1927 Standard, breed typical fleece

There seems to be a lot of misinformation in regards to just what exactly is a 1927 standard typical fleece. While it is obvious there is a spectrum of what a correct fleece could look like, they are all undoubtedly standard typical fleeces. No 1927 standard Shetland should have a dual coat. Those are considered atypical. I am extremely happy with the progress I've made in conforming to the 1927 standard, considering my original stock was not to this caliber. Every year the sheep continue to get better. Micron testing has helped for sure. And never being afraid to be wrong, but always learning, reading articles online, visiting with other breeders, visiting the UK and the Shetland islands, has all helped to cement in my mind what we are trying to preserve and protect. Which is the 1927 Standard Shetland Sheep.

Micron Results for 2011

My fleece samples sat in my pickup in the box, ready to be shipped for testing most of the summer. Since the micron testing was 200.00 or so for all the samples (100+ sent in) I never seemed to have the extra cash to do it. So i finally just made it a priority. None of the results were surprising except for one. The micron testing has helped me learn a ton about each sheep's fleece and in learning the feel/texture and reasons things test at the levels that they do.

I pastured my sheep on 50% alfalfa, and the rest of the mixture was red clover, white clover, timothy, blue grass, fescue, brome and orchard grasses. I have to graze the alfalfa when it is 2/3 bloom, so it is a more stemmy than I like but the sheep have adapted well to this in the heat of the summer. spring/fall pastures are mostly fescue/blue grass and red/white clovers. Everyone is in good condition.

I'm going to list the rams first. The rams were pastured in their own system of 4 paddocks this year and I am extremely pleased with the results. Aside from the 2 polled rams below, all rams have fleeces at least 4" long already (about 9 months of fleece growth). The two polled rams have a fleece around 3". It is extremely dense and crimpy and when stretched is around 4.5". I love the variety my fleeces give me :)

For those not in the know my goals:
AFD: Average Fiber Diameter My flock goal is somewhere between 20 and 25.
SD: Standard Deviation. I want this as close to 5 or below.
CV: Coefficient of Variation. My flock goal is around 20 give or take.
CEM: Coarse Edge Mean. My goal is under 10. The lower the better. this gives it the silky handle and makes the fiber feel finer than it is sometimes. (i.e. 30 afd ewe with a CEM of 7 will feel like a low 20s AFD)
CF: Comfort Factor. This should be as close to 100% for any sheep. Adults over 80% is a goal for me (and i'm close!)
SF: Spin Fineness. What the fiber feels like as its being spun up through the hand. Your SF should always be lower than your AFD for Shetlands.

I have a page on my website (http://www.ramsay-farms.com/understandingmicrons.htm) that explains this in more detail.

Wintertime Jazz AI (Todhill Jericho x Whistlesop 0424 Izzy) gray katmoget - fourth fleece
AFD: 24.9, SD: 5.1, CV 20.3, CEM 9.4, CF 86%, SF 24.1. Amazing numbers for a four year old.

FirthofFifth Nekomis (Wintertime Blues x Bramble Nadine) gray katmoget - third fleece
AFD: 27.5, SD 5.2, CV 19.1, CEM 8.9, CF 75.1, SF 26.3. he had the silkiest fleece with lots of luster and soft handle. This fleece was third overall in the Shetland Fleece Show at WSWF under UK judges Kate Sharp and Alan Hill.

WhitePine Levi (Willowcroft Jamie x RiverOaks Lucy) black polled ram 2nd fleece:
AFD: 23.6, SD 5, CV 21.4, CEM 9.7, CF 89.9, SF 23

WhitePine Ludacris (Greenholme Holly x RiverOaks Lucy) moorit bielset polled ram first fleece:
AFD: 23.8, SD 4.9, CV 20.6, CEM 9, CF 90.6%, SF 23.1

WhitePine Flo Rida (Greenholme Holly x ShelteringPines Fleur de Lis) gray katmoget horned, first fleece: AFD 23.8, SD 4.9, CV 20.6, CEM 9, CF 90.6%, SF 23.1 Flo Rida will be used in 2012

WhitePine Christian (UnderTheSon Arapaho x WhitePine Centennial) black horned 2nd fleece:
AFD: 22.5, SD 5.4, CV 24, CEM 10.4, CF 92.1, SF 22.5 He is available for sale

FirthofFifth Kiso (WhitePine Ephraim AI x FirthofFifth Kamachariy, a Forrest daughter) first fleece
AFD: 25.5, SD: 4.6, CV 18.1, CEM 7.9, CF 86.9, CF 24.2. He is a scurred fawn katmoget and is available for sale.

WhitePine Caiphas (who now lives in Maryland) (Greenholme Holly x Justalit'l Chloe) gray katmoget 2nd fleece AFD:23.8, SD 6, CV 25.3, CEM 12.4, CF 83.7, SF 24.1

WhitePine Roman (who now lives in Maryland) (Heights Orion x RYL Rachildas) white ram 2nd fleece
AFD: 23.4, SD 4.4, CV 19, CEM 7.9, CF 94.4, SF 22.4. He is am amazingly fleeced ram Amazing numbers.
 
WhitePine City High (Heatheram Lightning x FirthofFifth Koosi AI) gray katmoget (could be modified) first fleece AFD: 22.5, SD 4.5, 19.9, CEM 7.9, CF 96.1, SF 21.7 City High will be used heavily in 2012.

WhitePine Barnabas (Heights Orion x FirthofFifth Booto) - fawn katmoget horned 2nd fleece:
AFD 18.4, SD 3.9, CV 21.2, CEM 8, SF 100%, SF 18

I've not had a 2 year old every micron at 18 afd before!! I"m totally shocked. He has everything in his fleece that I am after and I am not disappointed with any of these numbers from any rams. I sold Roman and Caiphas who I really liked but used both of them two years. Christian is available now that I've used him for breeding and Kiso is available as I have much of his genetics in the ram and ewe flocks.

I have several ram lambs available still from these above rams as well. Please inquire! :)

BFL fleece and photo shots Part 2

The white BFL is an amazing animal. Their blue pigmented head with the roman nose and erect long ears took my breath away. Its not a look that every can appreciate and I respect that. The BFLs are just amazing animals when you look at all they have to offer, and all that they can do.

Without further ado I bring you my white BFLs!

Beechtree Kearsley.

Foundation ewe ( I have four of her daughters here, Kershope, Morovia, Sine Qua Non and Prima Facie). She herself is more domestic looking (less than 50% UK) with only Carryhouse V2 and Rossiebank Laird in her pedigree. She is not my ideal ewe but produces them! See how she produces in her daughters below:

Below is her fleece parted.

2010 Micron Results: AFD 26.9, SD 4.3, CV 16, CEM 7.5, SF 25.1

Not bad for a 5 year old!

I have no secrets on this farm. Kearsley has frost bite and gets it every year. Its not that she isn't hardy enough, or that its too cold. I believe its because she's too fat. It happens in the same spots every year. Usually around mid February. She does NOT pass this on to her offspring and she is not a peeler. Her daughters all have lovely fleeces as well.

Beechtree Kershope

She was my very first ewe lamb I bought and she is F2 Titan F3 Carryhouse V2 among other things. She had Kacy the Natural Colored ewe in the previous post. Last year she was AI'ed to Titan but didn't settle. This year she is huge and looks to have triplets or more in that gigantic body.

Kershope's fleece

2010 Micron Results: AFD 30.1, SD 4.6, CV 15.1, CEM 7.7, SF 28

Cross Wind Clover

2010 Micron Results: AFD 30.4, SD 5.7, CV 18.6, CEM 10, SF 29

ShelteringPines Morovia

2010 Micron Results: AFD 26.9, SD 4.7, CV 17.4, CEM 8, SF 25.4

Sheltering Pines Catalonia

Her fleece below:

2010 Micron Results: AFD 26.2, SD 4.7, CV 18, CEM 8.2, SF 24.9

ShelteringPines Sine Qua Non

(latin for: absolutely essential)

She has the most awesome fleece. I love how it drapes and how fine it appears! She is out of Beechtree Cragganmore and Kearsley. Lovely blue pigment...you should see them in the summer!

Below is her fleece:

2010 Micron Results: AFD 25.3, SD 4.2, CV 16.8, CEM 7.3, SF 23.8

I also missed a photo of her twin, Prima Facie (means at first look), but below is her fleece. Its fantastic!

2010 Micron Results: AFD 26, SD 4.2, CV 16.2, CEM 7.5, SF 24.3

These last two girls are exactly what I am looking for in the breed: drapey, long fleeces that open cleanly to the skin. Deep blue pigment. Typey heads and proper ear set. Below is a photo of them being shown at Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival in Jefferson, WI last September.

BFL fleece and profile shots Part 1

Natural colored BFLs are my favorite. They are not registrable in the UK, but thankfully the founding members of the BFL associations in the USA permit them.

Natural colored BFLs are really English Blue in pattern (Aeb) and that pattern can be very dark to very light. I have both ends of the spectrum in just a few specimens.

The BFLs are just big dogs in wool jackets. They are inquisitive, friendly, sassy, and tame by nature. They accept handling quite readily and free stack naturally. Unfortunately the photos below are not all perfect as I can't see what I'm doing from in front of the sheep (yes that's my red arm).

*As always, click photo to biggify*

Beechtree GlenLuce
WS&WF Reserve Grand Champion Natural Colored Ewe 2009

GlenLuce is bred to Beechtree Wycliffe, an F2 Rossiebank X003. Below is a photo of her fleece.
2010 Micron results: AFD 28.9, SD 4.6, CV 15.9, CEM 8.3, SF 27

Sheltering Pines Burma

Burma is my natural colored ram. I have his triplet sister (white ewe, Catalonia) and his triplet brother is making Mules in Indiana at UnderTheSon. Burma has produced a lovely ewe below named Kacy and several lovely Mules here. Burma is available for sale for either purebred breeding or making mules. Very handsome and mellow man.

Burma's fleece below (apologies for blurriness)
2010 Micron Results: AFD 27, SD 5, CV 18.5, CEM 9.2, SF 25.8

WhitePine Kacy
(her wool on her rump was quite fluffy today, she is level)

Kacy is my only lamb from 2009. Burma's daughter out of Beechtree Kershope.
2010 Micron Results: AFD 26.3, SD 5, CV 18.9, CEM 8.5, SF 25.2
Kacy's fleece below

I forgot apparently to take a photo of Cross Wind Bea in profile, so all you get is her fleece photo for now. She's my lightest Aeb (English Blue) girl.
2010 Micron Results: AFD 27.9, SD 4.5, CV 16.1, CEM 7.7, SF 26.1

Micron Results Part 3 Shetland Ewes

The below microns are from all my yearling to mature (nine years old) ewes.

This fleece sample is 10 months of fleece, on only grass/forbes pasture, some very high in green alfalfa and red clover, but all had grasses and other forbs in them. I cannot find any correlation between higher protein in the pasture and higher microns as most ewes stay fairly consistent from last year's microns.

All samples taken first week of March before shearing, from last rib, mid-side.


Many of these ewes were used in cross breeding this past year, so their numbers were not passed on to purebred stock.

Name		Mic Ave	SD Mic	CV Mic	CEM	SF Mic
FirthofFifth	ASHANTI	24.4	5.7	23.2	9.6	24.2
WhitePine	BETHANY	24	5	20.9	8.7	23.3
FirthofFifth	BOOTO	27.3	6.9	25.4	13.5	27.7
Owl Hill	BUTTER	23.8	5.5	23	10.3	23.6
WhitePine	CANDACE	25.9	6.5	25.1	12.3	26.1
WhitePine	CENTENNIAL	27.1	5	18.6	8.5	25.8
WhitePine	CHARITY	22.5	6.2	27.7	13.1	23.3
Justalit'l	CHLOE	30.3	6.5	21.6	12.6	29.6
River Oaks	ELIZA	26.7	6.5	24.3	12.5	26.8
Sommarang	EMERALD	28.3	7	24.7	14.1	28.5
Sommarang	EVA	28.3	5.6	19.7	9.5	27.2
WhitePine	EVE	25	6.1	24.5	12.7	25.1
WhitePine	FAITH	21.8	5.1	23.6	9.5	21.7
WhitePine	FESTUS	25.9	5.8	22.2	10.2	25.5
ShelteringPines	FLEUR DE LIS	28.8	6.1	21.4	10.9	28.1
Minwawe	FLOPSY	27.7	7.5	26.9	15.1	28.5
Wintertime	GALINA	27.6	7.2	26.1	14.9	28.1
Justalit'l	LAMBO	26.9	5.8	21.5	11	26.3
WinterSky	LAYLA	26.8	6	22.2	11.6	26.4
River Oaks	LUCY	29.6	4.6	15.5	7.1	27.6
WhitePine	LYDIA	24.4	3.9	15.8	6.7	22.8
Owl Hill	MISS LILLY	29.4	5	16.9	9.3	27.7
ShelteringPines	MYRA	28.2	5.3	18.8	9.3	26.9
WhitePine	NAOMI	25.5	5.5	21.8	9.9	25
WhitePine	NERIAH	23.7	5.5	23.1	9.8	23.5
ShelteringPines	NESSEBAR	28.1	6	21.2	10.5	27.4
ShelteringPines	NIRVANA	28.3	5.2	18.5	8.6	27
Owl Hill	PRANILLA	30.2	5.3	17.5	9.3	28.5
RYL	RACHILDAS	32.2	6.6	20.5	12.3	31.2
FirthofFifth	RAHU	29.3	5.4	18.5	9.2	27.9
Minwawe	REDBUD	24.4	6	24.7	12.9	24.6
WhitePine	RUSH	27	5.1	18.9	9.2	25.9
WhitePine	SALOME	27	5.4	20.1	9.6	26.1
Minwawe	SEA BREEZE	28.2	8	28.2	18.8	29.4
WhitePine	SEDALIA	26.6	4.8	17.9	8.3	25.3
WhitePine	SKOR	24.6	6.1	24.6	13.1	24.7
FirthofFifth	TAIKA	24.2	6.1	25	12.9	24.5
WhitePine	TERAH	24.7	5.2	21.2	9.8	24.1
Black Forest	TILLY	23.9	6.5	27	14.6	24.6
Underhill	ULLA	31.3	8.1	25.9	15.9	31.9
	averages	26.748	5.89	22.11	11.19	26.31

thoughts? :)

Micron Results finally!

My Excel Spreadsheet came via email today of the 86 samples. I like to pay extra to get the results somewhat faster. I don't get the histograms unitl they arrive in the mail but this gives me an idea of what I'm feeling with my fingers and gives me a start on what do go forward with.

That being said I am going to be culling heavily this year. I already know which lines are working, which ewes I've already retained offspring from and there will be about 10 days of ewes for sale before they either go to the BFL ram or go to the auction house.

I'll try to get photos of the girls in question.

I'm not culling only on micron. I already have lists based on lambing record, health and parasite resistance, fleece sales, handle, conformation, temperament etc. The micron testing is just another tool, and to be honest, most of the numbers i was NOT suprised by.....

One nice thing about the reports is that it helps to train my fingers as to what a 30 AFD 6 SD feels like versus a 30AFD 4SD.

more when I can

Shetland Microns and learning new things!

Kara's post to the Chat With NASSA list today made me think of a post I've been wanting to write about for a while.

Before I dive in, I wanted to repost my 2009 entire flock micron average for just the Shetlands. I realize that the BFLs have much lower SD and CVs and would bring the flock averages WAY DOWN for those so I removed those. I did include all ewes and rams, mature and yearlings.

AFD 25.4
SD 5.7
CV 22.5
CEM 10.9
CF 80

I sold 15 sheep since then, all to new breeding flocks (some registered flocks, some unregistered flocks). Once those rams and ewes were removed these were my averages:
AFD 25.3
SD 5.6
CV 22.2
CEM 8.6
CF 93.5

The first three numbers were basically the same, although slightly lower. The CEM and CF however improved greatly. I did sell some animals that had higher CEM and CF. But I also sold some of my very lowest CEM and CF sheep as well. Its surprising what one can improve upon just by selling some animals huh?


At Black Sheep Gathering I gave a genetics talk to the BFL group at their National Banquet. After that talk, Martin Dally of SuperSire Ltd gave a talk solely on Micron Testing and reports.


1. Micron results should NOT be compared between different groups fed differently or separated, or compared to DIFFERENT FLOCKS on different farms!

This mind boggled me. Why would we? Martin told us that there are SO MANY factors that lead to wool testing that each pen or age group or pasture or flock or farm will read differently and not to be compared across the country.

So if my ewe lambs are fed and housed apart from my mature and pregnant ewes, their microns should NOT be compared as equals. Granted you can get a rough idea between the two groups but should NOT be compared with other animals from other pens.

That means that my rams should NOT be compared to my ewes, or ewe lambs, or ram lambs, unless they were all together, for an entire year in the same pen, eating the same food. This also means that my BFLs were house separately from my Shetlands and fed differently, so their microns should NOT be compared to any other group.

Now the ewes have been housed in the same pastures all summer since about May 1st. If I took a fall test of ALL the ewes then I could compare them across the board as they've been house and fed in the same conditions.

2. Sample collection and time of the year will also have an affect on your results!

The month of the year where the fleece will be the finest at the skin level (where you cut the fibers from the animal) will be the month of March through May 1st. The highest number will be in the fall, September/October. March is a good indicator of the finest wool follicles reaching their peak for fineness. In the fall months, the wool follicles have not had an opportunity to work as hard over the bitter cold months. Your finest wool is produced during the winter months.

3. The third to last rib, mid side is the preferred location on Merinos to do fleece samples!

When I questioned this he said many other breeds also do third to last rib, mid side. I told him that YoCom-McColl and Texas A&M recommend last rib. Martin felt that that was too far back on the animal to give a good indication of what the 'average' micron of the animal was.

I still don't fully believe this and still will do last rib, mid side as that is what all of us Shetlander's are doing.

4. Different parts of the fleece will be different in microns.

Now I understood this, but in Merinos (where Martin has had 20+ years breeding them) the change in micron is really only 2-4 microns over their entire body, not 20 microns like many Shetlands are. Also depending on the breed, it will differ.

5. Ideal age for micron testing is 16-18 months of age

Martin emphasized that ewes have not lambed yet so there is no stress from being pregnant, and rams are ideal at this age to micron test. He said never to micron old ewes past age 6 as at that age (six) will be the most coarse the ewe will be, before SLIGHTLY getting finer with old age. Slightly being 2 microns at most. This example was in a 21 micron flock of Merinos. The ewes barely changed from 1.5 years of age until 6.5 years of age, only going up maybe .3-.5 microns. (COULD WE ONLY WISH OUR SHETLANDS DID THIS SLIGHT INCREASE?!)


So take this all for what its worth, a grain of salt. I most likely will NOT take any drastic changes to my schedule as i usually collect fleece samples in March/April anyway, and since I do micron test yearling (even my crosses and old ewes) I do find that the oldest ewes rarely change much and by age 6 we will know for sure what they will be.

So ends today's lesson ;)