Beck Moves On

On Sunday, Beck went home with our friend Mary.  Bence, the ram lamb she got from me two years ago, was getting a bit much to deal with in her flock of two Icelandic ewes.  So I suggested she put Bence in the freezer and come pick out a different ram lamb.

Pulling the coats off Beck and his twin,Tecwyn, was a bit of a surprise...

Tecwyn, my favorite, was indeed soft and silky.  He has a rather wide crimp pattern, a lot like his sire Arvada had.

But Beck had super crimp coming in-even on his hips.  It was just amazing!  And I would have never guessed. 

So my little Dark Horse has gone to meet some Icelandic girls.  And I am happy for him.  And happy that Mary will get that lovely fleece from him before she sends him to the freezer. 

Now Beck, be a good boy and give Mary some ewe lambs!

Back & Forth Boys

What to do with the ram lambs?  I go back and forth.

Sell? Keep? Market as butcher lambs? Wether for fiber pets?

I changed coats on all three boys yesterday.  My own sons were helping me with the changes and then moving them across the yard to a new paddock...so I didn't bother with getting photos during the process.  But I did get a chance to evaluate fleeces again.

Beck...not quite as soft as a newborn.  But yesterday I couldn't feel any difference between his fleece and his brother's fleece.  I had made up my mind to wether him.  Now I'm doubting that decision.  I'm assuming that decisions like this start getting harder as one approaches flock goals.  So I will count it as a sign of flock improvement that my least favorite lamb seems as soft as my favorite.

Clennam and Tecwyn knee deep in clover.  Having good forage this late in the year is so uncommon.

Clennam with his broken scur.  Since it isn't hurting him in anyway, I keep forgetting to get it clipped off.  Clennam has gorgeous black tips to his fleece under that coat.

This photo shows how good Beck's hindquarters are.  All three boys are nice and wide like this.

And here is my favorite...Tecwyn.  He has fine bones and yet a very alert, masculine presence.  And the softest fleece in my flock.

Late Summer Ewes

One of my new girls from Becky's farm: River Oaks Hannah.  She is so friendly.  It is hard to get a good photo of her because she is always so close.  I love her poll wool.  I want more fuzzy polls in my flock.  :)

Boston Lake Sian has taken over the flock from her mother 'Old Rachel.'  It was hard to watch Sian push her dam away from the salt tub and new food all this summer.  She had been a loyal daughter for four years.  I decided this spring to put Rachel down in the fall, and Siana's assumption of 'boss ewe' helped me realize I was making the right choice.

Most of the ewe flock...milling around...waiting for me to enter the pen and scratch their chins.

Sian's daughter by Bombarde...Boston Lake Leil.  Leil is an A-1 PEST.  She is first in line for cuddles, she bites the buttons off my sweaters and attacks my wedding ring every chance she gets.  She also chews on the electronet the minute the fencer is off...just to prove a point, I imagine.  She is the spoiled princess of the Matriarchy...always protected and favored within the flock.  Sheep know these things.

Little Red Oak January and her black katmoget ewe lamb, Boston Lake Esyllt.  Esyllt is my only Arvada daughter.  I love her to pieces.  She is MY little princess.

Late Summer Ram Lambs

I should know better than to judge a lamb the day it is born.  But I had to learn that lesson over again this year.  When Nhu gave birth to two ram lambs by White Pine Arvada, I was disappointed because they were not ewe lambs...and because they had small horn buds.  I was hoping for girls or polled.  So I dismissed both as little cuties and a very nice pair, considering it was Nhu's first pregnancy.

Tecwyn & Beck

Fast forward to late summer... I am absolutely in love with Tecwyn.  He is beyond soft...and his parents micron tests confirm that I'm not imagining it.  His horns are either long scurs or aberrant horns.  So that puts him at a disadvantage in the polled market I am aiming to be a part of.  But I think he's just super in every other way, especially in the fleece department.

Beck

I loaded more photos on my Stock for Sale page.  In between rain storms and long grass I was able to manage a few snaps.  You'll find Tecwyn and Beck featured there, as well as updated photos for Clennam.  Thanks for looking.

Lambs For Sale

Boston Lake Carys and Clennam are for sale.

They are twins

by ShelteringPines Bombarde and out of Bramble Anna Belle.

14 weeks old.

I consider both to be 'keeper' quality. But I still have Anna Belle in my flock, as well as three full blood sisters to these lambs.

Mid-side fleece samples from both parents have just been sent in for micron testing and those reports will be posted as soon as they return.

Carys

White ewe lamb. Carries Moorit and either Katmoget or Grey pattern from sire. I feel certain Carys is a poll carrier, and she has a 50% chance of having a second polled gene from her 'half-polled' sire. She has excellent conformation, tail, and ear-set. Her wool will be 4 inches long, crimpy, and soft.

Click here to see fleece samples from her 2 year old and yearling full sisters (Lyneth, Nhu, Vianne).

The only weakness I find with Carys is that she currently has a slight under bite. It is very slight and her other full siblings that have had this trait have grown out of it. The lambs out of her full sister have excellent bites, so I feel it is an easily corrected weakness.

$200

Clennam

Grey ram lamb. Carries Moorit and Solid pattern.

Excellent top line, conformation, tail, bite and presence. Will have 4 inch long crimpy, soft fleece. The most uniformly crimpy birthcoat I have ever seen. I feel Clennam is a half poll with slow-growing scurs. I would keep him as his sire's replacement if he wasn't already related to so many of my younger ewes. Clennam's weakness is his ear-set: his ears are horizontal rather than set above the horizontal. (They do not droop as the photo angle suggests.) His full-sister has lambs with excellent ear-set so I also think this trait can be corrected.

$200

For more info please contact Sabrina Wille Erickson

Thank You!

Beck

After several mouthfuls of new grass, Beck decided he was curious about the lady with the camera. Since I don't pet my ram lambs, they don't often come up close. I didn't mind the temporary interest, though, because it gave me a chance to take some photos of him. The fresh paddocks have long grass which usually makes it difficult to get a shot of anything more than sheep coats and ears.

Beck is 12+ weeks old in these photos. My guess is that he carries one polled gene and one horned gene. I realize his scurs are significant, but my full horned ram lambs from previous years used to have much bigger horns by this age.

He is wonderfully sqare with a perfect little tail. He also has soft fluffy fleece. The dog-hair coat from his newborn days is long gone. I expect his fleece to have a good length too, since his parents had nice length.

Visiting the mineral pan.

As the Lambs Grow

A bit late, Clancy and I gave the first round of C & D vaccines to the youngest four lambs last night. We also changed coats on a couple of them and two of the yearlings. I think I will order a few more size D coats. It seems to be the standard sheared adult ewe size for my flock...or the size for the yearling with some fleece.

My lambs were in size A coats at 8 weeks. By 11 weeks they are moving into the B size.

The ewes mobbed us while we were in the pen. Clancy gave shots while I tried to keep the girls from biting him and tugging on his clothes. For some reason, if my girls aren't getting the attention they want, they bite us on bare skin. It pinches! They are so naughty and spoiled...some more than others...(Leil & Sian!)

Tecwyn at 10 weeks.

Tecwyn from the rear.

Clennam at 11 weeks.

Carys at 11 weeks.

Esyllt at 13 weeks, with her mother, January.

I love Esyllt's beautiful head.

Eight Week Scurs

Technically, Beck and Tecwyn were only 7+ weeks when these photos were taken. Clennam was a full 8 weeks, though.

Tecwyn (black katmoget) has the longest scurs of the bunch. They are quite thin and wiggly. If I had horned ram lambs around, I'm sure he would have broken a scur already. But it is amazing how little the polled/scurred boys fight. Fine by me.

Beck (moorit katmoget) has shorter scurs. They are also wiggly.

These two ram lambs have exceeded my expectations. Tecwyn is the silkiest, softest lamb I've ever had here. I'm even toying with the idea of working him into my breeding plans. It's just that I don't know what his scurs will be like...I don't know if I want to use a ram with scurs...I already have Courante...we'll just have to see. Except for the questionable scur growth, I am very taken with Tecwyn.

Clennam's (grey) scurs look pretty big in these photos, mostly because one can't see his whole body at the same time. He has the smallest scurs of the bunch, though. One broke off and is less pointy than the other. The pointy part is actually bendable like fingernail material.

I am also considering keeping and using Clennam. The dilemma is that I already have 4 of his full blood sisters in my small flock. I'm not sure I have a place for him. Another wait and see situation...

Random Lambs

I grabbed Tecwyn the other day to get a closer look at those itty-bitty horns of his. Turns out he is the silkiest lamb I've ever had in my flock. Blew me away. I expected lovely fleece from his parents, but I haven't had my hands on this little guy since the jug. Silky, silky soft. It is almost cold to the touch the way fine hair on a little child is. I'll have to keep my eye on him.

My Little Love of this year's lamb crop...Esyllt.

Baby Brothers...Beck & Tecwyn.

Ram Heads

It is hard for me to get flattering photos of my two yearling rams, S'more Courante and Little Red Oak Ash. They tend to crowd the fence line when I approach because they think I am about to move their electronet to new grass. The anticipation keeps them moving about.Courante broke his scurs off down to small nubs several times over the winter while he was penned with horned rams. Since then, his left scur broke once and is only a 1" nub. His right scur had grown into a snail scur, though, and we cut it off this past weekend. It only bled a tiny bit. No worries.Ash has only the smallest crumbly patches on his head.They have never grown or been knocked off. Half-poll or full-poll...I LIKE this type of head on a ram! No maintenance! :)Last but not least, a snap of 6 week old Clennam's noggin. He knocked off his right scur a few days ago and has the slightly smaller one left. Fingers crossed..

Esyllt

My oldest lamb is Esyllt. She is out of LRO January and by WhitePine Arvada. I'm very glad to have at least one eweling from Arvada. Here she is standing in front of her dam. January's belly got re-sheared a day later. Esyllt is growing fat and sassy, and she has become very friendly. I love her big doe-eyes! Standing next to Clennam, who is 2.5 weeks younger. Esyllt turned 8 weeks old yesterday, so she got her first shot of C&D vaccine. On a whim, I tried a Rocky Size A coat on her and it fit just perfectly. She looks so cute...like a little pet dressed up in doll clothes. :)

Carys

This little angel-baby is Clennam's twin sister, Carys.She is a shy violet. All of AnnaBelle's daughters are aloof when they are young but they eventually get friendly.

I love Carys' shape and wool. She also has a more proper lift to her ear set than Clennam. The black spot by her eye is actually just pitch from the spruce trees.

Carys shows every sign of becoming a gorgeous ewe just like her two older full sisters, Lyneth and Vianne. Hopefully she will also possess the deep depressions in her scull that Lyneth displays in this close-up photo.Carys is my last Bombarde daughter. Definitely a keeper!