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It's Getting to That Time of the Year!

   My girls are big! Underhill Bar, Lil'Country Moss Rose, and Lil'Country Alberta are due end of next week, beginning of April. I am really looking forward to having my first batch of lambs! It will be a new experience for me. I'm not sure exactly when LostLakeFarm Davina is due, but she is a double-wide like the rest of them! She can't lamb that much later than the others, not with as big as she is. If Bar has a ram lamb, and it is up to my standards (which I believe it will be), I may keep it and breed him to my other ewes. Currently, I own a scurred dark brown gulmoget. His papered name is Three Creeks Tank. I am expecting great things from this guy next spring. All of my ewes should be bred, but they aren't bred to him. I bought all of my ewes bred. I am hoping that he gives me a gulmoget ewe next spring. When I was looking to buy my first Shetlands, I really wanted a gulmoget ewe. But, I found some others of good quality, so I called it good. Then, I came across Tank at www.3creeksfarm.com and fell in love. Three Creeks Farm does not breed or polled or scurred rams, but they got him anyway! I am so pleased with Tank, he has so much personality!
   We have a good number of dairy goats, and one of them, Bella, looks like she could kid anytime! Her bag is tight with milk, and she is big. This will be her second time to kid. We did not own her when she kidded the first time, so I have no idea what her offspring looks like. If they look as good as she is, we will be set! The sire of these kids is a polled Saanen/Nubian cross named Squirt. He is so friendly you would think he's a wether! He is the first to walk up to you in the pasture. Squirt passes his nice calm temperment to his offspring, even to the billies. We had a nice little spotted buck off him last year that inherited both his father's poll and temperment. Since we didn't really need him, we sold the buckling to a friend of ours.
   After we evaluate who stays and who goes, we will have some Nubian/Saanen babies and lambs to sell. If you are interest, contact me.
   Here is a picture of Bella from last summer while she was laying in the barn.
 
 
   I love Bella's markings!

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Hello all! This is my new blog! This blog will be dedicated to give you news about my Shetland herd. My goals as a Shetland breeder: (1) Ewes with good mothering instinct and produce enough milk for their young. (2) I want polled (unable to grow horns) rams and ewes in my flock. (3) Soft fleeces! This is a must! I like an intermediate and kindly fleece. I personally do not care for the double coated fleeces, but each to his own. (4) Eventually, I would like to get Shetlands with spotted fleeces. I find them very attractive! Who doesn't like spotted animals? (5) I  do not want my sheep to be BIG. Some people breed them up for the show ring, but I like them as the small breed they are. I hope you enjoy this blog!:)

Just Thinking...

   We had some friends over, and I was showing them Pete Moss, the ram lamb from Rose. I thought he carried AG (the fading gene) but it looks like he is also going to keep his spots. I am really pleased with this... I am considering keeping Pete Moss, and breeding him to Davina and her lambs, when they get old enough. I'm not sure if Davina is a poll carrier, so it would be nice to breed her to a polled ram, then I would have a 50 50 chance. Davina throws nice looking lambs, but their fleeces aren't as soft as I'd like. Any ways, it would be nice to get more spots into the flock. I love spots! Several years ago, my family and I bred Dalmatian dogs. But because my little brother developed allergies to dogs, we got out of it. As much as I like Pete Moss, I still have him listed for sale. There is still time for him to fade, so we will see how it plays out. Have a good day!

Lamb Names

   I have names for three out of the four lambs thus far. Like most Shetland breeders, I chosen a theme in which to name my lambs :  Famous Children Lit. Names.    I named the first ewe pictured below Lil' Hopper's   Velvet from the book National Velvet. The next ewe I named Lil' Hopper's Black Beauty. (Note: The North American Shetland Sheep Association requires all registered lambs to have flock prefixs, mine is Lil' Hopper's) The little ewe lamb from Alberta is Lil' Hoppers Winn-Dixie.    I need help on the ram, any ideas?