This weekend I'll be at the American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis for the 2018 Great Maker's Exchange. This is a new venue for me, I will be demonstrating in my booth. Last weekend Sid and I did a booth at our friend's winery, Northern Hollow Winery in Grasston, MN. We've only made it to the Isle Farmer's Market once this summer. So much going on all the time!
Oh my, I never even posted the photos of the lambs born here this spring! Lambing in May was delightful, all the ewes and lambs did well (except for a stillborn triplet, so sad). But it sure was nice to go out in the morning with coffee to be with the newborn lambs and their mamas without having to bundle up. No heat lamps or chilled lambs. And fly strike was not an issue.
So now I have 20 Gotland cross lambs of varying colors and patterns. There are 10 ewe lambs and 10 ram lambs. I have wethered four of the ram lambs already. The other six will be done next week unless someone would like a breeding ram for a fiber flock. There are some nice contenders for that job! I have two of each sex in white, black, gulmoget (mouflon), and English blue, also three Ag grey, and just one that is brown based. There were the quietest lambs I've ever had -- and so friendly!
I can't wait to see how their fleeces turn out.
But I will have to sell some ewes in order to retain the ewe lambs.
So that brings me to my sales list. All sheep are priced from $100 to $150.
I have five ewes to sell and two wethers as well as the 10 male Gotland cross lambs.
First of all, I have Wanda, the Wensleydale and her twin daughters and a wethered son.
Wanda is 5 years old, 67% Wensleydale/33% BFL. She has lambed twins twice without any issues. She's calm and quiet. Her fleece is wonderful for making cobweb felt or just using as locks. $100
Her 2015 twin daughters and wethered 2016 twin son, are 47% Teeswater. They all have beautiful long lustrous locks. I just rinse and use the locks in felting projects, but they would be great for spinning art yarn too. $150 each
Cookie and Candy, 50% Shetland, 47% Teeswater, white, 2 years old, twins, both had singles unassisted as first time mothers. Their fleeces are quite soft, not as purly as their Teeswater genetics would suggest. $125 each
Arnie, is 62% Gotland and 38% Shetland, he''s a yearling wether, very friendly. I rooed him this spring. Again, Arnie's fleece is very soft blue grey, not purly. $125
And there are 10 male Gotland lambs of various colors priced from $100 to $125 each. I can't say what their fleeces will be like yet. But Curly (out of one of the Teeswater/Wensleydale/BFL ewes mentioned above) is most promising for long purly locks. I would sell him as a breeding ram only. I will keep him for myself if he's wethered.
