RAMSAY FARMS: More lamb photos (catching up again)

Thursday, April 1, 2010

More lamb photos (catching up again)

Phew! This lambing is fun. When you are first putting breeding together! Who ever thought I should be lambing 45 ewes in 14 days is crazy! (oh wait that is me!) Maybe next year I'll do it all again the same way. At least its done then :)

Below is an F1 Timothy ewe lamb out of WhitePine Centennial (Wintertime Jazz x Justalit'l Chloe)

Here is WhitePine Skor (Bourbon x Meleng) with her twins out of Heights Orion. Ram has the krunet. His fleece is not as nice as his sisters...but that could change.

Here is Skor with a shot of her ewe lamb. Modified :)

Sommarang Emerald gave me twins out of Wintertime Jazz. This flashy gray katmoget flecket ewe lamb is below. Also notice Emerald's enormous udder and nipples. I stripped her teats out several times today in hopes of the swelling to go down.

Back view of the lambs.

Mom with babes...

2 comments:

Sabrina Wille Erickson said...: Super cute! Lots of excitement at your place, Garrett. I'm pretty sure I couldn't handle such an endeavor. Hope you are able to get some good rest soon.

Beautiful lambs. :); April 1, 2010 at 11:06 PM
susan said...: Skor's black ram lambs straighter fleece looks like it may be like the heights orion daughter that I have. WHen she was born she had the very straight longish fleece, I was very dissapointed, but then after a couple of months she shed out to have one of my best fleeces. The longer courser baby hair fell out and a finner fleece came in.
I do like the birth fleeces that you can see at birth are going to be fine and crimpy, but some of these longer straighter ones come out great too. I wish I knew exactly why.

My theory was high secondary folicle development after birth stealing the nutrients from the primary flolicle causing it to produce a finer fiber.

-Susan; April 2, 2010 at 11:10 AM

Who we are

Ramsay Farms is situated in the northeastern part of Ottertail County, near Perham, Minnesota. This family farm of 320 acres has been in the Ramsay family for five generations, dating back to 1892. Today our farm prides itself on our Simmental cattle, Shetland Sheep and BlueFaced Leicester sheep. We strive to breed animals that closest match the breed standards given to them, and mindful of production, health and longevity in our animals as well.

In spring of 2016, there was a purchase of 32 acres in Green County, Wisconsin to accommodate Garrett for his work in that region. The animals have for the most part been moved to that location. Both locations will work in tandem to continue educating and promoting these animals and this way of life.

From the Shetland Sheep Society

"Shetland sheep have for generations been noted for their very soft and well crimped fleece. The wool is the finest of all native breeds and shows an amazing variety of colours and patterns. There are 11 main whole colours and 30 recognised markings.

By selecting from coloured fleeces a range of naturally coloured yarn can be produced. This eliminates the need for dyeing and therefore retains the soft feel of the natural fibre and is favoured by those who prefer a totally natural approach.

Shetland wool fibres are of a simple construction witha central cortex covered by a thin scaly cuticle, and have an average diameter of about 23 microns. However there is a range from 10-20 microns for neck and shoulder wool to 25to 35 microns for britch wool. the average staple length is 3.5 inches. The amount of crimp varies, and is most important in providing the 'bounce' required for knitwear. There is a positive correlation between fineness and crimp, with wool of the finest quality being crimped at between 8 and 12 to the inch. Wool from shetland sheep is used to produce gossamer lace, the famous 'Fair Isle' knitwear, and fine tweeds. Pure bred Shetland sheep tend to shed their fleece in sprin. The growth of new fleece can cause a rise or weak point and where this is present the fleece can sometimes be plucked or 'rooed' by hand. The timing of this can be different in each sheep, however, it is worth taking the care to get it right as rooed fleece can be amongst the softest because the fibres have no harsh cut ends as occurs with a sheared fleece.

Shetland fleece can be handspun straight from the fleece or made into rolags and then woollen spun. It can also be sorsted spun by hand, used on a peg loom or handwoven. It also felts well using either dry or wet methods. When processed commercially the wool can be made into the finest lightweight worsted cloth or heavier weight, harder wearing fabrics and tweeds."

RAMSAY FARMS

Thursday, April 1, 2010

More lamb photos (catching up again)

2 comments:

A long time coming!

Fine Fleece Shetland Sheep Association

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