The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: SallyintNorth on June 15, 2016, 05:38:26 pm
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I shall be reducing my flock numbers considerably this summer, preparatory to moving, with just a small flock, to my new home in North Cornwall at the end of September.
The sheep have been bought and bred for fleece for handspinning.
This is an early notice of impending sale. I thought I’d better let people know before Woolfest, in case anyone wanted to talk to me there, or see/buy some fleeces. I shall have three of my sheep on the British Coloured Sheepbreeders’ Association stand, so you can see examples of the flock there. (Although it’s against the rules for me to offer them for sale, or to let members of the public touch them, at the show.) There will be coloured fleeces for sale on the BCSBA stand and white ones in the main Woolfest fleece sale.
Sheep to be sold later in the year include :
Ewes
Dot Cotton (2011) – Manx Loaghtan, multi-horn, unregistered, 4-crop (3x twins, 1x single. Reared twins 2015 and 2016.) All her Shetland x offspring have had very interesting fleeces, and her daughter Dulcie Grey (2013) has always been one of the first three ewes on the list of those I am taking with me. I shall also be taking one of Dot Cotton’s 2016 daughters and quite possibly one of her 2015 wethers, as well as one or two of Dulcie Grey’s daughters. DC’s own fleece is short staple, but a lovely rich chocolate colour, and usually quite soft.
Pricket (2011) - Manx Loaghtan, multi-horn (one a spike), unregistered, 5-crop (Single 2013, twins since.) A breeder of good breeders who breed good breeders.
Goldie (2012) – Castlemilk Moorit, unregistered, geld as a yearling, twins 2015 and 2016. Good mother, very tame. Passes on fine fleece to her Shetland x offspring, although her own fleece is very short staple and therefore not the easiest to use. Had a small anal prolapse as a yearling but has had no recurrence. I will be taking one of Goldie’s 2016 ewe lambs with me.
(reserved) Anya (2012) – registered Shetland, black, 3-crop. Single black ewe lamb 2014, grey katmoget ewe lamb and moorit tup lamb 2015, black and moorit tup lambs 2016. All her lambs have had wonderful fleeces. Anya is also known as ‘Tatty Ears’ as she shredded her ears losing her first set of ear tags. She’s a pretty laid back ewe, however. Very reluctant sale – I just can’t take them all. I am taking her first daughter, however.
(reserved) Wincey (2014) – registered black Wensleydale, 1-crop. Tremendous lustre in her fleece, which is a real black (although the tips will fade.) Needs clipping early in the season or there will be some felting on her back. Has done a great job with her strapping Shetland x single tup lamb (grey katmoget, looks to be a very interesting fleece.) (Lamb reserved) Has had an abcess on the back of her right ear; vet unconcerned.
Gimmers
Silver (2015) – Castlemilk Moorit x Shetland. Horned (2, swept back.) Very nice fleece; fine like Castlemilk Moorit but more staple length. Musket katmoget; I anticipate the bulk of the fleece being very light brown.
Pricket’s daughter (2015) – Manx Loaghtan x Shetland. Horned, 2 small slightly more erect than swept back. Rich chocolate brown (tips fade.)
Buffy’s daughter (2015) – 7/8 Shetland, 1/8 Castlemilk Moorit. Polled. Lovely fleece, probably not coloured, or maybe cream. Lambed as a hogg, had a very nice single ewe lamb, did a great job.
Gissy (2015) – 7/8 Shetland, 1/8 Castlemilk Moorit. Polled. Bottle-reared (mother had 3 that year, a single the year after.) Lovely fleece, expected to be very light brown.
Lilipad (2016) – 1/4 Blue-faced Leicester, 3/4 Shetland. Polled. Grey katmoget (bulk of fleece white.) Gorgeous fleece. Lambed as a hogg, had twins. I took one off to help Lilipad along; she has been a very good mother.
Rosebud (2016) – Shetland x North of England Mule. (So 1/4 Blue-faced Leicester, 1/4 Swaledale, 1/2 Shetland.) Horned (2, swept back.) White. Lots of nice fleece. Lambed as a hogg, did a good job with twins.
Denny (2016) – Shetland moorit, unregistered. Looks to have a nice fleece and to be a nice little ewe.
(reserved) Anya’s daughter (2016) – Shetland grey katmoget, unregistered. Lambed as a hogg, had a ewe lamb the spitting image of herself. Very nice little ewe with a super fleece – lots of grey tones in there.
Cinders (2016) – 3/4 Shetland, 1/8 Charollais, 1/16 Beltex, 1/32 Swaledale, 1/32 Blue-faced Leicester. Grey katmoget (bulk of fleece white), polled. Lambed as a hogg, did a great job with a very nice lamb.
Chutney (2016) – 1/4 Manx Loaghtan, 3/4 Shetland. Musket katmoget, polled. Lambed as a hogg, did a great job with nice twins. I think she will be a good breeder.
Sauce (2016) - 1/4 Manx Loaghtan, 3/4 Shetland. Moorit, polled. Chutney's sister.
Adult Wethers
A variety of 2015-born Shetland and Shetland x wethers, some with white fleeces, some moorit, some grey katmoget. Some horned, some polled. If you want your grass eaten, your own fleece but not the bother of lambing, perhaps you’d like a few of these boys?
2016 lambs
I haven’t got them completely catalogued yet, but there are boys and girls of: pure Shetland, Shetland x Manx, 1/4 Manx, Shetland x Castlemilk Moorit, Shetland x Wensleydale, 1/4 BFL, Shetland x Mule and 1/4 commercial. Mostly musket katmoget or grey katmoget (most fleeces will probably be mainly white in adults, except one 1/4 BFL wether and one 1/2 Wensleydale wether which I think will be greys all over), moorit (brown – the Manx crosses are a rich chocolate brown), some white. One black-and-white splotchy 1/4 Manx wether.
There will be some very nice moorit and katmoget ewe lambs, both pure Shetland and crossbred, and one or two white, if anyone wanted to start their own fleece flock with ewe lambs. (I'm taking a few, but I can't take them all!)
On pricing, I will be keen to find nice homes for the breeding females, and handspinning homes for any wethers with nice fleeces - so talk to me ;)
I am also receptive to purchasers wanting any of these animals to rear/fatten for meat; realistically, I am unlikely to find handspinning homes for all of them! The meat is fantastic - dark, lean and tasty. :yum:
As a guide, I've just sold two of the 2015-born white wethers (one 1/8 Castlemilk and one 1/4 BFL) in the primestock ring, and got £56 a head. I sent two 2014-born wethers too (one 1/2 Manx, one 1/8 Castlemilk - I'd wanted another fleece off each of them), and they fetched £71 a head. (If you're wanting meat for yourselves, two summers gives a decent size for home use. They can be kept on longer if required.)
The sheep can be collected from their home on Hadrian's Wall in north Cumbria, or delivery within a reasonable drive. I may be able to deliver in Southern Scotland / Borders - please ask. Delivery to Devon/Cornwall later in the year may also be possible.
Ewes rearing lambs, and this year's lambs, will be available from end August. Wethers and ewes not rearing lambs any time.
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You will certainly have a different weather pattern :thumbsup:
Hope you find homes for all your animals. Wish you well on your new adventure.
Hope you still continue with the forum as you are one of the members whos posts are always informative and enjoyable to read. Good Luck ! :hug:
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Oh, I think you could feel right at home at times - folks who don't live there call it the West Country, those that do the Wet Country.
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just shared on twitter, hope you don't mind, I have a lot of sheep friends on there. I hope you sell them soon and all the best with your move :thumbsup:
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Best wishes for the move Sally ... certainly be warmer down there ...
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just shared on twitter, hope you don't mind, I have a lot of sheep friends on there. I hope you sell them soon and all the best with your move :thumbsup:
Thanks, wbf :thumbsup:
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You will then be SallyintSouth? Best of luck with the move :)
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You will then be SallyintSouth? Best of luck with the move :)
lol, Juliet was suggesting perhaps I should be ZallydownZouth but Rosemary was bothered it might confuse people, and thought perhaps Sallydahnsahth (but that's SE and I'll be SW :D)
I'm sure we'll think of something... ;)
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Oh, I think you could feel right at home at times - folks who don't live there call it the West Country, those that do the Wet Country.
I moved up north from Exmoor, so I'm used to the weather in that part of the world.
I did look up the weather stats; average days of rainfall per month is about the same as here, but the amount of rain each month is about half. And the temperatures average about 4-6C warmer.
My Dad, visiting me in Exmoor, told us he'd met a lad when he was out stretching his legs, and asked the boy whether it always rained here. The boy replied, "I don't know. I'm only 6." :roflanim:
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Thanks, kelly58 and Backinwellies :)
I shall certainly continue on the forum - in fact, I may be about to post some questions about small-scale sheep-keeping! lol
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You're coming down to my neck of the woods :wave: get used to emmitts clogging up the roads and don't ever try to get out of the county on a saturday :roflanim: lots of luck with the move
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You're coming down to my neck of the woods :wave: get used to emmitts clogging up the roads and don't ever try to get out of the county on a saturday :roflanim: lots of luck with the move
Brilliant! I know where I can send orphan lambs, then! lol
I moved up north from Exmoor, and prior to that North Devon near Ilfracombe, so I am used to the difference between tourist season and not - and yes, I remember the main routes being clogged on Saturdays when the weather was good!
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You're coming down to my neck of the woods :wave: get used to emmitts clogging up the roads and don't ever try to get out of the county on a saturday :roflanim: lots of luck with the move
Brilliant! I know where I can send orphan lambs, then! lol
I moved up north from Exmoor, and prior to that North Devon near Ilfracombe, so I am used to the difference between tourist season and not - and yes, I remember the main routes being clogged on Saturdays when the weather was good!
Ha ha I'm getting towards the end of my tether with the orphan lamb dream :roflanim: trying to persuade OH to let me get some ewes, it's not going well at the moment ! Until then I guess the orphans will keep coming in their droves :innocent:
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You will then be SallyintSouth? Best of luck with the move :)
lol, Juliet was suggesting perhaps I should be ZallydownZouth but Rosemary was bothered it might confuse people, and thought perhaps Sallydahnsahth (but that's SE and I'll be SW :D )
I'm sure we'll think of something... ;)
SallynotintNorth
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Sally, if its not a sensitive question why have you decided to move back?
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Sally, if its not a sensitive question why have you decided to move back?
Mainly the climate and its effect on my increasingly arthritic joints.
There is much I will miss about Cumbria, but the weather isn't one of them. I know twizzel thinks it's very wet where I'm going - but it will be much warmer, and, though still wet, nothing like as unrelentingly wet as it is here.
I moved up north from Exmoor, and thought therefore that I understood wet, cold places. :roflanim:
I've always said I'm a smallholder at heart - well, now I shall be one!
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We're all wishing you the best with everything [member=10673]SallyintNorth[/member] I really hope you find a home for your lovely sheepies! It might be worth trying FB, farmingads, farmers guardian, preloved, fridayad and freeadsuk. Hope this helps and all the best
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Good luck with the move Sally, I trust you are taking your beloved Jerseys with you??
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Good luck with the move Sally, I trust you are taking your beloved Jerseys with you??
I'm taking two Jerseys, yes, and the plan is that we'll milk them for milk for the community and to make cheese, yoghurt and so on. Looking forward to that! :D
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Sally, I have sent you a pm. Best of luck in your new venture.
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Welcome to Cornwall Sally :wave: :wave: good luck with the move
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Thanks, Katrina :)
I'm really looking forward to it, although there is much I will miss about Cumbria, of course. :'(
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Hi I don't want to be nosey but the farm your moving from is it rented or owned and is it coming on the market I'm looking for a farm thanks
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Hi I don't want to be nosey but the farm your moving from is it rented or owned and is it coming on the market I'm looking for a farm thanks
It's owned and BH is staying put, sorry.