Year in Review

December Sunset

It is hard to believe that the year is almost over. This year in particular feels as if time got away from us somehow.

This time last year, 2/3 of my flock was being overwintered at a friends farm to take advantage of her huge barn. Only 10 of the spring ram lambs stayed behind, and they became my pets very, very quickly.

I made the decision to move the flock based on a very strong intuitive instinct, and as it turned out, it was right that I followed that intuition even though I didn't quite understand it at the time.

About 10 weeks after the sheep had been moved and things were fairly settled both here and the host farm, DH sustained an injury at work that was unexpected and would require surgery and rehab over a period of six months. This made farm chores entirely my job, where usually we shared the tasks. And to top it off, I had taken on desk hours and personal training clients at a gym 22 miles from home. So,life was interesting during those months. :-)

I had all but decided not to breed the ewes but my fellow shepherd offered to put them in breeding groups and oversee the operation and so I went ahead. This put the lambs being born in late June and I learned that isn't a great time for lambing if you hope to sell your lambs to other breeders. Most people lamb in early spring, so by the time our lambs were here, the market for breeding stock had been satisfied.

Each year, we transition from winter snow to spring with what I've come to call, "rain season". In my opinion we don't experience the usual Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter but more like , "rain season", "mud season", "bug season" and "snow season".  

I'm now getting used to "rain season " and am good at reminding myself that we don't get that gradual, warming up and mild temps Spring usually brings. We get melting snow, more rain than usual and the resulting mud which makes all those spring farm chores darned near impossible to accomplish. Along with all that, we also get flooding. But in all fairness the sun begins to shine more often and for longer periods which makes life cheerier despite the other issues. We know it will get warmer and dryer soon, so we have hope. And, as a lead in and final farewell to winter, we have the fun and pleasure of Maple Sugaring which we enjoy very much. This has become a tradition for us and is the true herald of the coming Spring.

Usually there is a brief window of time to shear the sheep between the colder overnight temps and the horrendous humidity that makes everything feel 10 times hotter and more uncomfortable than I care to be. Since shearing here is a one man show, I catch, rump, trim hooves, shear, release and skirt the fleeces myself over a period of four or so days. The actual shearing takes just about 12 minutes per sheep, the rest can take a half hour or more per sheep, so its' slow going. Luckily I enjoy it.

We move the flock onto green pasture with portable, electronet fencing which is a handy modern day invention. This allows us to rotate pastures during the summer months taking advantage of all of the grass available. The sheep stay anywhere from two to four days on a section and are moved to fresh grass, allowing the previously grazed area to regenerate. With this method we can revisit a previously grazed section three or more times depending on how many animals are on it. It is a bit labor and time intensive, but for the most part is a pleasant enough exercise. We start in late April and finish up when the grass is gone. This year we made it to late October. This means I spent six months moving portable fencing every few days. By the end of the season, I'm ready to feed hay!

Our lambing season was excellent this year. 11 ewes produced 30 live lambs. We had 2 stillborns.
The 30 lambs included a set of quintuplets, a set of quadruplets, two sets of twins, one singleton and six sets of triplets.

Fall saw us selling sheep at auction, a first for us. Overall it was a good experience giving us a way to market lambs besides the fiber / breeding stock market.

We had the usual issues with parasites. Here, we invariably get barber pole worm, aka -  hoemoncus contortis, and I've learned to be aware and ready for it. This can be fatal if you don't catch it right away, but we've been fortunate that any sheep showing symptoms have recuperated nicely after worming.

In hindsight, I think I would have opted not to breed the ewes, if I could do it all over again. Though I can't say for sure. Lambs and lambing are such wonderful things, its difficult to imagine not having any lambs for a year.
I certainly would have done without DH's injury and surgery and I bet he'd agree with that!

Changes for the new year start with an earlier lambing season, and two new rams who will bring new blood to the flock. We've revisited the idea of selling lambs for meat, and I've reassessed the requirements for keeping certain members of the flock vs. selling them. My new goal is to offer the rams for sale more readily, and to try not to fall victim to their beguiling personalities and the rationale of " beautiful " fleece. For me personally, every fleece is a beautiful one, and so that cannot any longer be a criteria for keeping someone. With the breeding practices I've had in place over the last few  years, they ALL have beautiful fleece, so that is last on the list these days!

Though it isn't in my power, I'd surely opt for dryer spring times, accomplish more farm work, and spend more time spinning and weaving.

Heres' to 2014!

Regards,
Kathryn

Sheep - Mothers and Daughters

Just a hopeful reminder that Spring will come again!
 

As I've stated in previous posts, I am fortunate enough to be able to spend a good deal of time just observing the sheep in our flock.

We maintain two separate groups based on gender - a ewe flock and a ram flock, for most of the year.
This differs at breeding time and lambing time. For breeding purposes, select rams are given access to the ewes and at lambing time the ram lambs stay with their dams until weaning time.

One of the observations I've made repeatedly is the bond between ewes and their lambs. Call me crazy, but I have had occasion to part with a lamb, only to regain possession of it at some future date well after it has matured.

What I have seen is both consistent and bears out the idea of familial bonds that last a good long time.

When a ewe lamb now matured is reintroduced into our flock, the ewe lamb almost immediately recognizes its dam and makes quick attempts to greet and acknowledge her dam. The reactions on the part of the young ewe have ranged from approaching the dam and interacting to actual jubilant jumping and leaping about at the reunion. These young lambs are just about 12 - 18 months old at the time of the reacquainting, and the separation could be as little as two weeks, to over a year.

My first experience with this was after I purchased three ewes, who were dam, daughter and dams' sister.
Circumstances allowed me to take one ewe initially and she was not a happy girl when introduced to her new flock. Two weeks later her dam and aunt arrived and the joy expressed by the young ewe was very interesting to watch. This exuberant leaping and cavorting carried on all afternoon.

Any other reintroductions are much the same on the part of the young ewe.

My second observation has been the reaction of the dam - while signs of recognition on her part are clear, she is less enthused and maintains an air of indifference. "Oh, its you." Yet they tend to band together none the less, within the flock itself.

I cannot testify to ram lambs and their dams as I make a pointed effort NOT to reintroduce them, EVER.  My experience with the young rams is that they are happy to meet any ladies at all regardless of familial connection. My impression is that greetings between ewe and ram are minimal and whether or not a ewe is the dam of a particular ram is of no interest to the young ram.

This is just one more thing that makes shepherding animals that most folk refer to as "stupid" quite interesting. In my experience they are far, far from stupid.

Regards,
Kathryn

December 13, 2013

14 degrees here this morning. Dry, clear, cold. Really nice!

The first pic is the winter shelters for the ewes.

Pic #2 is one of the breeding groups. Three ewes and a ram.

Pic #3 is the main ewe flock leaving their Premier round bale feeder to come see me as I take their pic.

Pic #4 is Earls' Brother. Perhaps one of THE friendliest and trusting rams I've ever owned. He is a classic example of those sheep who seek out human interaction and affection. I love him!

 Pic #5 is of Freckles (R) and Andy (L). Both lively, curious and friendly boys. Andy is one of the flock sires this year. Hopefully Freckles will be too.

And last - the Percheron team, Paladin (R) and Dick (L).

Yesterday I dropped off some wool products in town at the whole foods store, and have begun to plan for a website where we can showcase and offer our hand made wool items.

Today I'll be immersed in weaving and spinning after feeding the critters.

 I'm waiting for some fiber to come back from the mill and getting ready to send out more. This time I'll send out more organic wool and some fiber to make wool mattress toppers and comforters. I've been wanting to do that for a long time. I also have a few more pelts to ship.

So, daylight is coming and its time to suit up for the feeding and watering chores before everyone starts calling to me.

Regards,
Kathryn

Finnsheep Fleece

This blog post will be mostly quite subjective on my part, so you know that going forward.

 I started out raising a mixed flock of sheep with Corriedale, Clun Forest, Border Leicester X and Icelandic sheep. I became familiar with those types of wool, and through shearing sheep for others, also became familiar with a wide range of wool types.

As a wool buyer, I don't turn down any fleeces, because I love them all and find a purpose for each wool type that I take. One of the wonders of wool in the 21st century is that, among other attributes, it is versatile and regardless of the fineness or coarseness, it all has a place in the value added product marketplace.

Finn wool, ranges from animal to animal, from fine and crimpy with a medium staple length, to britchy, straight and course on some animals. Hand spinners in the USA are only now becoming familiar with this lovely, high luster wool. In some places a good, clean fleece, free of any hay chaff, burrs, dirt etc. will bring upwards of $20.00 per pound.

Finnsheep come in a variety of colors and it appears that breeders everywhere are concentrating efforts on understanding and producing consistent colored fleeces. While spots, stripes, and many different patterns and markings are possible, white still remains the best for dyeing. White fleeces also carry high luster giving a sheen to the finsished yarn that rivals mohair. Less true for colored fleeces.

When looking at a Finnsheep for wool quality, its important to check for uniformity in the fleece, from shoulder to tail. Often there is a "britch" wool on the hind legs that becomes course and straight. Many hand spinners will toss this as garbage, some will blend it, others will separate it, mix with similar, and use it for rugs. It all depends on what you want your final product to be.

One sure way to know the wool quality of your animals is to send a sample of the fleece to Yocum-McColl who will test it and send back a full report. Often this report is surprising, contrasting with the subjective analysis that results from touching, feeling and seeing the wool.

A fine Finn fleece would be one of 26 micron count, which is, according to Yocum-McColl, the equivalent of Merino wool.

A point to remember is that as a sheep ages, their wool tends to become more coarse. Most of us are aware that a lambs fleece is very, very soft and will be the softest of any fleece the sheep will have in the future.

Wool is a sustainable, renewable and earth friendly product. Sheep grow new wool each year, and depending on the breed, may give two fleeces/ year though most are shorn only once annually, and this in the early Spring prior to lambing.

Wool is coated with lanolin which the sheep produces through numerous glands on its skin. The lanolin content differs according to breed, with some having little lanolin, others having so much that simply handling the fleece covers your hands with it. This is usually referred to as "grease" and wool that is raw, not having been yet washed, is called "grease wool." Back in the day, wool was spun raw with the lanolin still on it and this gave rise to the term, "spinning in the grease."

There is some mixed info on whether or not leaving the lanolin on the yarn as it is spun will afford any water repellent qualities to the finished product. If I were to guess I would think that as long as the garment or textile isn't ever washed that degree of water repellence will remain, but once exposed to wash, will be removed. Just my guess.

I have spun in the grease myself, and enjoy handling wool with the higher degree of lanolin. When skirting raw fleeces with high lanolin content the lanolin will give the feel of a much softer fiber than truly exists, and this can be misleading. Once that wool is washed the true coarser nature is obvious.

Finn wool has a soft, almost silky feel to it that is quite noticeable in the finished yarn. This makes it a good wool for items that come in contact with one's skin where softness is appreciated.

Finn fleeces average somewhere around 6 - 8 pounds in my flock. Having shorn sheep that yield 12 pound fleeces, this doesn't seem like a lot per animal, but in a flock of 30 animals its 180 - 240 lbs of wool, which needs to be skirted, picked, washed, carded and spun. Plenty!

Finn fleece is pleasant spun raw, or from processed rovings, and it felts nicely making it a versatile wool for most fiber artists.

Check out these links for further info:

http://www.finnsheep.org/colors-markings-guide/



Excellent pictures and explanations:
http://www.internationalfinnsheepregistry.org/finn-wool.html


http://www.ymccoll.com/

To the right is Finn Ram, Clef with long staple, high luster wool. This sheen is readily apparent in yarn spun from his fleeces.

December 11, 2013

Bygone Days

December 11, 2013 here.

Snow on the ground, cold temps, clear air and weather that changes moment to moment no kidding.

The sheep are all settled in their winter enclosures.
Breeding has begun and indeed, is almost completed.

Spring 2014 will see new lambs again and I will be midwife to the ewes, a role I don't mind because it almost invariably has me playing a supporting part, one which allows me to simply watch.

Lambing time is stressful to say the least, much of which I bring on myself, admittedly since I can't stand the excitement of waiting for the lambs and feel I have to check on the ewes hourly. This ritual starts a good two weeks before I know they are due in the hope that I can stare the ewes into labor somehow. To date, no such luck!

There is little else that compares with seeing a long awaited and hoped for lamb, newly out of the
wrapper ( ewe ) shocked into this world and valiantly struggling to breathe, stand and nurse. Those first few moments and hours are tense for me and each year I vow not to put myself through it again, only to anticipate the next breeding season as soon as the current one has seen the last new lamb to be born for the year.

Now, winter is the time for weaving, spinning and gearing up for Spring. Around here this is often a phenomenon we have come to term " mud season".  Rather than a nice gradual warming up and flourishing of plants and creatures, we have snow which melts all at once causing flooding and making the ground obnoxiously muddy. This gives way to "April Showers" and our Spring is curtailed due to rain, mud and sometimes ice that makes the idea of starting spring farm chores a joke. Yet, we somehow survive and get things done anyway, and have come to anticipate this cycle.

So for now, I'll skirt fleeces, spin fiber and weave up as much as I can get done because its only 126 days until the first lambs are due! But...........who's counting?

Excellent concise article

http://www.stillmeadowfinnsheep.com/finns_in_print.html