SheepGirl's 2015 Lambing Thread - Lambs are here!

SheepGirl

Master of Sheep
Golden Herd Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2011
Messages
3,625
Reaction score
909
Points
343
Location
Frederick, Maryland
Went to a poultry swap last weekend. Distributed about 100 business cards and had plenty of people come back to visit my tent multiple times. (Yes, that's my mom hiding behind the blanket :p) I had a great time, even though it was snowing... yes, snowing, at the end of April!!

11144910_954847964560006_3511532142532521175_n.jpg


And this weekend I went to the MD Sheep & Wool Festival. Had a great time.

I'm getting ready to wean the lambs here in the next week or so... going older than what I like but I'm going to start treating them as a group rather than individually. When the youngest is 60 days old I will separate the ewes from the lambs then. And vaccinate them as well. Last year I liked putting the ewes in the pen rather than 2013 when I put the lambs, but there is a small shelter in there, so I will probably just move the lambs again this year. Next year the barn will be finished and I will have a nice large pen inside with a lot for the ewes when weaning lambs.
 

ohiogoatgirl

True BYH Addict
Joined
Jan 4, 2011
Messages
567
Reaction score
230
Points
233
Location
ohio
the 3/4 babydoll sheep (first page of this thread, sorry) is their fleece finer? I had been tossing around a couple ideas on wool crosses with babydoll and some other longer wool breeds but wasn't sure the short length of the babydoll would suck the length down quite a few generations. Was thinkin at the time like 5, a lot more than 3/4 back to babydoll genetics but keep for the longer nicer fleeces. but from your pics the length goes out nicely.
just curious :) thanks!
 

SheepGirl

Master of Sheep
Golden Herd Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2011
Messages
3,625
Reaction score
909
Points
343
Location
Frederick, Maryland
Their staple length is about 3-4". I don't have any exact micron measurements, however, their fleece, as a breed, grades "medium." Staple length is a moderate to highly heritable trait (30-65%). Which means if you breed a Babydoll to a longwool breed, the fleece of the offspring is likely to be much shorter than the longwool parent. You keep breeding the cross to Babydolls and you will have a Babydoll length fleece in 1-2 generations.
 

ohiogoatgirl

True BYH Addict
Joined
Jan 4, 2011
Messages
567
Reaction score
230
Points
233
Location
ohio
thanks. so I was to try that it would be better to go round the long way and do something like babydollxshetland then breed the offspring back to each other or to Shetland again and breed back to percentage babydoll to work on the length.
 

SheepGirl

Master of Sheep
Golden Herd Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2011
Messages
3,625
Reaction score
909
Points
343
Location
Frederick, Maryland
What are you trying to accomplish with the fleece? What grade of wool and what desired staple length? If you keep breeding back to shetland, you will eventually have a shetland fleece...if that is your goal, just stick with shetlands. No need to crossbreed.
 

ohiogoatgirl

True BYH Addict
Joined
Jan 4, 2011
Messages
567
Reaction score
230
Points
233
Location
ohio
I am a handspinner. the idea would be a nice crimpy fleece (like the babydoll) but with longer staple and maybe less lanolin. not exactly like the babydoll or exactly like the Shetland or other breed. I just said Shetland because its a breed I can get in the area and they are also smaller size like the babydolls. also shetlands have some cool colors.
 

purplequeenvt

Herd Master
Joined
Aug 1, 2011
Messages
2,500
Reaction score
4,653
Points
373
Location
Rineyville, KY
The only way I'd on purpose cross a BD Southdown and Shetland would be if the ewes were BDS and the ram was a Shetland. They may be a similar size, but you need to take into consideration their shapes. BDS are thick with big heads. Shetlands are fine boned.

Personally, I don't really see the point of crossing the two breeds. I'm not sure that their fleeces would "mesh" well. You might end up with something really strange instead.

You might be better off getting a few of these and a few of those so you get all the fleeces that you like (have you ever spun Border Leicester??). You might have to keep 2 or 3 different rams or just breed all to a ram that size-wise works for all the ewes.
 

ohiogoatgirl

True BYH Addict
Joined
Jan 4, 2011
Messages
567
Reaction score
230
Points
233
Location
ohio
Thanks. Ya I have spun a variety of fibers I am just curious :) And having rabbits got me into genetics and then into other animals genetics so genes and wool types was very cool as a handspinner. But mainly just "you know what would be really cool to try" just to find out what it actually makes. Plus theres always 'breed the best and eat the rest!'... plus maybe a few sweet pets or dorky wethers.
Good idea on the Shetland ram over BD ewes though. I hadn't thought that far on it. Now that I thought about it very true. always good idea to go bigger female with smaller male just in case.
 

Latest posts

Top