Skeld)
PS23 Dove-white, bold crimped, silky single coat (F2 Skeld/Jericho)
PS23 Felicity-white, single coat (F2 Skeld, F3 Jericho)
PS23 Fairlie-fawn (F1 Orion), fine double coat
PS23 Ewe Two-moorit, single coat (F2 Orion)
Windham's fleece

#267 (need to think of a name)-charcoal purebred Coopworth ram lamb is getting 7 girls. (I got him as Cooper does not carry color and I have a demand for colored fleeces.)

Fronzie-white Shetland X Merino
PS23 Bluebell-sheala iset, double coat (F3 Jamie)
Bramble Jocelyn-moorit, fine double coat/intermediate (100% Dailley)
UnderTheSon Sorrelle-moorit, double coat (100% Dailley)
UnderTheSon Claremori-fawn, fine double coat/intermediate
PS23 Cinderella-black iset, double coat (Some UK way back)
Longshadow Amber-dark musket, silky soft fleece (100% Dailley) Both photos are #267's fleece

For goats:

Caspian-faded red CAGBA buck is getting 1 doe (was going to breed him to Pearl, but found out she is his dam's full sister. Also too related to the other CAGBA does as two are his daughters and one is a cousin.)

Belle-white color carrier CAGBA doe (threw silver once)

Albee-white AAGBA buck from OR (kids out of CAGBA x AAGBA can be CAGBA registered)

Eden-AAGBA white TX doe
Pearl-faded red/taupe CAGBA doe
England-grey CAGBA doe

Danburry-white AAGBA TX buck

Terra-AAGBA white doe
Jade-AAGBA white doe
Treasure-AAGBA white doe
China-black CAGBA doe
France-white color carrier CAGBA doe

Next year I am planning on buying or leasing a black or faded red buck to get color back into the herd as all the kids will be white or very pale faded reds.
#267

Pros and Cons of breeding ewe lambs

I've been thinking about the pros and cons of breeding ewe lambs.


Pros for breeding as lambs:

*Get improvements faster by turning over a new generation.

*Get a lamb as well as a fleece for feeding over winter.

*Animals bred as lambs or kids are supposed to have more milk over thier life than those that are bred as yearlings or 2yr olds.


Cons for breeding as lambs:

*The ewe or doe may not get as big as they would they waited until they are a yearling to be bred.

*If I did not breed them as lambs I could keep a few extra ewe lambs and then cull the ones with the smallest and lowest quality fleeces after shearing. (They would still get a better price than an older animal because they would still be lambs.)

*I would not have to grain the ewe lambs if they were not bred (I'm graining them now to make sure they can grow enough before lambing.)

*While I've never had problems lambing them out ewes bred as lambs are more likely to have trouble than older ewes (I think this depends on the breed somewhat as well as management.)




The shepherds in the UK tend to wait until the ewes are a year to breed them, while many US shepherds breed the ewes as lambs.

Douglas the NCC's group

Sonsie 108 "Douglas"-(a Reg. North Country Cheviot) is a muscular ram with down type wool. I don't believe that he carries color so all his lambs will be white.
Eve-(PS23 Carmicheal a Shetland X Potter the NCC) is a white Shetland mule with very fine longwool type fleece.
Eco-(Anastasia a Shetland X Potter the BFL) is a grey katmoget Shetland mule with fine longwooltype fleece.
Meatball(my sister named her) is a 3/4 Coriedale X 1/4Dorset. Her lambs are just for market. She has down type wool-good for Q-batts.
Windswept Lime-(Windswept Great White Shark X Windswept Ladybug) has a very large white intermediate fleece.
PS23 Bluebell-(Justalit'l Joshua X MacEwen Kelly) is a coarser double coated black iset ewe.
PS23 Ariel-(Glennsdale Jedidiah X Bramble Jocelyn) is a coarser double coated med. grey ewe.(Ariel has had very nice fleeced pure bred lambs and some that were not nice at all)
MacEwen Kelly-(Glennsdale Jedidiah X Glennsdale Hyacinth) is a coareser double coated lt.grey ewe
PS23 Almond-(Maplewood North Licorice X Holy Hills Onyx) is a double coated black iset ewe.
Minwawe Milky Way(Minwawe Captain X Minwawe Galaxy) is a fine double coated ewe. Milky Way is a smaller ewe.
Clarice-(Unreg. Shetland) is a lt. grey coareser double coated ewe.
PS23 Diamond-(Windy Acres Golden Eagle X PS23 Bluebell) is a double coated shaela ewe.
Bramble Jocelyn-(Great Plains Joey X Bramble Ginny) is an intermediate-double coated moorit iset.
PS23 Buttercup-(MacEwen Kirkwall X Holy Hills Onyx) is a double coated black iset ewe.

Most of Douglas'es lambs are for market but a few Shetland-Cheviots may go for breeding stock (and I may keep two to compare to the mules.)

Potter the BFL's group

Richert 79 Potter-(a Reg. Bluefaced Leicester) Potter has a very fine fleece and throws colored lambs as well as whites.
Holy Hills Onyx-(Sheepy Hollow Ol'Blue X Longshadow Jewel) is a very fine double coated sheala ewe. Onyx has a very good milk supply and should have very nice mules!
PS23 Chickadee-(MacEwen Lincoln X PS23 Ariel) is a fine double coated non-fading black ewe.
PS23 Cailly-(Island Skeld X Holy Hills Onyx) is a fine double coated white ewe.
PS23 Bethany-(Maplewood Licorice X Bramble Jocelyn) is a dk. brown iset ewe with double coated fleece.
PS23 Cinderella-(MacEwen Linclon X PS23 Bluebell) is a double coated black ewe.
Longshadow Brownie-(Longshadow Bretram X Longshadow Portia) is a lt. musket (does not carry solid) intermediate fleece ewe,
Longshadow Bramble-(Longshadow Bretram X Sheepy Hollow Fern) is a fine fleeced double coated ewe. Bramble is lt. grey (she does not carry solid.) Bramble should have very nice mules!
PS23 Dingdong-(Windy Acres Golden Eagle X Bramble Jocelyn) is an intermediate-double coated fawn ewe.
Anastasia-(Unreg. Shetland ) Anastasia is an intermediate fleeced gray katmoget. She had a nice mule last year that I kept.
PS23 Destiny-(PS23 Craigrothie X Longshadow Orphan Annie) is an intermediate-double coated lt. musket (carries solid)
PS23 Daina-(PS23 Carigrithie X MacEwen Kelly) is an intermediate-double coated ewe.
Longshadow Amber-(Longshadow Rutherford X Lonshadow Spice) is a fine fleeced intermediate dk. musket(carries solid). Amber's mules will be very nice!
Alice-(a pure-bred Australian Merino) Alice is just for fun of seeing a BFL x Merino (I did the Shetland X Merino last 2 times and got ram lambs.)


(Potter's goup of ewes on the whole are nicer fleeced ewes than Douglas the NCC's.)

A.I. group

PS23 Dancer-(PS23 Craigrothie X PS23 Carmicheal) is a very fine fleeced single coated white. Dancer is a smaller ewe and has good conformation and tail. Dancer was bred to Kier Gordon.
UnderTheSon Craremori-(Justalit'l Silas X Glenmore March Madness) is a mioget/fawn intermediate fleeced ewe. Claremori has a nice tail and confotmation. Craremori was bred to Hieghts Orion.
Sheepy Hollow Sienna-(Underhill OB 1 Quixote X Great Plains Dainty) is a very fine fleeced non-iset moorit. Sienna is a taller ewe with good conformation and tail. Sienna was bred to Hieghts Orion.
UnderTheSon Stella-(Underhill Grant X Sabbath Farm Swan) is a very soft, intermediate fleeced ewe. Stella has great conformation and tail. Stella was bred to Island Skeld.
Sabbath Farm Fonteyn-((Underhill Bothwell X Walnut Rise Janet) is a soft single coated ewe. Fonteyn is a large ewe with a nice tail and conformation. Fornteyn was bred to Drum Jings.
PS23 Daysong-(PS23 Campbell X PS23 Bethany) is an intermediat-single coated ewe. Daysong's tail needs to be improved. Daysong was bred to Kier Gordon.



I did have 2 other ewes, but they for sure did not settle (I saw them getting bred by a "clean up"ram) Hopefully these 6 Did settle!

Trevor's group

PS23 Ely Cathedral-(Lil'Country Damascus X PS23 Daysong) is an intermediate fleeced fawn katmoget with good conformation and tail.

PS23 Ewe Two-(Windy Acres Golden Eagle X PS23 Crombie) is a single coated moorit with excellent conformation and tail.
Sheepy Hollow Coco-(Sheepy Hollow Acorn X Sabbath Farm Fonteyn) is an intermediate fleece horned black. Coco has a good tail, but is hocky so hopfully that will be improved.
PS23 Easterlilly-(PS23 Craigrothie X Longshadow Orphan Annie) is a very fine single coated ewe. She has a perfect tail, but she too is hocky so hopfully she'll be improved.
PS23 Essex-(PS23 Campbell X Bramble Jocelyn) is an intermediate fleeced moorit. Essex has a great tail and conformation.





Walnut Rise Trevor-(Enfield Greyling X Walnut Rise Mary) is a fine fleece very dk. grey katmoget. Trevor has good conformation and horns.


(I borrowed Trevor from Maureen K. and he is back home and I did not get to take a picture of him)

Craigrothie's group

PS23 Craigrothie-( Island Skeld X Holy Hills Onyx ) a white with fine, lustrous, single coated fleece. Craigrothie has excellent conformation and a perfect tail. He has abberrant horns as he sire both horned and polled ram lambs. Craigrothie is a well mannered ram.
Longshadow Orphan Annie-(Longshadow Rutherford X Longshdow Bethany) is a fine fleeced intermediate. Annie is lt. grey (carrys solid) Annie has a good tail, but her back legs are slighty hocked so hopfully that will be improved. (She was bred to Trevor, but I think she came back in heat)
PS23 Crombie- ( Heights Orion X Bramble Jocelyn ) a moorit iset with crimpy single coated fleece. Crombie has a good tail and conformation. Her fleece is "spongy" and dull so I hope that Craigrothie improves that.
UnderTheSon Brulee- (SabbathFarm Marceau X Thistlekeep Aquilegia ) is a dk. moorit iset with very soft intermediate fleece and great conformation and tail.
PS23 Elm- ( Windy Acres Golden Eagle X MacEwen Kelly) is a lt. grey double coated ewe with good conformation and tail.
PS23 Emrald- ( PS23 Campbell X Holy Hills Onyx) is a fine, soft, lusterous intermediate fleeced dk. grey katmoget. Emrald has a nice tail and conformation.
PS23 Edelwiess- (PS23 Drummond X PS23 Dove) is a very lusterous crimpy single coated-intermediate musket katmoget.
PS23 Evening primrose-(V Creek Prince Valiant X Longshadow Amber) is a black solid side gulmoget. Evening Primrose is a silky intermediate-double coated ewe with a good tail and conformation.



Craigrothie was my "clean up" ram for the ewe lambs and some of the purebreeding ewes. (Justinian originally had more ewes, but most came back in heat for Craigrothie. It was the way I bred them not Justinian's fault.)