The planning for this summer’s plantings is well under way. Orders for plants and seeds have been sent. New for this season will be a planting of 180 hybrid hazels and a collection of small fruits: currants, gooseberries, and bush cherries. The hazel planting will include an trial of the effects of biochar as a soil ammendment in the establishment of perennial crops. I’m also working at devising ways to safely enable sheep grazing among the hazels. Due to the large number of plants involved, the per unit cost needs to be kept low. Continuing education is… continuing. I’ll be attending full day class at the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service (MOSES) conference this Thursday on value-added options for fruit growers. I may add vinegars to my offerings of preserves this year.
2014 Fleeces
I will be offering individual raw fleeces for sale from this spring’s clip. Shortly after shearing I will post weights to the web page along with close-up photos of the surface of each fleece and samples of individual locks/staples. The coated fleeces will be skirted to sell just the area covered by the coats. Unfortunately, due to my inexperience at this, I will not be able to set a per pound price until I see the quality (cleanliness, color, and staple length) of each fleece. I expect the prices to range from $16/pound for adult off-white fleece (averaged 5.75# per ewe last year; 8# for Edwin and J.C.) to $22/pound for coated black lambs. I’m guessing about 4# each after considering 25% not covered. *This year the adult fleeces will have 2 weeks’ less growth than last – 52 vs. 54 weeks.
If you care to reserve the “right of first refusal” for any, please let me know. I am reserving Rachel’s fleece for personal use.
Here are some close-up photos I took last week of some of the adult black sheeps’ coats as a preview.
Fergie (Babydoll ewe)
Butterscotch on surface, dark charcoal at skin
2014 clip stats: produced 6# raw fleece, 62% > 2″
Hattie (Babydoll ewe)
Fading faster than Fergie although same age.
2014 clip stats: produced 5.4# raw fleece, 54% > 2″, taupe, soft!
Still dark at the skin! 2014 color of main fleece = dark walnut (britch and gray portions, especially from head processed separately)
2014 clip stats: produced 8# raw fleece, 77% > 2″
Noir (Shetland wether)
Black at skin, warm chocoate brown at tips. Full year’s coat
Expect serious vegetative matter – will be priced accordingly.
No 2014 data and he’s a little dude.
Moonshadow (Shetland wether)
Will be 6 months of growth – clean in spite of his shunning a coat
Examples of what to expect for the yearling ewes:
Nina’s 2014 clip stats: produced 5# raw fleece, but 84% of it was > 2″ to yield more skirted fleece weight than any of the adult ewes. They don’t come out of the womb naked, they’ve been growing their wool for some time already.
Katie’s 2014 clip stats; produced 5.75# raw fleece, 65% > 2″. Caviot… both of these girls were 53 weeks old when shorn for the first time. This year’s crop of lambs will be 51 to 45 weeks old, if I get the shearing date I’m aiming for (1 week before Hattie and Fergie are due to lamb).
Midwinter Coat Check
A couple friends and I trimmed the sheeps’ hooves yesterday and seized the opportunity to check on fleeces and take some new photos. I was especially interested to see the prelimiary effects of coating the 2014 ewe lambs. We tried to have a yardstick in the photo frame to show the girls’ height at shoulder level, but the depth of field wasn’t adequate for that to be in focus. As a substitute, I will note the size of their current coat which is the lenth in inches from neck to top of the tail. Since I will be marketing their fleeces and also most of this year’s lamb crop, I will include some commentary on their genetics and fleece characteristics along with their photos.
Olivia, daughter of Claire. Like Nina, her half sister, she appears to have a longer than average staple. I was getting caught up on skirting yesterday and was excited at the percentage of her mother’s fleece from 2013 that was longer than the 2″ minimum required by my processor, Chris Armbrust at Dakota Fiber Mill. Claire’s 2014 fleece wasn’t quite as outstanding, which reminds me to take data every year. My guidebook indicates staple length as a yearling has an average heritability of 47%, with a range of 17 to 60%. Olivia is now wearing a size 31″ coat.
Penny, daughter of Fergie. I was surprized at the lightness of Penny’s surface coloration in spite of the coat. It’s still hard for me to guess the color of the wool once the exterior, interior and middle get blended in the rovings. From her surface color I’d call her Milk Chocolate! She’s on the verge of outgrowing her 29″ coat.
Rachel, daughter of Hattie. The “saddle” of Rachel’s fleece under the coat has stayed nicely dark and clean. She was one of the 3 first to be coated on August 15th. She is now wearing a 29″ coat.
Rhonda, daughter of Hattie. Rhonda has not had a coat on so far, so has acted as a “control” for the other coated black ewes. Her fleece does not appear to be especially dirty and the color on the surface of her fleece has not faded much at all compared to Penny, but has faded compared to Rachel or Tammy. Her mother, Hattie, carries the fading gene so the color of the fiber next to the skin may also be light. Hopefully the next set of photos will document that. We did coat her as of Monday (January 19) with a 29″ coat. By the way… I did change my mind and register her. She is the only black ewe yearling with a clear face (like her mother).
Sara, daughter of Iris. The cleanliness of her fleece under the coat was the most striking. She’s had one on since September 6th. Her current coat size is 27″. Although her mother, Iris, is the oldest ewe in the flock, her fleece is one of the softest – bucking the trend for greater micron count (fiber diameter) with age. According to my reference (Kruesi’s The Sheep Raiser’s Manual), “fleece grade” has only an average heritability of 35%, BUT I’m hoping there will be some effect. This coming season, I plan to have the wool of some of the sheep tested for micron count.
Tammy, daughter of Katie. Tammy’s fleece under the coat has stayed dark and the coloration of her head wool has also stayed dark to the roots. I get to give her scratches each day, so I know these things. However, in dogs the head color can age differently from the rest of the coat, so stay tuned for the next set of photos. Tammy is still wearing a 27″ coat.
Ultrasound Results In
The vet and I spent a couple hours this morning with the ewes crowded together in a nice warm bunch getting the girls ultrasounded. The good news is all the girls are bred except Tammy – who I didn’t want bred anyway. We had difficulty getting readings on many of them, so Hattie is the only one we know is expecting multiple lambs. On the very last one we happened on an improved technique of laying the ewe down and turning her over. She became very docile – less movement helps obtain clearer images. I’m looking forward to just shy of a dozen lambs skipping around the pastures next spring! My best estimate is 5 off-white and 6 black. Maybe Fergie has read the rule book since last year… It’s quite possible there will be some bonus babies since 3 of the mature ewes twinned last spring.
Breeding Groups set for the Season
The babydoll breeding is hopefully over for the season. I used all 3 rams so next year I have the option of selecting a ram lamb for breeding to unrelated females within the flock. J.C.’s ladies are expected to lamb ~March 26th with the rest following within 2 weeks. I plan on having ultrasounds performed in early January so I can adjust the ewes’ rations according to the presence and number of fetuses.
J. C. and his mini-harem.
These are the pen assignments:
J. C. is in with Hattie and Fergie with the goal of breeding for strongly dark fleeces.
Turbo was assigned Claire, Nina, and Olivia (the Claire Clan), but also bred Rachel and Sara. . . the girls’ choice.
Winslow had his way with Penny, Iris, and Rhonda.
I appear to have been successful in keeping Tammy from being bred (due to her late arrival (May) and, thus, small size). (Modified 1/8/2015)
Aquaponics Shut Down for Season
With the onset of cold weather, the temperatures in my unheated greenhouse fell into the teens this last week. The few remaining plants were not active nor numerous enough to cleanse the fish water and the cost of keeping the water in the temperature range tolerable to these tropical fish (and the bacteria that support the system) could no longer be justified. So… this first trial season was over. The process of decomissioning the system was a bit tricky so I’ll share the experience. TWIMC. . .
Due to an earlier operator error (forgetting to turn the circulation pump and aerators back on) there were just 11 fish remaining – most quite small. Few, if any, are large enough to fillet, but still needed to be retrieved from the subterranean tank. To keep my options open regarding the cooking or further raising of the fish, I made an effort to match the water temperatures between the new container and the old one to reduce stress. I also put them into new water to cleanse their system for improved flavor. In this case it meant using well water with some of the iron precipitated out combined with the recommended level of aquarium salts. I purchased a fancy fish net with a blunt end and fine mesh suited to their diminutive size for the extraction itself. New data perhaps, but the fish people say the tilapia can tolerate water temperatures down to 61F. Mine tolerated 54F, though its probably not recommended.
The fancy new net for extracting the fish with the buried fish tank and insulated cover in the background.
I transferred the aquarium heaters to a 5 gallon bucket of the clean water and brought the temperature up to the same temperature as the water in the buried fish tank. It took patience but I was able to catch the fish (and didn’t fall in). They are an unusual blue color appropriate for their name: Blue Nile Tilapia. One of the down sides of having the fish tank buried is the limited light available for fish gazing. The size and number of fish remaining was also unknown until the “harvest”.
My goal was to drain everything into the fish tank to preserve the water for watering potted plants in the greenhouse and perhaps as a “seed” for next season’s water and bacteria. The subterranean tank will be partially heated by the earth and partially by a single aquarium heater or livestock tank heater over the winter – or so the plans goes.
Two of the aptly named Blue Nile Tilapia.
The circulation pattern of the water in the system is from the fish tank to the syphon bed, then the middle tank, and finally the raft bed before returning to the fish tank. I worked in reverse order and started by shutting all the valves between the tanks. I was able to syphon out the raft bed down to about 1″ by filling a hose with water at the hydrant, then carefully placing the “uphill” end under the surface of the raft bed water then dropping the other end into the fish tank. When the syphon failed due to low water I took out the last bit with a wet/dry shop vac until there was not a connection of water across the bed to freeze and push out the walls. That water was not saved. The middle tank was straight forward using the same sort of syphon system.
The last of the raft bed water was removed with a wet/dry shop cac.
Drawing a syphon up the syphon housing
The greatest challenge came with the syphon bed. There was about 2″ of water remaining and the only way to access it was down the opened up syphon housing. I finally decided to use a hose ball-valve on the “uphill” side to enable me to keep the water in the hose (primed). So I had to hold the other end up – pinched against the bed – while I opened the valve under the level of the water and then I could get the other “downhill” end to the destination tank and release it. I was able to evacuate all but about 1/4″ of water. I tried to further shop vac the rest out to no avail. I’m hoping the pressure from that much ice will not be enough to damage the bed construction and that the hydroton pellets will somehow interrupt the ice formation. Time will tell.
I will be monitoring the water temperature in the buried tank to see how it tracks as winter progresses. Note to self – maybe start this a little earlier next year. The shortened daylight ran out on me two days in succession during this process and having wet hands (or other parts) in freezing temperatures is not pleasant.
Sheep and Fiber Farm Tour
The Tour this last weekend was a great success, at least in my estimation. I took my two youngest ewe lambs and a truckload of other paraphrenalia to Melodee Smith’s yak farm near Welch, MN (Clear Spring Farm) where she had a pen and yard space awaiting me. There were lots of interested (and interesting) people touring and I had a great time telling anyone who asked about my precious Babydoll sheep and the products they produce and help produce (fruits from my orchard).
It was easy for me to assume the role of Babydoll Southdown spokesperson for the weekend – with enthusiasm. I had assembled a poster that spells out the advantages of the breed and had it on display when the wind speed allowed.
My display also included rovings, combed top, and hand spun yarn from my flock, and some preserves made easier by my 4-legged groundskeepers.
The combined Smith and Anderson families did a great job of entertaining and educating visitors about their yaks. I was amazed at the delicateness of the fiber from these large animals. The kids handled their 4H food stand with skill and courtesy. The wares were mighty fine, as I can attest. I sampled extensively, but missed out on the yak meatballs.
I was kept busy with the number of visitors taking advantage of Saturday’s balmy weather and must have had my hands in my pockets on Sunday since I missed out on lots of photo opps of the yaks and the ewe lambs on display. I did catch a few photos of Larissa Walk’s lovely dyed wool items from her display and demo (see below) inside the most un-barnlike barn I’ve ever seen.
I’m already looking forward to next year and hope the Tour continues.
Demonstration: Yarn being dyed in a walnut bath.
Flock gets clean bill of health
Results came back from the folks at GeneSeek today indicating that NONE of the adult flock members are infected with OPP. Hurray!! The results of the second test (indicating their underlying genetic potential to contract the disease) will not be back for another couple of weeks. Stay tuned…
DIY Shearing
Moonshadow, my grayish Shetland wether, was in need of shearing. His fleece was gorgeous – mostly bur-free and clean.
Moonshadow before shearing.
By spring it would be longer than most fiber mills care to handle – I’m thinking it was about 4″ long at this point. Over winter it would get dirtier as well. It needed to be done soon so some could grow back and keep him insullated over winter. I figured – How tough could shearing one animal be? I’d received a used electric shearer (Thanks, Meg!) so set to the task. I had tied him with a dog collar around his horns to the trailer hitch on my truck. Well… after uncovering just a 9 by 12″ patch of skin the poor dude was about ready for a transfusion. The blades were as dull as I’d been warned they would be and my emery cloth treatment apparently hadn’t helped.
I headed over to an Amish neighbor who sheared for me in 2013. He said he would do it but he was swamped and I’d need to bring Moonshadow to him and … I chose not to impose and headed back home. This time I took out an instrument labeled as an “antique, English-made” hand shearer, touched it up with the angle grinder and whet stone, and started in.
The victim during the perpetration.
It took over an hour of being bent almost double, but I got it done. Periodic breaks to unkink the spine seemed to be appreciated by Moonshadow, too. I was able to pull the cut wool away from the work area so had very few second cuts, so the quality of the harvested wool is quite good.
Moonshadow after shearing.
I was glad I had the extra fiber length to work with. I wouldn’t want to do it with the shorter-stapled Babydolls, but know I could if I had to. I didn’t cut super close so he shouldn’t get chilled. The extended handling made him calmer (resigned?), not freaked out as I had feared.
The crime scene.
The chance to have my own Shetland wool to work with in a couple different shades is exciting. I partially skirted the fleece until other duties intruded. It was easier than skirting the Babydolls’ – cleaner and over 95% of the locks exceded the minimum staple length for my processor (2″). I separated the wool into silver and cream piles so will have at least 2 color lots.
I’ve recovered to the point of considering shearing the other Shetland wether, Noir, too, for a third shade (black).
That means I would have to catch him, though …
Testing flock for OPP
Just when I was getting smug about being in a great position relative to the genetic resistance of my flock to scrapies – another disease hits my radar. Ovine Progressive Pneumonia (OPP) is much more prevalent and is eventually lethal to all flock members who contract it. It affects the lungs, the joints, and sometimes the nervous system, but symptoms vary widely and often an infected and infectious animal exhibits none of them.
A group at USMARC, a USDA research facility in Nebraska in conjunction with staff at UN-Lincoln have investigated the epidemiology and genetic resistance factors for the disease. They found a gene that they determined affects how the virus penetrates the membrane around living cells. They also found variants in the sequence of this gene that correspond to different levels of susceptibility – there is no absolute resistance known – yet.
Today a vet, her assistant, and I drew blood from the breeding flock to be sent for testing of their 1) genetic resistance profile and 2) whether they have the disease. The first test uses gene sequencing the second uses ELISA to detect the level of antibodies in their blood.
As a responsible breeder it is important to me to know the status of my flock and its members so that I can make appropriate breeding, culling, and marketing decisions. Lambs younger than 7 months do not test reliably for the infection status so I cannot know for certain their condition but can get some indication from their genotype and whether the disease is present in the flock at all, especially in their mothers. The disease is transmitted through milk and colostrum but also through mucus – sneezing and slobber on shared water containers, for instance.
The results should be back in about 2 weeks so I should know in time to decide the best course of action for showing lambs at the Sheep and Fiber Farm Tour on October 11th and 12th.
Whether I’m being paranoid or prudent will only be known in hindsight. Stay tuned for the results. If you care to learn more about OPP, there is a society to raise awareness of it that has a very nicely done and informative website.
http://www.oppsociety.org/Home.html