Our new Ile de France ram lamb arrived right on schedule Tuesday. I still need to think up a name for him. I've been so busy this week I haven't gotten any good daylight photos of him, these were taken at dusk. He's bunking with Socks, our Shetland Mule wether for the time being. They are pretty close in size. He was born in June, so he's got a lot of growing to do this fall.
I traded Lena, my best Shetland Mule ewe lamb (Socks' twin) for him.
My house has been a mess with wool all over the place. Last week I shipped out two batches of fiber for combed top. Tuesday I got the email confirmation that my package was delivered and this morning (Thursday) I got a call from Zeilinger's saying musket batch is already done! That is amazingly fast. Hopefully the white batch will be completed soon. I've got lots more fiber ready to send in for comforter batts and roving (dark moorit, mioget, white Shetland Mule lamb fleeces). It will be so nice having space in my spare bedroom again!
I brought our rooster to the auction yesterday. He was so pretty, but he started coming at me whenever I turned my back, so he had to go. I think his hens are kind of lost without him.
And here's a shot of River Oaks Lana. She's getting to be a chunk. Her mother Lucy is leaving for a new home on Monday along with Eliza if all goes according to plan.
Our new Ile de France ram lamb arrived right on schedule Tuesday. I still need to think up a name for him. I've been so busy this week I haven't gotten any good daylight photos of him, these were taken at dusk. He's bunking with Socks, our Shetland Mule wether for the time being. They are pretty close in size. He was born in June, so he's got a lot of growing to do this fall. 
I traded Lena, my best Shetland Mule ewe lamb (Socks' twin) for him.
My house has been a mess with wool all over the place. Last week I shipped out two batches of fiber for combed top. Tuesday I got the email confirmation that my package was delivered and this morning (Thursday) I got a call from Zeilinger's saying musket batch is already done! That is amazingly fast. Hopefully the white batch will be completed soon. I've got lots more fiber ready to send in for comforter batts and roving (dark moorit, mioget, white Shetland Mule lamb fleeces). It will be so nice having space in my spare bedroom again!
I brought our rooster to the auction yesterday. He was so pretty, but he started coming at me whenever I turned my back, so he had to go. I think his hens are kind of lost without him.
And here's a shot of River Oaks Lana. She's getting to be a chunk. Her mother Lucy is leaving for a new home on Monday along with Eliza if all goes according to plan.
SUCH a pretty gullie girl! (Can't say that the new ram lamb does anything for me. :-) We're quite happy here with no roosters....
ReplyDeleteYour new ram lamb reminds me of my 'older style' Dorsets. Do you have a good market for your quilt batts? I have been toying with the idea of sending off some of my fleeces to do the same (esp. the dorset crosses). Do you only send white fleeces or all colors? Is what you would consider some of your secondary fleeces or the top notch ones? Very curious on this, as I think it will be another avenue to market fiber.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Tammy
He is SO cute! He doesn't even look real in that first photo! How big will he get? What kind of fleece do they have. Is he more for producing meat lambs or fleece?
ReplyDeleteI forgot you have a gulmoget! She is so pretty.
Knock on wood...my rooster has never acted aggressive towards me. He better not either....
I'm quite taken with Lana (as you already know) :) She IS a chunk! WOW! The girls will think they've gone to Biggest Loser boot camp when they get here :) LOL.
ReplyDeleteI'm very excited to see who you breed Lana to. Any ideas?
The Ile de France ram looks so cute with his pink nose. His face makes him look almost like a toy ram. Maybe you could have a Name that Ram contest? I will be interested in hearing about your cross bred lambs, and whether the Ile de France ram remains a long term interest of yours or not. I have no real interest in any of the terminal breeds of the three tier UK grass fed lamb system. But I am always interested in what other people are doing with their flocks.
ReplyDeleteTammy, yes I use all wool colors for my quilt batts, and yes I use the coarser/inferior fibers. The lady at ZWool said the coarser fibers will migrate through the muslin more than finer fibers do. I use duvets because of that tendency. That solves the problem for us.
ReplyDeleteI haven't sold quilt batts yet. I wanted to make comforters for my own family first. My neighbor wants to buy a queen size batt out of the stuff I'm sending in now. :-)
Nancy, the Ile de France is a meat breed. But their micron count range is from 23.5 to just under 28, so that's pretty good. They are derived from Rambouillet and English Leicesters - fleeces are supposed to be pretty greasy. I'll have to wait and see how the fleece on the three way crosses turns out. The shearling hide we had done from the yearling IDF ram turned out really nice.
ReplyDeleteI think they look a lot like dorset rams too. They get to be very heavy. The yearling IDF ram we got in May weighed 154 lbs at 11-12 months old. He was the best tasting lamb I've ever had and that sealed in my determination to use that breed as a terminal sire. The yearling was very docile too.
Yes, I figured it would be trouble when I saw how tame our rooster was before we got him. The little girl carried him around like a baby. There are so many nice respectful roosters to be had, there is no sense keeping a mean one. We'll happily go back to to having no rooster again - at least until spring. It will be a lot quieter around here with out him. :-)
Garrett - I'm thinking I'll breed River Oaks Lana to River Oaks Bo (moorit krunet F2 Minder who carries modifier and has a very nice fleece and small horns). I'd love to get a moorit gulmoget someday.
ReplyDeleteOops, Bo is an F3 Minder. Sorry. The other option I was thinking of is Eliza's fawn 2008 ram lamb, Reuben. He's very nice too, but I'm still watching his horns.
ReplyDeleteCarol, funny that you and Nancy both mentioned him looking like a toy sheep. He does have that pink nose. :-)
ReplyDeleteI think you will be happy with your Shetland Mules. I bred mine as yearlings and I'm pretty happy with the size of their lambs and the fleece on those lambs. This will be my first year using a terminal sire. I'm afraid this IDF lamb still has a lot of growing to do if he's going to get the job done though. :-)
Got to visit this morning Becky - loved the photos and catching up....hehehe about not letting the sheep into the pole barn til spring. Well, it was a nice thought anyways! :-)
ReplyDelete