Corrigan - The Sire of Amelias' Lambs

 

Treble Cleft - Corrigans' Sire

Lana - Corrigans' Dam
 Corrigan is standing at right.

Amelia was bred last winter to Corrigan.

The ram is an important part of the breeding process in that 50% of the genetics the lambs receive will come from him.



The bloodlines of both Corrigans' dam and sire are very strong and long established lines, known for excellent maternal instincts, prolificacy, docile temperaments, among other traits.

Corrigans' sire carries for color and possibly spotting. His dam has yet to throw anything but white lambs, so I'm guessing she is genetically completely white.

What has me puzzled about Corrigan is a lone dark spot just above his shoulders on his neck. I often forget he has it, considering him to be a white sheep, but that spot says otherwise. Technically, it says he is a piebald ram, meaning spotted.

This is his first breeding and I chose Amelia for a few reasons, the least of which is the hope of bringing out any spotting Corrigan may possess. This could be the difference between whether he stays here a few more years, or is sold this spring.  His personality is very gentle and quiet, affectionate without being over bearing. Coupled with Amelias' similar personality perhaps the lambs from this pair will also have the same personalities.
Corrigan is on the heavier boned side, while Amelia is more refined with lighter bone structure. Personally I like both types, and so the lambs will be pleasing to me with either body type.

Fleece on Corrigan is a nice lock structure, with a staple length of 4 - 5 inches. His fleece is not consistent from head to toe, but has a range of long, wavy locks to finer, crimpier locks and I like that diversity.

Corrigan is a quadruplet, having two sisters and a brother. Amelia was a twin.

Amelia had a Badger Grey dam and a black sire. Her twin brother was Badger Grey. So far, she hasn't given me any Badger Grey lambs, and may not ever.

Corrigan - 2013

Freddie - Amelia's sire ( whom she favors a great deal )



Tipper - Amelias' Dam

Tipper is owned by Sweetland Hill Finnsheep in Chenango Forks, N.Y.


At this time I am beginning to get excited about the pending babies. It won't
be long before they are here, and as usual I have done and re-done the due date
several times. A few days ago I ran the calculations over in my head and in a panic thought
that I had given myself more time, calculating the due date as the 14th. Afraid that the lambs were actually due on the 9th I went into a frenzie of activity, then redid the calculations.
I discovered  that it is exactly the opposite and the lambs are due on the 18th, not the 14th so I have
an extra four days, God willing.  Even at that, its only 7 more days, and I'm praying for stable weather, day time lambing and being able to witness the lambs as they are born. Fingers crossed!

Regards,
Kathryn



 

 

5 Days - The lambing supplies

Amelia in 2012 with the second lamb of triplets. This one is a piebald ewe lamb, which is still with the flock and due herself in a few weeks.

While the ewes usually have the lambs without any help from me, I have a fairly well - stocked lambing kit.

First and foremost on the list are towels for drying off the lambs. The dam starts licking the newborn right away and while you might not think it, this dries the new baby off fairly quickly. But if she has three or four, she cannot keep up with the demand and here is where I come in. Towelling the lamb off vigorously helps to stimulate as well as dry it, and I feel better about the possibility of hypothermia being prevented.

The umbilical cord is severed as the new lamb hits the ground and the air causes it to begin to dry, but it tends to be a bit unsightly and messy, so I hasten the drying process by spraying Blue Kote on it. The usual procedure is to apply some sort of iodine product, but for me, Blue Kote is easy to carry, easy to handle and aside from not being able to narrow down the spray entirely to the umbilical cord, it works for me and is a staple in the kit. So for a day or two myself and the new lambs sport a little extra blue staining....no biggey.

The lambs, once cleaned get up and start trying to find the teat for that vital first nursing. Like with people, the cholostrom is the key to the early lamb survival. Full of nutrients and fat that help energize and immunize the new lamb, this first nursing is the most frustrating aspect of watching the new lambs. Their direction isn't so good, though their instincts are outstanding, so they wobble around, and get disoriented, often coming close to the life giving teat, but missing by fractions of an inch. Any attempt to guide the lamb usually ends up causing the lamb to have the opposite reaction, which is yet more frustration. For the most part, I go away for a half hour or so while the lambs and dam sort this all out and usually come back to find everyone acclimated and doing just fine. If not, then the consideration of a bottle comes up.

Then there is the passage of the placenta and making sure there aren't anymore lambs. This is fairly obvious, though sometimes you can be fooled. I've spoken with shepherds who have had the same ewe lamb twice over a period of days. First producing twins and several days later twins again. Luckily, things worked out, but basically anything is possible so its' best to be observant.

While I try to be present for every lambing, some of the ewes don't want me around and will have the lambs after I've gone in for the night or in the very wee hours of the morning. This has the effect of disappointing me and relieving me at the same time. Its fun to go out early in the morning and discover newly born lambs, clean, nursing well and being attended by their dam. Its' disappointing because I didn't get to witness first hand as each made their way into the world.  But, I can live with that.

Those ewes who are a bit stand-offish during the rest of the year, seem to understand that I am there to be of help and they relax allowing me to move about and intervene if necessary. In the past I've hoped it would be a life-long bonding moment that would forever change our relationship and the ewe would look at me with new eyes, as a friend. Not so much. They tend to revert after they sense all is well, and then sometimes try to stay between me and the lambs. Often the lambs themselves are friendly and curious though and that is a good character trait in a Finn.

Lambing kit:
Towels - check
Blue Kote - check
Scissors - check
Lamb snare- check
Esophygeal tube - check
Camera - check
Latex Gloves - check
Lubricating oil - check
Bottles - check
Lamb formula - check

Regards,
Kathryn

6 Days Left

Quiet here.

Yesterday was a dreary, cold, day with "wintry mix" type weather. Freezing rain was on the menu. Everything BUT warm and sunny. Sigh.

Mud prevails, and the sheep look awful, wet and bedraggled at this point. I can't wait to shear them as soon as it warms up.

Amelia is spending more time being quiet, which is expected. I will move her into her jug over the weekend. Then I will watch her like a hawk for signs of labor. The weather forecast is for warm and sunny days, and fairly warm - 40 or so - nights. I'll have the lamb coats ready.

Grass is coming up and the girls are practically eating it as it is still pushing through the earth. I understand that though. They cannot wait to taste the succulent shoots. Its been a long winter for everyone.

This will be the year of severe flock reduction. With 20 bred ewes and the potential for 40-60 lambs, I will be interested in selling all of the lambs and 10 of the ewes. I will also be parting with a number of rams as well.

 We are back to the consideration of selling meat from the farm. Still need to work out some details though.

If you are interested in purchasing Finnsheep or freezer lamb, feel free to contact us. We are happy to answer questions.

Regards,
Kathryn

Frankie - Amelias' boy from 2013.  Offered for sale as a yearling.

 

7 Days and Counting - Naming Lambs

Amelia with four lambs.
 

Early on we decided to go with the alphabetical order of naming the lambs, a different letter for each year. This year the letter is "G".

What this does is allow us to quickly recall what year a lamb was born in, according to the letter. "G" means its 2014, and our seventh year of lambing.

Now I excel at a great many things, but naming more than three lambs, is not one of them. I run out of ideas, so this task falls to hubby who is very good at it. He will research the internet and coming up with several options, presents them to me for a vote. I can yea or nay the name, and usually know right away if it is a fit for the lamb in question. Once in awhile I'll have to think on it a bit, then decide.

Hoping to get an early jump on it this year, I've considered some "G" names and typically have come up with my three - George, Giselle and Gaspar. Then of course the popular Gretchen, Gretel, Georgia, Gabby, Gwendolyn, Garth, Gary, Geoffrey. Well, looks like a good start anyway. By the end of lambing season we'll be long out of these names since I think we'll have about 40 or more lambs when its all said and done.

We do also tag the lambs with a number, but calling a cute little lamb # 181 just isnt' the same at all. And they ooze personality which fairly demands identifying them with a moniker that captures that personality. Being a small hobby farm, we can be as hokey as we like and at times I carry it to the max. Naming is one of those times :-).

At any rate, I need three "G" names by next week. Don't know if they will be girl or boy names yet, but I should have at least six - three of each just to be sure. Interestingly, I just noticed that without hesitation I said, " I'll need three "...hmmmmm......intuition?  Could be. Guess you'll have to stay tuned to find out how good I am at predicting how many lambs a ewe will have. I think this year will be triplets for Amelia. Care to bet?

Regards,
Kathryn

8 Days Left

Although it's a matter of weeks now before this picture of summer pasture becomes reality, winter just won't let go yet.

 

So far today we've had drizzle, hail and high winds. Tomorrow the high will be 52 according to the weather forecast.

 

We can hope.

 

In the meanwhile, the girls are all doing well, and enjoying their grain rations with great relish.

 

Evening rations

 

At this time the girls are getting 20 pounds of grain daily.  The only time the sheep get grain is during the last four weeks of gestation and the first four weeks of lactation. I start by feeding a half pound per ewe per day for the first week and increase the amount by a 1/2 lb each week until the ration is 2 pounds a day per ewe. This provides them with the extra nutrition they need, since their ability to take in enough nutrition from hay and grass is compromised due to the space the lambs are taking up.

I like to mix my own rations, for no particular reason aside from enjoying it, and so they get whole corn, whole oats, soybean meal and loose minerals.  Plenty of water, unlimited access to second cut hay and whatever grass they can find at this point.  Healthy lambs start with sound nutrition for the dam, as does ample milk supply and rapid recovery.

My experience has been that once the lambs are born and the dam is nursing them, its as if their resistance to parasites is lowered and I find symptoms of Hoemoncus Contortus, ( Barber Pole ) worm within a short time frame from lambing. Once wormed, that seems to put the problem of parasites to rest and no further treatment is necessary.

Today will be a day for working on getting the lambing jug prepared. Cleaning out, rebedding and moving the two ewes closest to lambing are all on the agenda for the next week. Lambs will be here before we know it!

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

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Blech!

7 a.m. and still dark-ish out, certainly overcast and snowing. I am not, not, NOT ready. Blech.

On todays' agenda, among many things, is making a final decision on who goes to the auction this week. I have mature rams, ram lambs and ewe lambs. If I'm to be honest and really harsh, there is even a mature ewe or two that should be on the trailer this trip.

BUT...ahem...flock goals, what about flock goals? Seems like lately I've lost track of what those were if I ever knew to begin with.

My first elementary goal was to have fleece. Any sheep would do, didn't matter breed, gender or even fleece quality in the beginning. I was so thrilled to have my own ovine I wasn't picky.

Then the reality of caring for a growing flock set in. I've always been athletic-ish, and strong, able - bodied but as time marches on I find myself slowing up just a bit and becoming a tad bit pickier ( is that a word? ) about the tasks I take on and under what circumstances.

Gradually I made the transition from a mixed flock to a purebred flock of Finns because they are just plain delightful and easy to work with. Easy to move, fun companionship, colorful fleeces and the cutest lambs in the world. No brainer.

Of course it doesn't take much to increase the flock. I brought in new breeding stock with the idea of selling some of the older animals, had 30 lambs, and assimilated animals from a friends' flock and here I am. Too many sheep for the resources.

They are all wonderful, each with its' own special quality that makes it somewhat of a consideration for keeping. No lamb left behind and all that.

If I were to revisit flock goals and look at simply growing wool, then 40 would be about right. Finn fleeces aren't overly large and as a weaver I use a lot of wool in my projects, so the more wool critters the better from that stand point. No need to breed any more unless I lose someone to sale or death.

The flock is predominantly white, with a few colored animals tossed in because we are just beginning to have a few generations that are displaying color. I like the white most especially for dyeing, but it sure is fun to look at all those colored sheep in the field too.

Then there are bloodlines. I'd like to establish three or four separate and distinct bloodlines to allow for greater diversity in breeding groups and of course that requires a few rams I wouldn't usually need.

I'm seriously considering not breeding this year, just to give myself a break, and this could be a viable plan but how sad to be lamb-less come the regeneration of Spring.  Sometimes I think lambs are the sole reason for having sheep. So much cuteness all in one package. Not to mention genetic potential for furthering the breed.

Well, frankly, my head hurts. And to be honest there are those moments where I think everyone should just go, and be done.

I have my original rams who've done a great job with the gene pool, have excellent fleece and I had hoped for them to retire and die of old age here.

I have some of their offspring, also rams, that for one reason or another I haven't gotten around to using yet, but someday....

I have ram lambs that are outstanding in confirmation , temperament and fleece with exactly the right bloodlines I need, I cannot bear to part with ...yet.

There are ewes that are the matriarchs and too good to let go, their daughters who are just getting warmed up, and their daughters who are too young to breed this year, but will give grand fleece in the spring.

Geeze, wish me luck!

Regards,
Kathryn

Choosing a Breeder

Wowza!

Cold and raw today.  Snow flurries. A good day for the wood stove. Winter is making its presence known.

Now is the time that most shepherds are putting their breeding groups together and this leads me to a discussion of Finnsheep breeders in general.

There are two organizations for Finnsheep here in the U.S.

The first and oldest of them is The Finnsheep Breeders Association:

www.finnsheep.org

There are 50 breeders listed throughout the 50 states. Fossil Creek Farm is NOT listed though we are indeed members.

Then there is the second Finnsheep breeders group. This group is newer and has a different focus than the first. We are listed in the breeders directory with IFR.

http://www.internationalfinnsheepregistry.org/

There are 40 breeders listed there and we are included in that directory.

Our farm, like many,  has dual memberships with both registries.

Since Finnsheep are a relatively little known breed in the US, with a small population of purebred, registered animals compared to other breeds, many of the breeders listed in either directory are newbies, such as myself.

Choosing a breeder to supply animals for your flock means that depending on your location and your budget you might choose to buy from a long standing experienced breeder or a knowledgeable, passionate but new breeder.

Registered Finnsheep breeding stock can range between $200.00 - $800.00 depending on the shepherd and the various qualities present in the sheep.

Almost all breeders, established and new, breed for the usual things.

• Confirmation ( breed standard )
• Fleece quality
• Temperament
• Maternal instinct
• Parasite resistance

Not necessarily in that order.

Some breeders focus on Scrapie resistance. Scrapie being a deadly disease that if detected will result in confiscation and euthanizing of a breeders entire flock. Scrapie is similar to "hoof and mouth " disease. For the most part, the USDA seems to think it much less of a threat than in previous years.  . Animals with an inherent resitance to Scrapie will have RR or QR blood types. These animals are usually at the higher end of the price scale and appeal to commercial flock shepherds.

All breeders start their flocks with bloodlines from an established flock. Through strategic pairings of various animals, new bloodlines are established, particular to that shepherd, but essentially the foundation animals have common ancestors in their lineages.

Some shepherds raise sheep as a commodity, others as a passion. Some for commercial purposes, others as fiber pets. Some for a livelihood, others for the shear joy of it.

What's important in selecting a breeder is that he/she knows and understands your flock goals and suggests animals that are suited to those goals as opposed to selling you an animal they no longer want.

Most flocks have a few culls - animals which for one reason or another do not fit the breeders criteria as breeding stock.

Different breeders manage culls differently. Some will keep them and breed them anyway which can often result in diminished quality of the flock in general. Others will neuter the rams and sell them as companions or fiber pets. Many go to auction and/or directly to the freezer which assures their genes will not eventually find their way into the pool and keeps the integrity of the breed intact. Its possible that a cull might appeal to a buyer if that buyer doesn't intend to breed, but use the animal strictly for fiber or meat.

Whether you are thinking of purchasing from an experienced and well established breeder, or a new and passionate breeder it pays to do your research before hand and be up front with your flock goals.

Talk with several breeders, visit the online breeder organizations and learn what the breed standard is, the organizations' mission is, and what your own goals for your flock are to be.

Your potential breeder should be willing to mentor you and your flock as you become established, via phone, emails and in person if feasible. This may or may not reflect in the cost of your foundation animals.

Membership to one or both of the breed organizations will be helpful. A point to consider here though is, the International Finnsheep Breeders Registry is not reciprocal with the Finnsheep Breeders Association. If you buy animals registered through IFR, they are in effect the same as unregistered as far as the FBA is concerned. So, if you choose IFR animals they will not be appealing to people who favor membership with FBA. At this time I do not believe dual registry is an option for IFR animals.

You can register FBA animals with IFR and achieve dual registry in that manner, but IFR animals are not registrable through FBA. This is a consideration and one which should be carefully weighed when you determine your flock goals.

Regards,
Kathryn