That time of year ....

C’est la saison!

It's those lazy days of summer but never fear, the shepherd is already busy planning for next year's lambs.

The ewes shouldn't begin coming into season for at least two months ... but just to be on the safe side, I went ahead and split up the flock.

All the boys are here at the Petite Lieudière, happily munching the late summer grass.
As for the girls they're doing much the same at Le Grand Prè.
So all is calm and quiet.

Here's my little group of boys : The black and white boys in the middle are for sale and will hopefully be finding new homes in the next few weeks.

Nous sommes dans le torpeur des jours d’été.
Ceci dit, la bergère pense déjà aux futurs agneaux 2010!
Les brebis ne doivent pas commencer à entrer en chaleur avant octobre, mais pour être “tranquille” je viens de séparer les béliers et les brebis.
L’ensemble des béliers sont ici à la Petite Lieudière, tous en train de brouter tranquillement l’herbe de la fin d’été.
Quant aux brebis, elles font pareil au Grand Pré.
Alors, tout le monde est content et calme!

Le voilà mon petit groupe de garçons : le petit noir et le blanc au milieu sont à vendre et vont retrouver de nouveaux pâturages dans les semaines à venir.

That leaves me with four breeding rams, in four different colors! : black, grey, brown, and white.

Ça me laisse quatre béliers de quatre couleurs différentes : noir, gris, noisette, et blanc.

And yes, I'm already looking forward to some beautiful lambs next spring!

... et oui ... je songe déjà aux futurs agneaux ....

The New Girls!

You know how I've been looking for grey ouessants for my flock.
Well, look at what I brought home 2 days ago!
Introducing Mira and Mysti, my 2 new grey ouessant ewes :

Mira and Mysti
Grey Ouessant ewes
4.5 months old

Well, what can I say?
They are just lovely.
Mira (as in Mirage) is the darker of the two : fleece color very close to shaela, a dark steely-grey.
Mysti (as in Mystique) is much lighter : fleece color very close to emsket, a dusky bluish-grey.

Whewww ... I'm just shattered!

... the vet came today to give the first round of Blue Tongue jabs.
He'll be back in 3 weeks for round two.
Only adults got the vaccine ... so will have to use butox on all the lambs.
It all went quickly & well. But tiring nonetheless.

Praline had her lamb!!!!

I honestly thought she was going to explode!
Her belly was so big.
Udder to bursting point.
And teats that looked like small missiles!

On top of that, she is a rather small ewe ... and of course this was one time when I was actually hoping for a ram lamb.
Well, to say the very least, I was a bit anxious.

But Praline is a real star!
She went into labor late Wednesday afternoon.
And a few hours later delivered a beautiful little brown ram lamb!

Proudly introducing Mac (that's short for Macaron!) :

Macaron : né 22 avril à 20 h
Here he is! Still wet but he's got his eye on his first meal!

And after a bit of refreshment . . .

Still damp, but now he's up with a full tummy!

The next morning, 12 hours later, Mac is out with Praline . . .

Mac, who knows where the milk bar is found!

Both Praline and Mac are doing fine. And I'm one happy camper too!

WELCOME TO THE FOLD!

Gee! How I wish I could tell you that 'TitBijou finally had her lamb! But NO ... she's still holding on. That said "it must be any day now" --- of course isn't that what I said exactly 3 weeks ago?!!!

So no lambs here!

But I would like to introduce you to the latest addition to the fold, Dagobert.

Dagobert : 3 year old ram

Dagobert : profile

I'm very excited about this new arrival.
He measures in at 47.5 cm, but with all the fleece it's a bit hard to judge.
That said, he is under 49 cm, which is the height limit for ouessant rams.
I would have prefered a smaller ram, but due to his rare color, I am prepared to forgive him those few extra centimeters!
I'm absolutely delighted that he is within the the standard, BUT he is on the upper limit!
So from a breeding point of view I will need to be very careful : he will only be used on a few carefully selected ewes.
With that small reservation, I'm looking forward to Dagobert's potential genetic contribution to the flock.

But take a look at that fleece!
When the wool is parted you see a beautiful grey fleece :

Dagobert : fleece

When you look at the fiber samples below, the base color is a solid light grey with no white fibers. You will note that the three samples below look like they are three different shades of grey. In fact this is due to the varying amount of black gard hair that is found in the fleece. Ouessant rams tend to have a fair amount of hair fibers in their fleece, particularly along the top of their back and the chest area. So depending on where the sample was taken there is more or less gard hair mixed into the wool. For example, the sample on the far left has a lot of black gard hair in it and is thus quite a bit darker than the other two samples.

Dagobert : 3 wool samples
note that the longest sample is over 15 cm long!

Dagobert is settling in quite nicely and will be spending the next few days in a quarantine pen.
.... in the mean time I am still waiting for this season's first lamb!
Of course, there's much more to be said about the lovely color of Dagobert's fleece, but that will have to wait for another day!

Coating Experiment : Half-Way Measures!

Last year I decided to experiment with coating my sheep. Originally I was concerned about protecting the fleece from unwanted vegetable matter. But I did have another concern too. I've seen too many ouessant fleeces that are matted, leaving you with a fleece that is only good for the compost pile!
For example, here's Margaret, a three year old ewe. This picture was taken last June, right before shearing.

Margaret : June 2008

She had a wonderfully long and lovely fleece -- or so it would seem from a distance!
In fact, the fleece was matted into one big "carpet" on her back.
Matting, or cotting as they say in Great Britain, is among other things linked to exposure to rain. And of course, anyone who knows anything about Normandy knows that it rains a lot here!
So it's not too terribly surprising that cotting is a problem.
After coating RhumRaisin and 'TitBijou last spring, I noticed that even when it rained, the fleeces under their coats were dry while the fleeces of the uncoated sheep were wet. That being said, I only ended up coating these two in the spring as the smallest sized coats were too big for the sheep & I didn't want to alter any more coats.

...FAST FORWARD TO NOVEMBER!

I noticed three things :

1) RhumRaisin and 'TitBijou (the coated sheep) had beautiful, pristine fleeces : as far as I was concerned my coating experiment was a total success!

2) At the same time, the uncoated sheep were virtually free of vegetable matter .... but I was dreading the coming months that would rely more and more on feeding hay.

3) Finally, I noticed the first little signs of degradation of the fleeces of the uncoated sheep. This is very difficult to explain and even more difficult to photograph! But it's the first signs of what I will call "pre-cotting" of the wool.

I knew that if I didn't do something, all of the uncoated fleeces would be lost to cotting. So I thought that I would try a half-way measure : coating after 6 months growth and hopefully protecting the fleece during the last 6 months of growth, which is the period when vegetable matter and cotting are the biggest threats!

So everyone was coated in December.

One of the advantages of coating after 6 months growth is that I didn't have to alter any of the coats! So this was great news. But the best news of all is that by coating after 6 months wool growth and before feeding hay and before too much rain exposure, I will end up with a beautiful fleece. Okay, it's not quite as nice as a fleece that was coated from day 1 : but almost!
The fleeces coated after 6 months will have sun-bleached tips, but otherwise they are beautiful. I have a feeling that I will be doing this next year, although I might coat a little earlier, like in November. I will most likely also coat a few at shearing time too, particularly if I want to avoid bleached tips, otherwise, I will wait until November before coating.
I'll try to post a few photos of Margaret's fleece in a few days ... I will say that I'm really excited about how her fleece is looking! She will be four years old this spring and she is going to have a lovely fleece!
In the mean time, here are a few new photos to document the half-way measure of coating just during the winter and spring.
Here's the lovely little Praline in her coat (with her not so little belly!) :

Praline : Coated in December

And here's what her fleece looks like :

Praline : fleece after being coated for 2 1/2 months.
note sun-bleached tips!

And for good measure, here's a photo of Margot's fleece. .

Margot : fleece coated 2 1/2 months
Again bleached tips from the summer sun!

. . . and a fiber sample that I took today. Her fleece is ever so lovely : clean, long, and soft. It will be a true joy to spin this fleece later this summer!

Margot : Fiber sample taken after 2 1/2 months being coated.
Overall staple length 12+ cm (5") ... & she won't be sheared for at least 2 months!

I think that you'll agree that these are some lovely fleeces!
Of cource my coating experiment is far from over.
But so far, it's two thumbs up from the Spinning Shepherd!

Any day now!

Lambing season is just around the corner! All my little ewes seem to be quite pregnant. Most will not lamb until April or possibly even May. TitBijou, will be the first! She has been uddering up quite nicely .... and I'm expecting a lamb any day now! She will turn 2 years old in the next couple of weeks. She didn't have a lamb last year, so this will be her first! This picture was taken yesterday. Her not-so-little belly is round and heavy with lamb. She's sporting her lovely Matilda coat which is protecting a beautiful 6"/15cm long black fleece.

'TitBijou waiting for lamb : 2 March 2009

Introducing .... La Petite Margot!

Here are two pictures of my little black ewe lamb, Margot.
She has just turned 8 months old & measures 38 cm at the shoulders.

I think that she's as cute as a button!
Ever so sweet!
And who knows, she just might have a lamb this coming spring.
The ram has been chasing her about ....

Update : Coated Fleece Experiment

As promised....here's an update on my coating experiment!
In the previous post you saw a picture of RhumRaisin in her dirty coat ....
Although the outside of the coat is quite soiled, under the coat, the fleece is in pristine condition!

Rhum Raisin : Coated Fleece -- 24 November 2008

And here's a picture of 'Tit Bijou's fleece :

'TitBijou : Coated Fleece -- 24 November 2008

note : this fleece is JET BLACK ... sorry the photo doesn't show how black it is!

These pictures really don't do justice to the beauty of the wool. It really is a handspinner's dream! They say that the wool grows faster and longer when coated. I always thought that this couldn't be true. But I'm wondering if it isn't the case! The wool of both fleeces measures over 12 cm long (ie. approx 5 inches!). And this is only November!

Fiber samples from coated fleece : 24 November 2008

So far I'm very pleased with the results! I'm so looking forward to spinning this fiber next summer! It really is beautiful. The sheep don't seem to mind the coats at all. The only downside has been that the smallest size coats available are still too big for my sheep ; so I have to alter each coat to fit the sheep. I wish I didn't have to do this, but so far I think that it is well worth the effort! Time will tell : shearing day will be the real test!

Mark your calandars!!!

Can you believe it!!
This is a picture of RhumRaisin in her little “white” coat!





What a mess! And only yesterday is was clean! Now look at it!
Seems to me like someone has been jumping up on her!
And I bet I know who that someone is!

He sure does look innocent, doesn’t he ? (note : photo taken in June!)

So I’ve marked my calendar : 16 April 2009.
Looks quite possible that this could be the due date for a lamb!

In the next few days I'll do an update with photos on the coating experiment.

Just to let you know ... I'm really looking forward to spinning some coated fleece next year!!

Just because they're soooo cute!!!

Praline & Nougatine in the orchard!

Here they are ... for your viewing pleasure, just because they're soooo cute!

Praline & Nougatine, my little brown ewes, are currently awaiting their rendez-vous with a little brown ram in a few weeks! Everyone's excited about this, even me!!!

I just love watching these little girls in the orchard. Praline is just 39 cm tall ; Nougatine 43cm.

I'll be posting more soon ...

Finally finished ....

Whew!!! I can hardly believe it! I've finally finished the fencing at Lonlay.
I started this project in June ... and here it is September! You know how it goes, some projects just take a lot longer than you think!
I just moved my little breeding group over today. The grass was getting pretty thin and overgrazed at La Petite Lieudière .... but au Grand Pré there's grass and clover enough for everyone!

Au Grand Pré : Shoulder deep in a green pasture!

So now they are all "heads down", munching away!

Heads Down : Munching Away!!

As for Praline and Nougatine, my little brown ewes, they will be staying with me here at La Petite Lieudière, awaiting their rendez-vous with a lovely little brown ram later this fall. I have to admit that I'm ever so excited about the thought of having some brown lambs next spring!
In the mean time, I'll be working on dividing, reseeding, and cleaning up the pasture here!
Whew!!! Pasture management! Lot's to learn .... but I think that I'm making some progress!

Playing Favorites!

I know I shouldn’t, but I have to admit that I do have a few favorite sheep.
Take ‘Tit Bijou for example! I just love this little ewe.
Barely 40 cm at the shoulders. Square. Solid. And personality plus!

'Tit Bijou

Here she is at 10 months old and 33 cm! What an adorable little haystack!
Well, she may be cute, but the velcro thing that she’s got going on is NOT a spinner’s dream! And NO, I didn’t dump hay on her ...

'Tit Bijou in her new coat!

So here is the little princesses herself, in her own customized cover. Now, let’s take a look under that cover . . .

'TitBijou : Jet black coated fleece

Et voilà! There you have it! Gorgeous jet black fleece. What more need I say?

Rhum Raisin : Sheep in a Jacket!

Here’s a picture of Rhum Raisin in her coat. She’s an oddly colored white ouessant ewe with dark brown head & legs. She also has dark ticking on her back.

Rhum Raisin in coat!

Here’s a picture of RhumRaisin’s fleece as of today :

Rhum Raisin : three months growth.

She has been covered since the day she was shorn. Note that you can almost see the dark ticking in the white fleece. The fleece is pristine. Pure white. Conditioned. Just beautiful. Unfortunately the photo doesn’t do justice to the fleece itself! So far I’m loving the covers. Too bad that I have to alter the coats for them to fit ouessants. But do think that it’s worth it!

The Big Experiment!

Wool production is one of the reasons that I’m keeping ouessant sheep. Of course, there are other reasons too! But being able to produce a beautiful fleece is essential for me. Needless to say, you can imagine my disappointment this spring when I sheared Cappuccino, a yearling ewe.

From all appearances, she had a beautiful fleece : black wool with brown tips.

Cappuccino this spring with her ewe lamb, Expresso.

But when I sheared her, I found “layers” of vegetable matter deep inside her fleece. I’m not sure how this happened. I bought her in January, so I’m guessing that this was already there when I bought her. Certainly none of my other sheep had this amount of vegetable matter. Unfortunately, this fleece ended up in the compost bin.

Cappuccino : Layers of vegetable matter in fleece.

After such a sad experience, I decided to look at the possibilities of putting covers on my sheep in order to produce premium quality fleeces to spin. I did a fair amount of research and discovered that a lot of people cover their sheep. Studies of large commercial flock have been made which demonstrate the value of covering sheep : everything from increased wool quantity and quality to surprising health benefits, including significant reduction of fly-strike. I also learned that not all sheep covers are created equal. It is important to use a nylon cover that is waterproof, tear-proof, and breathable. Cotton canvas covers are to be avoided as they cause all sorts of problems. Additionally, the covers must fit correctly.
After speaking with a number of breeders in the States who cover their sheep, I decided that I wanted to try covering my ouessant sheep. The majority of breeders agreed that Matilda Sheep Covers were the very best covers available. So I ordered some of their smallest covers for my flock. Unfortunately, even the smallest covers are too big for ouessant sheep. So I’ve had to alter the covers a bit. Here’s a picture taken earlier this year. Three sheep in covers and one lamb without a cover.

Cappuccino, Rhum Raisin and 'TitBijou in their Mitilda Sheep Covers!

There are a couple of things to note in this photo. First, you can see how I’ve used elasticators to cinch in the coats. I’ve now resorted to sewing a seam to shorten the coats. This photo was taken right after I sheared and coated Cappuccino. Note how much cleaner and whiter her coat is than the other coats!! This shows you just how dirty the fleeces can get. And we’re not even talking about vegetable matter either!

Cappuccino : A peek at the clean black fleece under the cover!

This picture was taken just a few days ago.
Beautiful jet black, pristine, and no vegetable matter!
The first few weeks the sheep were covered, I would keep looking under the covers to make sure that everything was going as it should. When it rained, they stayed dry. The fleece was beautifully “conditioned” : not only do the tips not bleach, they don’t dry out and wear. The fleece is “moisturized” and “conditioned” by the lanolin. I am so looking forward to spinning these fleeces next year!
Additionally, the sheep don’t seem to mind the covers at all.
So this is the ongoing experiment. So far, so good! I’m very encouraged with what I’m seeing. Of course, it does require a bit of extra work .... but I think the end results (beautiful, pristine fleeces!) will be more than worth the effort!
***more updates and photos to come***

Introducing . . . .

. . . . my two new girls : Praline and Nougatine!

Praline & Nougatine : Oh dear!! Aren't we hungry!

Both of these little brown (noisette) ewes are 16 months old & were shorn in May so the fleeces are still quite short.

Praline & Nougatine : Side by side ... and still eating!

Praline, the smaller of the two, is 40 cm at the shoulders. She has a wonderful light taupe/brown fleece that sparkles with silver. We're thinking that she might just carry modified colors which lightens the "normal" color of a fleece. Here's a close-up of her fleece. Note that even though she was recently shorn her fleece is already quite sun-bleached.

Praline's Fleece : Hard to tell from photo but it really does sparkle with silver!

Nougatine is a bit bigger than Praline, measuring in at 43 cm at the shoulders. Her fleece is a darker, "flater" color. Here's a close-up of her fleece.

Nougatine's fleece : "flat" medium/dark brown

These photos really don't show the difference in their fleeces very well, but they are notably different : even my husband could see it!
I just love them!!
They are so beautiful to watch!
And I can't wait to spin these fleeces next year!