Shade is an eye catching little ram!

Shade is a lively lamb full of life. He was up and nursing right a way. Mom Shadow is a doting mother. She has excellent conformation--her parts fix together well. Nice snug well supported udder and a heavy milker.  She is a Ag  a grey black and her fleece is very soft. Shade has a wonderful crimp to his fleece. I will watch him close as he grows.  His white Border Leicester sire gave him a bit more size, an easy lambing head and shoulders.

Friend Gail said he will soon turn gray and the only black spots will be on his face and legs. He will give his greying gene Ag to all his lambs. So we will have musket, grey, pewter colored lambs. Thanks to Gail I get to sound educated on the colors, I am just learning as I go. This fall Shade will get all my ewes. He and the Shetland ewes should produce lambs that will grow into ewes for 120-130 pound range. All the extra lambs should weigh 70 pounds by fall and bring a good price.  

Our next sheep run: We have made final arrangements with Rayna. Next Monday we will meet in Brainerd to exchange my 2 ewes for Goldie and Silver. Silver and Goldie are due the same time as my other 2 ewes in May.

 Our next sheep run will be in early July to Gail's farm to pickup Blue Bell  and a nice good sized Finn ewe lamb of an interesting color....to be determined.

Mid July we will travel to Garrett's and pickup 6 wet ewes on weaning day. My flock will have a lot of color, some carry spots and modifers. My ewes are yearlings, most 2 and 3, and a 4 and  5 year old - many lamb years ahead of them. It will be an exciting breeding fall and then the WAIT for Spring 2011 lambs.

Its been a trial and error to get the flock "right". I bought some ewes that didn't fit my changing objective and they went on to good homes. My Shetland and crossbred Shetland ewes bred to Shade for increased size and wool clip should get me to my goal. A flock of medium sized ewes that has the hardiness of the Shetland, a bit bigger in size for bigger market lambs--as we know we can't keep every lamb-----and retain the soft fleece with good crimp.  The Finn ewe and Goldie - looks Tunis-no one knows her breeding-  will provide a bit of 'something different" to keep it interesting for many years.

Till later

Jerry