Monday, February 22, 2010

Shearing set for Sunday

Let me know if you want to join us for shearing or have a fleece that you are interested in.  If you email me, please use the yahoo address listed.  I am keeping Pearl's (grey), Marshmello's (white), Olympia's (fawn gully), a few katmogets (Opal, Carmel, and Zeus) and fleckets (Sprinkles and Dessie).  The reason being is that I still have white, grey, and fawn Alpaca to use up from my last visit to the Alpaca farm.  If you would believe it, I also have white mohair from when I had my Angora goats.  I also want to try to process the fleckets from start to finish on my own.  Which leaves 12 fleeces for sale:  Shetland musket (off white to oatmeal), various shades of moorit (brown), and black; as well as Corriedale grey, Cheviot white available for sale.  Prices for raw fleece range from 4 to 15 dollars pound... most about $10 a pound, which ends up about $40 for a fleece on average.  The Shetlands will give a 2 1/2 to 5 pound fleece.  The Cheviot 5 to 6 pounds and the Corrie 10 to 12 pounds.  Tax and shipping would be added.  If you want to join us for shearing and help skirt and bag, you will get a 10% discount.  Email for more information.

Friday, February 12, 2010

Meet the Flock Sires at Mapleton Farm: past and present

PAST:
High Bid Kermit, micron 23 intermediate, lambs retained Opal, Carmel, and Peanut
 
 His son:  Mapleton Cooper, micron 24 intermediate, lambs retained Libby, Peep, and Zeus
  
PRESENT:
Cooper's son:  Mapleton Zeus, fall micron 24 intermediate (Edit here:  Spring micron 22.9!), breeding group Hester and Violet
  
 Minwawe Bahama - intermediate spring micron 24, lambs retained Violet and Dessie, breeding group included Cotton Candy, Pearl, Cha Cha, Sprinkles, Marshmello, Serendippity, Olympia, Hershey, and Spooky
  
 His son Mapleton Rip Tide:  double coated Peep and Carmel in his breeding group
  
 Harvest Thyme Champlain:  fall micron 25 single coated had Liberty Bell and Opal in his breeding group
  
 I didn't have the micron report in front of me...I remember the whole numbers for most of them off the top of my head but would have to look what it was to the tenths.  If you need/want more specifics, just let me know and I can dig it out. 

FUTURE:  The only rams above still here are Champ and Zeus.  One or both are half polls, but most the ewes were with the full horned former flock sires:  Bahama and Rip Tide.  Their genetics are a mystery as I am not sure if either are modified and Zeus might just be double patterned.  Their future here depends heavily on the lambs they throw this spring.  I usually sell my rams at 18 months and if I continue to do so, both these rams will be available for sale late fall.  I will most likely bring in an unrelated ram this summer through purchase or trade and will likely keep my favorite ram lamb.  I should have a little bit of everything for buyers this spring in terms of lambs.  About a month away now!  I can't wait!  Let me know if anything in my flock sparked your interest.  As lambs arrive they will be posted here and on my farm blog.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Non Shetland Ewes

My first three sheep consisted of these two below and the Shetland ewe Twin Springs Cotton Candy.
 
 Spooky was the first sheep here in 2006 and she is a Border Cheviot.  Spooky had a Shetland crossbred ewe lamb as a two year old, and twins...a ewe and ram as a three year old.  She is bred to Bahama for more Shetland cross lambs.  Her ram lamb last year, we wethered and kept for our own freezer and the meat is outstanding.  She is bagging up already so it won't be long now.  I am hoping for more ram lambs from her.
 
This is Hershey a Corriedale, Finn, Dorset cross bred triplet from Bear Farms.  She arrived at our farm the same day as Spooky.  SHE IS HUGE!  So I would not be surprised if she had triplets herself this year.  She had the cutiest Shetland cross bred twin white ewe lambs last year as a three year old.  I really loved her lambs and in hindsight should have kept one.  She is friendly big teddy bear.  Her lambs were sold to spinner flocks last year.  This year her ram lambs will be wethered to be raised as market lambs or for our own freezer, and any ewe lambs might be offered for sale to spinner, pet, cross breeding flocks, or 4-H homes.  If I decide to keep one of her ewe lambs...I might offer Hershey for sale.  There is a limit to how many "big" sheep I want to keep in my flock.  Since I like to use young rams, it is sometimes difficult to have one big enough to cover Hershey and her two year old year my ram lamb left her open.  Unless I decide to get a different ram for more crossbred lambs, I might decide Hershey would have more to add to another flock.  She is wonderful mother, loves to be stratched between the shoulder blades, and is haltered trained.  She gave me a beautiful 12 pound fleece last year!

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Meet Minwawe Sprinkles

This is Sprinkles.  She is by Minwawe Cupid 2 and out of Minwawe Marshmello.  She is a moorit and white flecket and  a coming two year old.  She had an outstanding fawn flecket ram lamb last year that in hindsight I should have kept as his micron average was 23ish (I don't have them in front of me at the moment) and he was an all around very well built boy.  So I am leaning toward keeping one of her lambs this year, I would expect her to twin.  She is my first to lamb this year I believe.  She is bred back to Minwawe Bahama in hopes of repeating the great results from last year.  She is the finest single coated ewe in my flock.  I am keeping her fleece, and Dessie's, this year to process myself as the flecket gets muted when mill prepared for roving.  I want to see if I can make some nice variegated yarn.

So that is the last of the Shetland ewes.  I will feature my Corrie and Cheviot in upcoming posts and they will have crossbred lambs this year.  Then I will do a meet the flock sires:  past, present, and ideas for the future series on the rams.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Meet Minwawe Marshmello!

This is Minwawe Marshmello.  I have no idea why it is spelled that way...it just is.  She is the oldest ewe in my flock at age 5.  Her sire is Minwawe Spots and her dam is Moo Chris Licorice.  She may look white, but technically she is a grey flecket, so a "big white spot".  I also own her daughters from the last two years, Minwawe Sprinkles and Mapleton Peep.  Having always singled prior to her arrival here, she twined for me last year and her son Mapleton S'more went to a lovely farm and is the flock sire there.  I can't wait to see her lambs this year, bred to Minwawe Bahama.  I am also excited to see her grandlambs here and at the other farm!  She has to have 2 in there don't you think?  She still has 6 weeks to go!

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Meet Mapleton Liberty Bell


This is"Libby".  She is Minwawe Silver Bell's and Mapleton Cooper's daughter.  She was exposed to Harvest Thyme Champlain.  Both may or may not be mioget...more likely they are both moorit as neither lightened up as much as I expected them to.  Maybe by breeding them together I will be able to figure out if either carry the modifier.  She is one of Cotton Candy's grand daughters and can often be found with the family unit of Cotton Candy.  All who are related to her tend to hang out togehter.  Very sweet and outgoing.  She is extremely square and has a perfect tail.  Her fleece is the probably the most double coated of all of last year's lambs.  Champ is single coated so I am hoping for a nice intermediate fleece from the combo.