Lease option a huge success!

Needless to say all of my ewes that I offered for lease with one exception are now leased to others for the breeding season!

It was so popular that I don't have a single ewe to put with the BFL for mules! WOW!

Thank you to everyone who took up this crazy new idea of mine and I appreciate your trust and beliefs in my breeding program here with my current line up of rams and ewes! I look forward eagerly to see what lambs are produced with your choices!

Breeding groups in and ramblings!

Every year my lambing dates have to be around the Cardigan Welsh Corgi Club of America's National Specialty. I am usually gone for 10-12 days that include the days spent driving. This year it is in Houston Texas and I am planning on doing agility and rally with Sadie and conformation shows with Ell, Ava, Ballantyne and maybe even Brewer. But this is not a dog blog so I'll end that here :)

The BFL ram lamb Wycliffe was put in with all 10 ewes on Sunday the 10th. All of the Shetlands were put in their groups this evening after work. I of course did a few last minute additions. :)

ShelteringPines Nessebar (ShelteringPines Starry Night x ShelteringPines Morgan Le Fey) was put in with FifthofFifth Nekomis.

WhitePine Skor (FirthofFifth Telmo Don Bourbon x FirthofFifth Assam Meleng) a shaela, was put in with WhitePine Levi. Skor 'COULD' carry polled, but I really was wanting some more solid colored lambs that weren't patterned :)

Lambs 'could' start March 9th but of course give or take a few days. I'm hoping to have them in with the rams for only 29 days.

While I was sorting through the ewe lambs (over 30 of them) I found it more and more difficult to decide who stays. Some were longer legged and longer bodied. Some were shorter legged, wider and more stout. All the fleeces were great on the ewe lambs I'm retaining.

Some of the ewe lambs are too small to even consider breeding, and I hate to even think of breeding MORE than the 30+ ewes especially considering I personally don't need more than what I have ;)

But I see the fleeces on these ewe lambs and I melt. Some are very UK crimp already 3"+, others are crimpy at the base but have more tip and are already 4-5".

I'm pretty sure none of the ewe lambs will cycle early, but the desire to see results faster with these F1 ewe lambs or double F2 ewe lambs is really tempting me. And not all of the girls, but just the biggest ones.

My digital camera screen is still broken. It still takes photos but its almost like an old 35mm camera. You don't know what it looks like until you go tot he house to develop them. And trying to get a single good photo of a sheep is nearly impossible WITH a screen that works! I need to get a new camera...they keep getting better and cheaper at the same time! I need to take photos. You guys would all love what you see!

The Texel and his ewes will go in this weekend. Same for Burma and the Shetland ewes to make mules.

Enough for now!

What in the heck have I been up to?

My time since Jefferson has been a blur. Lots of work with the landscaping and constant lawn care (read mowing) due to our record rainfall this summer with nice cool temps for the BlueGrass to grow.

I've also had a roommate since the end of August named Adam. He's from Milwaukee and a total city slicker. He's very eager to learn and loves the farm. He came with to the Jefferson show and helped me show the BFLs, Mules and the Shetlands. He also helps me get my every increasing list of things "TO DO" around the farm somewhat back in check. He's a Godsend. I'm very blessed to have his help and eagerness to learn. It makes farming that much more fun when you have someone to share it with :)

Most evenings after he gets off of work we tend to tackle projects. This past weekend we fenced in a several acre pasture for the rams. Its split down the middle so I can move them between pens. My current ram pen is ridiculously small in comparison and I'm eager to get the few boys I'm retaining and not using this fall over to that pen. I just need to put up the gates and their panel shelter and it'll be ready! Projects go so much faster when I have help that is ambitious!

Having a roommate to chill with, cook with, eat with, b.s. with, getting projects done outside, house projects etc. hasn't given me a lot of time to 'talk sheep' to my sheep friends and for that I apologize. I'm not trying to ignore you, honest!

Jazz's breeding group

Wintertime Jazz AI (F1 Jericho) out of Whistlestop 0427 Izzy, is 87.5% UK. Ab/Aa, BB/BB, Ss/Ss. His 3rd fleece micron is still very respectable for North American Shetlands and well within breeding rights!

OwlHill Butter - musket - 82+% UK F2/F3 Orion, F2Greyling etc. Butter had a gorgeous musket smirslet sokket ewe lamb out of Shirehill Minder this year and I hope to breed magical lambs like her with Jazz.

WhitePine Charity - F2 Timothy F3 Jericho etc - gray katmoget (Barish x Castle Rock). This gorgeous katmoget girl is getting put to Jazz. He is her grandsire but I think this linebreeding will prove interesting. She could be Ab/Ab BB/BB but who cares when she's awesome! :)

Whistlestop Yuma - F2 Orion F2 Skeld F3/F3 Jings, F3 Drum Ram etc. 80%+ UK. She's a bigger girl who is fawn, very solidly built with a very dense fleece. I think I'll like these lambs. A lot.

WSR Alisa - moorit light badger face. 99% DOMESTIC. Alisa is the ultimate in what a domestic ewe can look like when bred with specific goals and to the standard. Her current fleece length is not any longer than my other kindly fleeced animals and looks a lot like what Bill Stearman has with his Dailley ewes that he has. I am hoping for fleece improvement first of all with this breeding but also hoping to tease out some LBF in the black colors as well. She's also a bigger girl and excited to see what she produces.

Other ewes getting bred to Jazz:

FirthofFifth Sukhada - black gulmoget (Forrest daughter)

Black Forest Tamarack - moorit gulmoget

Sommarang Emerald - black flecket

Wintertime Galina - black gulmoget

FirthofFifth Booto - fawn katmoget (F1 Timothy)

FirthofFifth Anki - smirslet black gulmoget

RYL Rachildas - white illget

WhitePine Candace - F1 Holly fawn katmoget smirslet

RiverOaks Eliza - white

WhitePine Eve - mioget F1 Orion

Nekmosis' breeding group

Nekomis is from Cynthia's farm. He is out of Jazz's twin brother Blues and Bramble Nadeen. He'll get a fair share of girls this fall as I'm really excited about using him on Jazz daughters down the road.

OwlHill Pranilla - F1 Greyling F2 Orion Gray (Ag) ewe. She carries moorit and solid and is 75% UK. She's fantastic.

FirthofFifth Rahu - Forrest daughter out of RYL Rachildas. She carries solid and is structurally on point. All her offspring are great. Her daughter this year out of Willowcroft Jamie is just breathtaking.

ShelteringPines Myra - Fawn katmoget (Sheltering Pines Starry Night x Canosia Farm May). She carries solid, modified and spots. Her offspring have been stellar. This pairing should not disappoint. Her only fault is her slighly longer tail (however still proportionate and fluke shaped)

WhitePine Salome - yuglet sokket horned black ewe. Jazz x Sheltering Pines Snow Cloud (Snowy daughter). Salome for a black really is amazing. And she's horned. And spotted. Such a diverse flock that I have.

WhitePine Terah - black. UnderTheSon Arapaho x Black Forest Tilly. Again for a black she is incredible. She carries moorit recessively. I'm hoping for solid lambs out of this pairing. Structure is awesome.

Whistlestop 0935(Xena) - white - F2 Ridland, F2 Skeld F3/F3 Jings F4 Gordon. She'll be bred to Nekomis. They are both shorter in leg but very stout animals (while still being fine boned and nimble). Excited to see what comes of this breeding.

Whistlestop 0914 (Zariah) - shaela- F2 Orion, F3 Drum Ram F3 Skeld. A super friendly, stucturally correct, larger ewe, this breeding should maybe tease out some solid lambs? Here's hoping.

Barnabas' Breeding Group

Barnabas is a 76% UK F1 Orion F2 Timothy (and greyling waaaay back) out of FirthofFifth Booto. he is a mioget katmoget that carries spots. He wasn't used last year, but will get 9 ewes this fall. Perfect horns and conformation, he also is a mellow boy. Yes he's getting a lot of katmoget ewes. I don't care about the pattern! I just want nice fleece, nice conformation! pattern is so secondary!

RiverOaks Lucy. Yes she is a proven poll carrier. However both polled rams I have are her sons, so I'm going to breed her to Barnabas in hopes of getting a Aa/Aa EWE lamb! She hasn't given me a ewe or a katmoget yet, so we'll see what shakes out.

WhitePine Sedalia. Another favorite ewe. She's hard to fault. spotted. fine fleece. stellar conformation. tame. These lambs will be terrific.

WhitePine Rush. F2 Orion white ewe. her lamb out of Jazz this year was gorgeous, so i'm going to try to get something moorit based out of her this year with Barnabas.

Sommarang Eva. minder/timothy lines. gray katmoget. conformation is awesome. Fleece is lovely. I'm hoping to make it more fine by breeding her to this ram. Hoping she carries moorit!

WhitePine Faith - krunet sokket gray katmoget. Jazz daughter. she's a huge improvement on her mom Minwawe Flopsy. Faith carries moorit and has an ultra fine fleece. Conformation is wonderful.

White Pine Naomi - fawn katmoget - Blues x Nirvana. She's more stout than her twin or mother Neriah/Nirvana, but I love her look. Another great match i think.

ShelteringPines Fleur de Lis - smirslet gray katmoget. She was bred to Holly last year and to Jazz the year before. All her lambs are just awesome. Bred to Orion lines should be wonderful.

FirthofFifth Ashegon - moorit. This feminine girl is getting bred to Barnabas in hopes of solid moorit lambs. Their body style and type is similiar and She hasn't been bred to the Orion line yet. I'm eager to see what this breeding produces.

WhitePine Centennial. gray katmoget (Jazz x Chloe). She was bred to an F2 Orion two years ago which gave me a gorgeous black ram, and last year bred to Timothy gave me a gorgeous black ewe lamb. I know she carries moorit so third times is the charm!

Roman's breeding group

Roman is my F1 Orion yearling ram out of RYL Rachildas. He has the nicest fleece out of any of Rachildas' offspring here and he will be used on a select few girls. I'd use him much more but he IS white, and I don't want an entire white flock!

Sheltering Pines Nirvana - an Underhil Thelonius Monk daughter out of ShelteringPines Modron. Nirvana carries moorit, solid and spots. She is also horned. She's one of my favorite girls. Very improveable when bred to the Jericho lines. Conformation is spot on.

WhitePine Neriah - Nirvana's daughter out of Blues. Neriah was born spotted, not sure if she carries solid or moorit though. She was bred to Levi last year and she had a knock out ewe lamb (gray kat of course!)

WhitePine Festus - Jazz x Fleur De Lis - black krunet. She's a yearling black with great conformation. I'm hoping she carries moorit and Roman throws his moorit solid gene here too!

Polled Breeding Group plans

I am excited to use my F1 Jamie boy WhitePine Levi this fall on all the poll carrier and poll suspect ewes. Levi is a black krunet smooth polled ram out of Willocroft Jamie and River Oaks Lucy (Dillon and Holly lines). He is almost 64% UK, fine fleece, with good conformation and personality. Carries moorit and spots.

He will get:

FirthofFifth Koosi - F1 Jericho - gray katmoget. Koosi was bred to Heatheram Lightning last year and gave me a poll carrying ram lamb with long scurs. She is homozygous katmoget but carries moorit so could get either black or moorit based katmogets.

Justalit'l Black Lambo - (Holly and Timothy lines) - black ewe. Lambo has given her stamp to the breed with lots of descendants, and improvable fleece. She carries moorit and spots and has been bred in the past to Dillon, Orion and Jericho for AI. She has not dissappointed. Aa/Aa babies.

FirthofFifth Ashanti - moorit smirslet. She is a Forrest daughter out of Bramble ewe lines. This past fall I bred her to Orion and I got a gorgeous moorit krunet and a mioget. Both ewe lambs. I could get some pretty spotted babies (and Aa/Aa babies!)

OwlHill Miss Lilly - black ewe who carries spots. F1/F4 Holly F2 Orion. Lilly gave me a mioget smirslet ram lamb out of Orion this year. She is a proven poll carrier and I'm excited to see what Levi and her can produce. All Aa/Aa lambs.

WhitePine Bethany - F1 Orion fawn ewe. Bethany is Lambo's daughter and I'm eager to see what the Orion influence will do with Lambo's lineage. Again only Aa/Aa lambs.

FirthofFifth Blottir - gray katmoget. Another Forrest daughter who is half siblings with Barish and Booto on the dam's side. She may carry spots, modified and moorit but hard to say. Aa/Aa or Ab/Aa lambs.

FirthofFifth Kamacheriy - fawn katmoget. She really is my favorite ewe. Body capacity, structure, fleece. She was bred to Eprhaim this year and had a scurred ram lamb. She's a proven poll carrier and so Levi was an obvious choice. Another Forrest daughter out of Koosi, she also will be an exciting one to see bred to Levi.

FirthofFifth Agio - yuglet sokket black gulmoget. Sweet personality and dynamite fleece, this ewe really is perfection. Bred to Levi I can hardly wait to see what she has next spring.

I could put a lot of ewes with him just to improve conformational points, or fleece, but we'll use him just on poll carrier ewes this year and see what he produces. This last year he was used as a clean up ram and the lambs were structurally amazing, and most had wonderful fleeces.

Leasing Option

I decided that perhaps the ewes I weren't going to use personally would benefit others. I created a 'leasing option' for several ewes that would keep the ewes on my property. I would house them and feed them for the winter. At 12 weeks of age, the lambs would be picked up by the lease person(s) and the ewes would remain in my custody, both in physical self and by pedigreed ownership.

In essence you would be buying the lambs, regardless of the sex/color/number of them. This helps other breeders out without having to buy the ewe, and you can utilize my ram stock. This also helps me as I get to see if those breedings were beneficial and can use the ewes the following year based a lot on their offspring from this leasing agreement. This also maintains my OPP/Johne's/CL/BTV free flock and doesn't introduce any new sheep.

Rules:
1. ewe is bred to ram of your choice that i currently have on the farm.
2. ewe remains in my posession and I am responsible for all feed, worming, and lambing of the ewe
3. Person who leases the ewe would pay room/board AND a breeding service fee.
4. All lambs from leased ewe would be property of the person who leases the ewe.

Contact me in the next few days for more information. I'm putting most of my groups together this weekend.

Apologies

Apologies for my lack of email. Apparently in the past 9 days my service provider has deleted my account on several occassions, changed my password numerous times and simply disconnected my service. All due to the new 'bundling is easier' upgrade. It doesn't seem that way to me at all.

So if you've tried to email me in the past 9 days, send me the emails again, because I haven't received them.

thanks!