It occurred to me that while I may not be able to navigate spreadsheet information very well, others might. So I am adding my flock micron spread sheet (provided by Texas A&M) here and to yesterday's post as well.
By this fall a few of the sheep on the list will not be in my flock anymore: Dolce is moving to another farm. Unicorn will be sold or put in the freezer. Delyth and Rai Min will be culled to the freezer. I haven't gotten a ewe lamb from Rai Min so I've been very undecided about her. Her lambs are always so much better fleeced when sired by Bombarde. But I want to keep my '09 ewe lambs and 3-5 rams, so I will need the space and I will cull her.
By this fall a few of the sheep on the list will not be in my flock anymore: Dolce is moving to another farm. Unicorn will be sold or put in the freezer. Delyth and Rai Min will be culled to the freezer. I haven't gotten a ewe lamb from Rai Min so I've been very undecided about her. Her lambs are always so much better fleeced when sired by Bombarde. But I want to keep my '09 ewe lambs and 3-5 rams, so I will need the space and I will cull her.
4 comments:
Sabrina you have so real great numbers and histos! Bombarde is just awesome! Comfort Factor of 90, that's great! As for those not-so-great numbers, hey we've all got 'em.
Thanks for honestly sharing your micron test results. I know I like buying from people who share the less than favorable results, along with promoting the good things that their sheep have to offer. I figure I have a better chance of knowing what I am getting.
Thank you, Juliann.
Numbers are funny things:
Anna Belle is high-but she is silky, lustrous, has a great histo and gives me dynamite lambs with Bombarde.
Duvie has a good micron # as a lamb but I expect her to go iset and become a lot harsher like her older sister Delyth. She might be a bit softer if she goes emsket like her dam rather than stay black like sis. But the number does not really reflect the position I rate her as.
I also tested really far back on the sheep because I know the front of the fleeces are all lovely and desirable. But my goal is to increase uniformity and have soft wool back toward the britch area. I hope to see progress from this testing site. I should be able to assume that if I'm favoring the softer and softer back ends on my sheep that the fronts will automatically be soft as well.
Bombarde is just a treasure. His sample was from his BUTT really. I'm so glad I have kept all of his daughters. I hope to get a good emphasis of fine fleece genetics into my flock from him.
BTW-I saw your numbers too and they are so so good. I'm very impressed with your average. You have been working so hard and it shows.
Thanks for visiting. :)
Culling question: How do you process the older ewes when you cull them? Do they taste very different from lambs? We have 1-2 older ewes that need to go this year, and are trying to plan ahead.
Thanks!
We ask our processor to hang the carcass for a while so they age. Also say that you don't want ANY fat or tallow included in the meat-acknowlege that you understand the yield will be less than what you could get otherwise. I forgot to ask this once with a lamb and it turned out tasting worse than my older ones. And the first time you cook that meat, use a lot of garlic-if you can't really taste the meat than back off on the garlic. Our guy really listens and does a fantastic job. We don't even have to add garlic/onion-except we like to anyway-even with good beef. :)
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