Cowboy up!!!

Generally, the first 2 weeks of a lambs life, I have a terrible time coming back from the shed after morning and evening chores.  This year there is an inordinate amount of cutsie antics and friendly lambs that make it nearly impossible to get my butt back to the house.  I simply lack the self control to stop watching the lambs and then if they get friendly and beg for scratches, I'm a goner.  

Sooooo, even though Salicional and her lambs should probably be out with the rest of the "gang", I got selfish and kept her inside for another day or two.  (she's out with the herd now)  Monday night I had another round of farm tour guests, which is a regular "thing" during lambing season around here.  During this visit, Salicional's lambs decided to saddle up and torment their mother by riding her around her pen.......over and over again.  

Can you please stop moving mom........

Seriously, this is getting old Salina

Peekaboo.........I'm up next

Come on Sawyer, you are NOT doing your share of the pushing

The fun never ends............

Last lamb is here!

Lil Country Bailey waited until we all left on Saturday to pick up our son in Whitewater to have her lamb.  He was dry and resting comfortably when we got home later that evening, and both were doing wonderfully.

This little guy is definitely fawn katmoget, with lots of white on his face and head, blettet?, and big blotches of white on his body.  

OK Acres Barron

Side view (couple hours old here)

Bailey and Barron

Top view of markings.

I need help figuring out this little guys' markings.
Please feel free to help!!!!

I got my Gulmoget......plus

We got home from work on Friday night, it was raining, cold and the wind was ridiculous.  So, of coarse Salicional decided to have her water break as soon as we got down to the shed to do chores.   I'm grateful she waited for us, that way we could get them into shelter right away.
Salicional has the most beautiful bluish gray fleece of any Katmoget that I've seen, AND she was bred to Wintertime Black Forrest.
Forrest's lambs seem to have a history of looking like they aren't nice, but then in about 4 months, they become fantastic, so the dog coat that the ewe lamb was born with is not concerning me overly much. (yet)
Salicional's spring micron results just came back for her: SD 24.4/SD 4.5/CV18.4/CEM7.8/SF23.3
I simply love the rich, dark gray that this ewe lamb has when you part her fleece and I'm hoping it stays this color.

Salicional x Black Forrest: Salina  Kat/Gulmoget ewe lamb (gray)

Salina

Salicional x Black Forrest: Sawyer, Gulmoget ram

Fleece on Sawyer (birth shots)

Now some fleece shots that a few people have requested of lambs born last weekend.  Cl;ick to biggify

Cadillac 

Chandler

Closeup of Cadillac's fleece

Solace x Bug: Sierra (ewe) fleece shot

Solace x Bug: Sparta, Polled ram 

Sparta's fleece closeup

Aurora and Alexandria 

Madison and Monroe (Meadow's fawn kat rams) 

We lost a beautiful moorit yuglet sokket ram out of Garnet x Nantucket in the cold, rainy weather on Sat morning.  She never did develop an udder, so I didn't put her in on Friday night. They do have a walk in shed and it's a mystery to me why she didn't use it. 

I have one ewe left to lamb and I'm done for 2011.  I'm hoping for a ewe, (aren't we all) current count is 10 ewes and 11 rams.  

Twins and Triplets

Monday night Aster had a lovely set of moorit ewe lambs, both with white on their heads.  (Blettet and minor krunet....... I'm watching these girls closely.  Aster will be paired with Bug next year.

Aster X Nantucket (ewe)

Love the rich moorit on this girl.

The camera flash washed her out a bit, but Aster was making it tough to get shots.

Close up of her spot

Fleece close up

Maggie had triplets and there's not a small one in the bunch.  Poor gal is such a wonderful mom, and she had them all cleaned up and nursing when I staggered out at 6:30 am to do chores.  Our gander, Ozzie, was doing a fine job of "grooming" the ewe lamb when we got outside.  (it was so amusing)  Two fine rams with minor krunet markings and 1 blettet ewe.  All moorit.

Maggie x Nantucket

Maggie x Nantucket: ram on left/ewe on right

2 seconds of cuteness.........

Maggie x Nantucket ram

The faucet is a bit crowded

One, big, happy family. (ewe on left, rams are center and right)

Click "read more" for additional pictures................................

Simple joy!!!

Every once in a while, something comes to me or happens that makes me say, "That's one of the reasons I love raising Shetland sheep".
I got a couple e-mails from one of the families that I sold bred ewes to this last fall, and the pictures of young Hannah holding the lambs from the sheep I sold to her makes me smile EVERY SINGLE TIME.
 So, I decided to share them with you.......because that little girl's smile is so infectious and it's just what I needed after some of the emotional turbulence of the past month.  My heart is warmed to know that this family is the perfect home for sheep I couldn't keep.  Hannah is a young girl that already had a couple Shetlands and loved them enough to have her mom go looking for more, she shows in 4-H and her and her mother spend a lot of time doing research on the breed to make sure what they are doing is correct.  These are the kinds of people that are a joy to help!!!
I will have to say, that I was very impressed with this young lady when they came to look at the sheep, and when we delivered the ewes to them, I drove away with that warm glow you get from doing the right thing for your sheep.
Now, tell me that looking at this picture of a girl grinning ear to ear doesn't make you smile too.

Hayden x Nantucket twins with a grinning Hannah.

Hannah with Hayden x Nantucket twins

That's my "feel good" moment for today..........

More pictures tomorrow,...........my camera died this morning.  Aster had twin moorit ewe lambs about 9:30 pm and Maggie has moorit triplets about 6 am!!!!  One moorit krunet ewe and 2 moorit rams with minor white on their heads.

I'm up to 11 rams and 8 ewes and moorit seems to be THE theme this year....(grin)  Two ewes to go yet.

Worth all the waiting...............every year.  

More baby pictues

My name theme this year is places.......cities, states, towns etc.   The lambs all get named after a place, but I use the first letter of their dams as the first letter of of the lambs name.

I never get tired of taking pictures of lambs or looking at pictures of lambs, so here's a few more.  :D

Sheltering Pines Ceylon x Sheltering Pines Bug (more shots of  the rams)
This guy is OK Acres Cadillac 

Butt end shot...........one of the boys has 3 socks and one of them has 4 socks.
The little fella in the back is OK Acres Chandler

Look at that fleece.........yummy and silky smooth.

OK Acres Alanna x Crosswinds Nantucket: twin rams, 1 with pink pigment and one with dark pigment skin. No names yet.  

Lil Ctry Acres x Shltg Pines Bug: twin fawn kat rams (love these guys) So that's why you are seeing them again.
No names for these guys yet

Lil Ctry Velma x Crosswinds Nantucket: Moorit ewe (not a white hair on her)
I've named her OK Acres Vienna

V Creek Sarah x Shltg. Pines Bug: A stunning black krunet sokket ewe
This one is not going anywhere!!!  I've named her OK Acres Seneca

Seneca again.......... born this morning.

Wintertime Solace x Shltg Pines Bug: black ewe lamb, small white spot on her head.  I'm naming her OK Acres Sierra.
A moorit ram, whispy white hairs on his head. I'm naming him OK Acres Sparta.
Please note the indentations on his head......polled!

Bug Babies

Sheltering Pines Ceylon had twin moorit smirslet sokket rams this morning. 

One of Ceylon's boys.  Both are out of Sheltering Pines Bug.

Meadow had twin fawn kats this monring (out of Bug)

Solace had a black krunet ewe and a moorit krunet ram this morning.  

(out of Bug)

 

 

 

All the lambs have very nice fleece, so I'm pretty happy with all of them.  They are all still pretty wet, so I will do further evaluation of horns buds and such tonight. 
I'm pretty impressed with the Kats out of Meadow, they were born about 12:30 am, so are dried off and filled out a little more.  Solace's lambs are pretty small, going to watch them pretty closely today, but she's a good mom, just like her dam, Sarah.  Actually, Sarah was a challenge when we tried to put Sarah in a hutch, she was pretty sure those were her babies and didn't take kindly to the separation.  Everyone is drinking and doing fine.  I guess I'm having a ram year............sigh.

Up coming WI Sheep and Wool Festival in Jefferson, WI

 I am so happy to announce that Kate Sharp and Alan Hill, both certified SSS judges and ram inspectors, will be judging this year at Jefferson!!!


MSSBA Shetland Sheep show on Saturday promises to please with the addition of these two well respected judges in attendance.   
There will also be a seminar, some sheep evaluations and clinics that will show case ram inspections.  If have any sheep or fleece that you would like to show off, please bring them!  This is the perfect chance for everyone to have their sheep and fleece evaluated by trained, experienced Shetland sheep judges.   

Kate Sharp is on the left

Sorry, I don't have a photo of Alan to include.   Maybe someone else has one............(hint, hint)

This is such exciting news..........you will probably be seeing this on here again as we get closer to fall.

Finally!!!! My first Shetland of 2011

Got home from work today to find Abby standing on the hill with a single ewe lamb, dried off , eating and healthy. 

6.5# ewe lamb out of OK Acres Abby and Crosswinds Nantucket

This richly colored moorit ewe lamb appears to have an intermediate fleece, and she has a deep moorit color too.