Lambs, Shearing, New Shop, Sales listings

Springtime on the farm is always so busy!  Lambing is done, so I've been shearing . . .  by hand.  I take awhile to do each sheep because, for the ewes, I put them on the stand, uncoat them, trim hooves, take pictures, shear, maybe take another picture, then send them on their way.  I try to shear on the rise line, so sometimes that is close to the skin and I have to go very slow.  This gives me a premium fleece, shorn just at the right time, and leaves next year's fleece just right as well.   Sometimes, I have to roo part or all of the fleece, which takes time as well.

Etsy
I have finally opened an Etsy shop.   https://www.etsy.com/shop/UnderTheSonFarm?ref=si_shop 
It was a bit intimidating at first, but I finally got the hang of it.  I'll be offering raw fleece, top, roving, yarn, hides, and custom drum carded roving.  You can always just contact me directly though or come to the farm!


Ewe Microns
Adult ewe micron stats came back and I'm VERY pleased with the results!  Most of the ewes have fleeces that are low grade 2, which is where I want them.   A low grade two fleece is fine and soft enough for almost any project you want to make with it.  There are a few grade ones, and only one grade three by SF. Combine that with a 5.2 SD, an 18.8 CV, and a 9.1 CEM ewe flock avg and you've got the best breed type Shetland spinning fleeces you could ask for.


Sales
I'm starting my sales listings early this year for the sheep.  We need to move several and I'm not going to keep many of the lambs this year.  I REALLY like my flock as it stands so keeping lots of lambs doesn't make much sense. This is your opportunity to capitalize on some really good stock.  Next year there will be fewer purebred lambs available as I'll be putting most of the ewes to the crossing ram.

Adults listed are proven and I have genetics from most of them already in the flock.

I'm keeping several yearlings and all of these listed that are for sale are basically duplicates of others that I'm keeping.  This means that the quality of them is similar to the fawn kat ewe lambs I showed at WSWF last fall.  Those two placed as first place pair ewe lambs and Coolea (Stronsay/Chenille) won 1st place ewe lamb.  Stronsay had several daughters last year as well as some this year, and I'm already keeping several of them.


Sheep Sales listing:

Adult Rams 
There are a couple for sale.  Please inquire.

Adult Ewes
Ewe Name	YOB	NASSA #	Sire Name	Dam Name	Color	Comments
UTS Britta	2006	S 22099	UTS Brandon	Sabbath Farm Rosamund	emsket	RESERVED
UTS Ruby	2006	S 22086	UTS Brandon	Underhill  Crystal Gayle	moorit/fawn
UTS Morel	2007	S 24635	Drum Jings	Thistle Keep Prairie Smoke	black iset
UTS Paxina	2007	S 24632	UTS Cleggan	UTS Prairie Wind	white
UTS Galerina	2007	S 24637	UTS Brandon	SheltrgPines Guinevere	emsket
UTS Onyx	2009	S 29556	Bramble McDreamie	UTS Piemonte	shaela
Whistlestop  0929	2009	S 30652	Whistlestop  0727	Whistlestop 0702	white
UTS Jasmine	2010	S 31254	UTS Broderick	UTS Taos	fawn kat
S'More Rumba	2011	S33848	UTS Apache	S'More Spunky	fawn
UTS Fara	2012	S 35993	UTS Dungaree	UTS Ellie	Moorit
UTS Chaumes	2013	S 37947	UTS Earl Grey	UTS Cypress	fawn kat
UTS Anjou	2013	S 37941	UTS Stronsay	UTS Jasmine	fawn kat
UTS Galette	2013	S 37939	UTS Stronsay	UTS Galerina	Lt. Moorit
UTS Raschera	2013		UTS Stronsay	UTS Ruby	Moorit
UTS Anari	2013	S 37932	UTS Stronsay	UTS Assam	white

I'm only keeping a few lambs, mostly emskets (to replace older gals who I'm moving on to help other flocks), and a handful of other ewe lambs.   Some ram lambs that are being retained to replace sires (I need a Dreamie replacement so looking at a couple of his sons) and a couple of other nice ones to watch.

I'm just beginning to evaluate lambs so the comments are not filled in except with the briefest of notes.  Fleeces on most of the lambs are typical, meaning that it is a crimpy coat with a few birth hairs - which will turn into a breed typical crimpy fleece.  Dog coats normally lose the hair around 3 months and will become crimpy to very crimpy.  Wavy fleeces can stay wavy or get crimpy (usually several months).  The two modified emsket rams lambs will either be a silky wavy or get crimpier.  My emskets are very silky soft and the yarn from them is my best seller (I don't sell those fleeces!).

2014 Lambs
Dam	Sire		DOB		Color	Comments
Madeline	Castello	R	3/17	tw	emsket	NFS until further evaluation, wavy silky fleece
Cinnerella	Castello	R	3/23	tr	emsket - few wh hairs on head	scurred, wavy, silky fleece
Pashmina	Dreamie	E	3/17	tw	grey kat
Moreen	Dreamie	E	3/18	tw	moorit
Moreen	Dreamie	E	3/18	tw	black
Chenille	Dreamie	R	3/24	tw	moorit w/frosted ear
WS bl 0932	Dreamie	R	3/25	Tw	black	Wavy coat
WS bl 0932	Dreamie	R	3/25	Tw	black	supercrimp
Ceann	Stronsay	R	3/24	Tw	Black HST	small horns/scurred
Ceann	Stronsay	R	3/24	Tw	black	scurred
Colla	Stronsay	E	3/24	tw	Ag grey spotted
Colla	Stronsay	R	3/24	tw	Ag grey yuglet	big horns
Kerrara	Stronsay	E	3/25	Tw	fawn kat
Marina	Stronsay	R	3/25	Tw	grey kat
Vaila	Stronsay	E	3/26	Tw	black with a bit of white hairs on head	Pet Q
Iona	Stronsay	E	3/30	Tw	black krunet	dog coat
Iona	Stronsay	R	3/30	Tw	black	Wavy coat
S'More Rhapsody	Stronsay	E	3/31	Tw	mooritHST
S'More Rhapsody	Stronsay	R	3/31	Tw	moorit HST
Innis	Venaco	E	3/21	tw	dk moorit smirslet
Arran	Venaco	E	3/22	s	black	wavy, silky, stocky
Mercure	Venaco	E	3/22	tw	Ag grey kat spotted
Mercure	Venaco	R	3/22	tw	black krunet	wavy silky dog coat, big horns
Damask	Venaco	E	3/25	Tr	black
Damask	Venaco	E	3/25	Tr	moorit
Damask	Venaco	R	3/25	Tr	grey kat	scurred, supercrimp
Shannda	Venaco	E	3/25	Tw	moorit krunet, 2 rear socks	hairy dog coat
Shannda	Venaco	R	3/25	Tw	moorit HST kat
S'More Giga	Venaco	E	3/26	TW	black spotted kat
S'More Giga	Venaco	E	3/26	TW	moorit spotted kat
S'More Maraca	Venaco	E	3/26	Tw	grey kat
S'More Maraca	Venaco	R	3/26	Tw	grey kat
Spice	Venaco	R	3/26	TW	moorit HST	scurred
Spice	Venaco	R	3/26	TW	grey kat spotted	scurred

Here are a few pics of the sale lambs.

Kerrara's fawn kat ewe

Colla and her twins.  Ram has good horns.

Cinerelle and her triplets.  The scurred ram is in middle.  I'm retaining one of the ewe lambs and the other is reserved.

Spice's  grey kat ram. 

Innis's smirslet moorit ewe.

Innis's again.

Iona's black krunet ewe.

Colla's grey ewe again.

Moreen's twin ewes.

Chenille's moorit ram.  His right ear is frosted.  His black brother is being retained for the moment as a Dreamie son replacement.  

Arran's black ewe.

Giga's fawn kat spotted ewe.

Vaila's black ewe lamb.

Fara and her moorit ram lamb.

Shannda's moorit krunet ewe.

Rhapsody and her twins.  Sheared Rhapsody this morning and she is a silver fawn color.

There are more to post but need to get back out and shear some more ewes!

Shetlands for sale

In the need to cut my flock down to a reasonable number, I will be offering the following for sale. The rams have micron stats listed in the previous post.

Rams
I am cutting the ram flock down to about half, keeping those rams that will be able to be utilized in my flock. The ones I'm offering for sale are here because I have so much of their genetics in the flock.  Not for any other reason.

UnderTheSon Dungaree - white,  Awt/Aa, DOB 2011 (UTS Emperor's White/UTS Dakota).
Dakota has produced excellent rams and Dungaree is no exception.  He won 3rd place in a very large ram lamb class under Kate Sharp and Alan Hill at WSWF in 2011.  He has been inspected and passed under Maurice Wakeling as a 2 yr old as well as placed 1st in the Senior ram class in 2013.  I have a few of his daughters so it is time to move him on.  Dungaree has a silky soft, wavy/crimpy fleece with good length and he roos.

UnderTheSon Velour - fawn katmoget, Ab/Aa, DOB 2011 (UTS Apache/UTS Viva).
Velour's sire, Apache, placed 2nd in the ram lamb class at WSWF in 2010 and won Best Fleece on hoof. Velour placed 1st in 2011 under Kate and Alan and also took Reserve Champion Ram.  There isn't much to add to that.  I have a few daughters I am retaining from him as well.  Silky, soft, wavy/crimpy fleece.  I am very reluctantly offering him for sale.

UnderTheSon Crowley - moorit spotted, Aa/Aa, DOB 2013 (Crosswinds Pegasus/UTS Ceylon).
I am reluctantly offering this ram for sale, simply because I am keeping several of Pegasus's sons from last year and just can't keep them all!  This ram lamb has been a knockout from birth with his bold spotting and strong structure.  Great color to his fleece and long, soft, crimpy staples going well down his britch.  This ram has much to offer to boost a flock's overall breed type.


Ewes
Several ewes will be available this year.  I will offer up between 10-15 adults and several yearlings.  These are NOT, in any way shape or form, culls.  These are top quality ewes that have proven themselves (if adults) to produce both good lambs and a good fleece.  I have culled extensively for years, retaining the best of the best.   I simply have too many sheep and need to cut back on the total number.  From here on, I will be concentrating on producing mainly crossbred lambs so that I do not have to face the task of shipping purebreds to market.  I will be only breeding a few ewes to pure rams, mainly for the sake of replacing stock in my own flock.  I did 50/50 breeding last fall - half going to pure and half going to cross.  Having lots of lambs designated from the start going to market makes my job a lot easier (read, less painful).  Basically, this is the year to get a purebred Shetland lamb or adult from me if you are so interested.

Our farm has bred for 1927 Shetland breed type since the beginning and the sheep themselves have been proven for 12 years now - in the jug, in the ring, on the table (fleece, skeins, and finished goods), and also on the dinner table.   They've done all they've been asked to do - proving it with consistent wins everywhere with judges here and from abroad.  It doesn't get any better than this.

I won't be posting exactly who is for sale yet as I want to wait for the stats for this year as I'm almost done clipping the adult ewes fleece samples.  My fleeces are soft handling, have good crimp, and good length. Every sample from every sheep that I clip tells me the same thing.  They are breed type all the way.  They are of good weight and great handle.  They spin supremely and make superior feeling goods.


Lambs
I will only be keeping around 10 ewe lambs this fall and 2-3 ram lambs.  The rest of the lambs will be available.  Many of these are spotted and some are spotted katmogets.  A few solids and kats are in the bunch.  I'm a plain jane type of breeder and prefer the solids or the katmogets.  So, my preference is your flashy chrome!

2014 Ram Microns and lace

The micron data came back today from the rams.  This is fleece taken last month.  I'm very pleased with the results.

Overall stat avgs:  AFD 23.5, SD 4.7, CV 20, CEM 8.3.  CF 79.2, SF 22.7, CRV 82.1

Adult Rams

	AFD	SD	CV	CEM	SF	CRV	CF
Dreamie	26.1	4.3	16.4	7.3	24.5	77.3	85.3
Stronsay	25.8	5.0	19.3	8.1	24.8	81.1	82.5
Velour	26.6	5.3	19.7	8.4	25.6	65.1	78.4
Dungaree	25.8	6.7	26.0	11.3	26.3	70.8	74.4
Ben	29.8	5.3	17.6	9.1	28.2	73.1	58.4

Yearling Rams

	AFD	SD	CV	CEM	SF	CRV	CF
BC neck	18.7	3.5	18.5	6.7	17.8	101.9	99.9
Blue Castello	19.2	4.3	22.3	8.3	18.9	93.6	99.7
Venaco	21.7	4.3	20.0	7.5	21.0	88.0	98.2
Asiago	22.0	4.3	19.6	7.3	21.1	79.4	97.7
Mobay	22.1	4.1	18.5	7.2	21.1	99.2	97.9
Manchego	22.2	4.7	21.2	8.2	21.6	82.4	95.8
Mahon	22.7	4.9	21.8	9.2	22.2	82.6	93.0
Crowley	23.0	4.9	21.3	9.3	22.5	71.2	92.5
Stilton	23.4	4.1	17.4	7.7	22.1	84.0	94.8

Our sheep eat very well - and the rams are no exception.  Some noteworthy comments:  

• The most important stats to me are the CEM and SD.  These must be low - and the range that they are in is appropriate for fine fleeced Shetlands.  These numbers show that most have a spinning fineness that is lower than the AFD.  They also indicate, by the low numbers, that there are no guard hairs present, which give the fleece a coarse handle.  Breeders must be careful not to go too low, though, because this indicates a fleece without the Shetland 'tip' which gives the characteristic feathering.
• Bramble McDreamie will be 7 years old this year.  Exceptional stats for his age.  
• Velour and Dungaree will be 3 this year.  Great numbers for them.  Velour placed 1st and R CH Ram and Dungaree placed 3rd under SSS breeder/inspector/judges Kate Sharp and Alan Hill at WSWF when they were lambs in 2011.  They sure knew how to pick a couple of good ones!  Both of these rams have silky soft fleeces.  Their daughters have very nice fleeces as well.
• Dungaree was shown again last year at WSWF as a 2 yr old and placed 1st in Senior rams.  He also passed inspection under SSS breeder/inspector/judge Maurice Wakeling.  Dungaree also roos very well. 
• Stronsay will be 2.  He is rooing this year as well.  This ram can still do capriole's, he is that agile and strong but light framed.  Never have seen another adult ram do that!
• BC neck refers to Blue Castello's neck.  For fibers below 15 microns, Castello's mid-side fleece has almost 12% that fit that range!  See below for more details.
• Mahon was the 2013 WSWF Supreme Champion under Maurice Wakeling.
• I used Dreamie, Stronsay, Castello, and Venaco for breeding rams last fall.  

Ok, now back to Blue Castello.  

Last month when I was snipping fleece from the boys to send in for microns, I happened to grab Castello by the neck.  Mistake. He was rooing and left me with a large handful of neck wool.  You know, the brain can process information pretty fast.  A handful of 18.7 micron fleece, with more than 11% of those fibers being less than 15 microns, leaves a very definite impression in the brain . . . an impression of oohhhh and aahhhhh . . .  as I was standing there with that handful of very soft silky neck wool, visions of lace yarn popped into my head.  And, over the next few days, I proceeded to roo a bit more of Castello's neck.  Not a lot mind you.  Just enough for my greedy hands to hold (and NOT to stuff in my pockets!).  Or at least I thought I was holding it.  A handful of that wool literally weighs only grams.  I would wash it up in the sink as soon as I got inside, then dried it by the fire.  Some quick flicks from the flicker, and I spun right from the locks.  It was actually fun to spin on my Lendrum lace flyer, at 30:1 ratio. 

Castello's neck wool - this is truer to the blue color that he is.

Here is the skein I spun from some of Castello's neck wool, next to a lock.  Yes, his neck fiber is actually 3" unstretched (and much more stretched).  The dime is for comparison.  The 2 ply skein weighs 20 g (about 0.7 oz) and is 298 yds long.  That is over 400 yds/oz and 6,640 yds/lb!  I flipped through my copy of the Shetland Island spinners A Legacy of Shetland Lace book and found a simple lace scarf to knit.  Have to keep putting lotion on my hands to keep from snagging the fibers as I'm knitting.  And knitting this fine of yarn is a whole different concept than even knitting my lace weight yarn.  It's in a realm by itself.  Superfine, fine Shetland fleece.  No wonder it is famous worldwide.  

Oh yeah.  Lambing has started!

Merry Christmas!

It was a beautiful day today, though this morning when this picture was taken, it was still below 20 degrees! Thought I would get a few pictures of the boys and they obliged.  

UTS Asiago

UTS Dungaree

UTS Mahon (with his nose in the air) and Asiago.

UTS Manchego - a Cleggan son

In front:  UTS Velour (fawn kat) and UTS Venaco (spotted grey kat)

UTS Stronsay - moorit

UTS Crowley (moorit and white spotted) and UTS Mobay (black and white yuglet).  UTS Stronsay is facing the feeder and UTS Stilton is cut off on the right.

I'm really pleased with the rams that we have on the farm.  All have much to contribute to the Shetland gene pool.  There is quite the diversity among them but they are all very much within the framework of the 1927 Shetland breed standard.  All sport excellent conformation and very fine, breed correct fleeces.   This, to me, is what the Shetland breed is all about - diversity of pattern and color with a breed standard fleece on a typy, fine boned framework.  Easily recognized by original breeders and not confused with another breed by anyone.  

One of the ewe lambs fleece, picture taken in late Nov.   Luscious, lovely, very fine, dense, and crimpy fleece on a 1927 breed standard Shetland.    I'll have to make another post with pictures taken last month showing a few of the fleeces from the ewe lambs and the breeding groups (group shots).   Makes my fingers itch to spin it!

The Mod Squad

The Mod Squad  

(modifieds)

UTS Blue Castello - emsket, half poll

Incredible fineness!  

Extremely soft, dense, and with good length already.

And this is what is above his britch!

The 'squad'.  Emskets - Britta, Galerina, Cinnerella.  Miogets - Galeria, Mingay, Madeline (dam of UTS Mahon, 2013 WSWF Supreme Champion and Best Fleece on Hoof)

After 10 years of researching and breeding for the 'golden fleece', this is the best modified group that I've ever put together. I've never been able to have a group specifically made up of nothing but emsket and mioget sheep - this is the first.  Looking forward to seeing the blue, and hopefully gold, lambs from this group.  Fleeces should be just spectacular as all these girls have wonderful silky soft ones. Some of these adults will be for sale next year (Galerina, Britta), so if you will be looking for a modified fine fleece ewe, place a reserve now.

Some pics for Oct.