RAMSAY FARMS: Ram lambs that I am overwintering

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Ram lambs that I am overwintering

After the three previous culls I have retained animals that I think will be well used in my future breeding goals. These rams are from mostly UK lines (rams that follow the SSS ram inspection protocol and the 1927 Breed Standard and Appendix A) and are diverse as the day is long (summer days mind you!). Horns, patterns, pedigree, staple length etc. With the yearlings and mature rams I have kept, I think I'm sitting pretty good right now :) Photos when I get a digital camera!

WhitePine Ludacris. 67% UK. Smooth Polled red moorit bielset (tiny strand of white fibers completely around his neck) Greenholme Holly x River Oaks Lucy (Holly and Dillon lines). He is a half brother to Levi and he is every bit as nice as Levi. I will be using him heavily in the 2011 breeding season.

WhitePine Click Five. 65.6%UK. Homozygous Fawn Katmoget. Had body spotting and smirslet at birth. Shirehill Minder x Justalit'l Chloe (Bartok daughter, so F2 Minder herself). I have no idea when I'll ever use a homozygous katmoget ram but by gosh is this ram impressive! I hated his birth fleece by he soon shed that for an extremely crimpy UK style fleece that just begs to be touched. Perfect horns, tail and conformation, I love everything about him except that he is Ab/Ab!

WhitePine Flo Rida. 72% UK. Gray Katmoget smirslet. Greenholme Holly x ShelteringPines Fleur de Lis. His conformation and lock structure are just simply amazing. They've been my favorite of the ram lambs since birth. He is Ab/Aa and could carries moorit. Unfortunately he is a gray katmoget. There is no other fault I can give him and that is really a weak one. I don't care about pattern. Too much :)

WhitePine Maxwell. 91% UK. mioget smirslet scurred ram. Heights Orion x OwlHill Miss Lilly (F1 Holly, F2 Orion etc). Gorgeous fleece, wonderful structure and a very respectful yet curious personality. He'll be wintered over in hopes of possibly using him in 2011. I love that he is modified, but also still wanting some nice red moorits in the flock too.

WhitePine City High. 83% UK. Gray Katmoget long scurs. Heatheram Lightning x FirthofFifth Koosi (F1 Jericho F3 Minder etc). Fleece is very uniform and dense, crimpy and butter soft. He is Ab/Aa and maybe carries moorit. His body structure is perfect in every instance. Lovely square back end, wide loin, perfect fluke shape tail, masculine face. His downfall is that he has long scurs that will need to be trimmed. These are not typical fatal horns, but since his mother has now proven she carries polled through her mother's side, I will keep them trimmed and see what his fleece results come back as. He is my only F1 Lightning and while I will not breed with bad horns, he does give a unique outcross for people breeding for polled.

WhitePine Morrison. 42%UK fawn. WhitePine Ephraim AI (F1 Orion) x ShelteringPines Myra (Starry Night x Morgan Le Fey). Moorison's greatest assest is his staple length. I hope that I can use him to continue to use my shorter stapled sheep but have a 'go to' ram that will 'correct' the ones that get a bit too short (under 2" according to the Appendix A). Perfect horns and conformation he is the only ram lamb I kept out of my ground breedings from 2010. That is saying something! He showed nicely at Jefferson this year and is a very calm soul.

FirthofFifth Kiso. Scurred Fawn Katmoget. WhitePine Eprhaim AI (F1 Orion) x FirthofFifth Kamachariy (Forrest x Koosi). Kiso was the chosen ram lamb from Cynthia's final year breeding Shetlands. He is inquisitive, calm, respectful, structurally on point, fleece is amazing and I hope to use him on some of my Levi kids next fall. He really is an amazing ram lamb.

Besides these 7 ram lambs, I am keeping
WhitePine Caiphas (horned gray kat F1 Holly)
WhitePine Christian (horned black ram F2 Orion F3 Jericho)
ShelteringPines Veni (horned gray kat F2 Jericho)
WhitePine Barnabas (horned mioget kat F1 Orion F2 Timothy)
WhitePine Roman (horned white F1 Orion)
WhitePine Levi (smooth polled F1 Jamie black krunet)
FirthofFifth Nekomis (horned gray kat F2 Jericho F3 Timothy)
Wintertime Jazz (horned spotted gray kat F1 Jericho F2 Drum Ram etc)

Sounds like a lot, but this way I won't need to buy another ram for awhile or do AI! :) Thank goodness for the new ram pastures!

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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

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Ram lambs that I am overwintering

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A long time coming!

Fine Fleece Shetland Sheep Association

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