[Jacob-list] The perfect sheep

[Meg Steensland]

        Perfect fiber animal?  From what some of you were saying about wethers, it sounds like they might have more resources to put into fiber production.
   
  I have a lilac 2003 ewe Lissy whose spots have faded but she produces really long oatmeal fiber.  Her 05 ram lamb Nelson took the top Breed-CH prize at the fair this year, maybe on fiber as he was smaller than his competitors.  I got $28 for 4# of Lissy's fiber last year.  My really sharp looking sheep Ramona only produced 3 # and it went for $11, I think.  These are ebay prices.  My hand-spinner friend picked Lissy's fiber in 04 and made me a scarf and herself a vest.  Last year, Cathy took Valentine's fiber (04 Feb lamb) and this year, she is supposed to get Rudy's (Val's 05 ram).
  Hand-spinner's perfect sheep is different from shepherd's.  Tonight while feeding, I delighted in watching Wanda leaping about and leading some of the stodgy older girls in a romp.  Wanda is imperfect by the breed standard but she has really long fiber and a nice disposition plus she is nice to her pasture companions in contrast to her older 1/2 sister Gillian who is a bit of a bully.  Their mother is a nice sheep like Wanda but I have seen mom misbehave when penned with Gillian (bully-em).
   
  Perfect ram-Gene Funston told me to be sure to get a 2H guy because they were easier to handle.  Not necessarily, I think.  My 03 2H guy went to market last spring on behavior.  Every year we get those mailings from Craft's and I have been wish-listing a 2H blue-eyed twin.  Finally got one from Carl (in IN, a lot closer than IA) in November.  Then in Dec, I met Heather Hettick and it turns out Heather has one that is 2H blue-eyed lilac triplet and closer in OH.   Last I heard, she still had him.  If interested see pix at 
   
  http://www.geocities.com/ohjacobs7/photopagerms.html 
   and contact her directly.
      
    I have agreed to buy him if we are unable to find a better situation for him - or I can offer one of my three 2005 ram lambs-same page for pix, so I have room.  Both the 4H guys have passed reg.  I am still waiting on the 2H guy. 
   
  Sorry to be so long winded!   Jacob sheep are a lot more fun because you know who you are looking at from way across the pasture.

ARTHUR PARTRIDGE <aztreaz at earthlink.net> wrote: 
  I'm not saying I want an entire herd of perfect ewes, I just want one; I
too like the variety. Gee, so everyone's herd looks like mine?..........A
mix of black & white, black&white&redbrown, 80% white, a few spots, some
with lots of spots with white legs, producing a few lambs that are mostly
dark, some with long wool and others with very short......Seriously though,
does anyone raise the kind of ewe that I previously described (see earlier
post)? I am especially interested in the longer (strands 8-10 inches)
wool, it's not easy to find. I have two ewes with long black/white (no
redbrown) wool and I kept two of their long wooled lambs, one is a wether. 
Maybe the perfect ewe that I described doesn't really exist. I suppose I
could go back to oil painting and make a portrait of one.........

>Sorry you are not feeling well Betty and what's worse, you have a dying
ram. Not a good way to bring in the new year. Try and think of positive
things, like the new lambs in the spring. Hope you get better soon.
Cathy
Moscow, Idaho



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