At EverRanch Farm we have a small flock of SBSBA Registered Scottish Blackface
Sheep, NASSA Registered Shetland Sheep, % Gotlands and a few crosses.
2011 will see Registered Shetlands, Scottish Blackface and Gotland lambs
at EverRanch Farm. A few will be for sale. Reserve lambs early for the best
selection! Link to 2011 Lamb Page.
I'm especially excited about our Shetland flock. The coming lambs will have
as sire (Barish)and grandsire (Buddy), rams whose adult fleeces are very fine,
with nice length. We're hoping for lambs to mature with fleeces in the 23 to
28 micron range, and 3" to 5" in length.
Our average Gotland percent is increasing every year. The majority of the 2011
lambs should be 75% and higher. We continue to breed for the traditional grey,
with white, brown and black also possible.
Eve, the one Scottie remaining at the farm (the rest of the flock is still
on loan) is planned to be bred to her grandsire - a magnificient ram from Scotland.
Eve's crossbred lambs have been vigorous and fast growing, now she gets a chance
to produce purebred Scotties!
We started in 2001 with the Scottish Blackface
- 2 adult ewes and 4 lambs. Our second year flock is pictured in the 2002
EverRanch Fair Poster. We have since added NASSA registered Shetland Sheep,
Finnsheep, Gotlands, and Leicester cross ewes for wool and meat variety.
In 2007, we
added Gotland sheep to our flock! Gotland sheep are a medium sized, calm, friendly
breed with long, soft, lustrous grey wool to die for! Prior to 2004, there was
no Gotland blood in North American flocks. A handful of US flocks birthed 50%
Gotlands in 2006. On November 13, nine of our ewes were artificially inseminated
with purebred Gotland semen. In early April our own 50%
Gotland lambs arrived. We continue to breed up these charismatic sheep.
The flock includes seven 75% and one 87.5% Gotland sheep in 2010.
The Gotland Sheep Breeder's Association of
North America has details on the breed, the breeding up program, the AI
sires, and a list of Members.
We cut back on the numbers of ewes bred in 2010, and used the first of our
NZ semen on the Gotland ewes, and Shetland ram Boulderneigh Blackberry on the
Shetlands. For the first year ever, we had rams jump fences resulting in 4 "ooops"
lambs... who turned out pretty nice! The Farm Blog contains photos and updates
of lambs, and our Washington
Wool page also lists sale sheep and other items.
Scotties, or Blackies as they're known in the U.K., are outstanding for
small farms, are relatively easy care and well adapted to harsh and wet climates.
The lambs make a fine consumer size, lean carcass with excellent flavor. The wool
is hard wearing and outstanding for carpets, blankets, felt, and outerwear. They
have beautiful horns which can be mounted or used in crafts. Scottie pelts have
beautiful creamy white outer wool over a shorter, softer undercoat - much nicer
than the mass produced shearling skins found at retail outlets.
Shetland Sheep are of small stature but make up for it with their big attitudes!
They can be very friendly, and all have unique personalities. They have wonderful
wool for spinning, ranging from soft, fine, crimpy "single" coats to coarser,
more primitive "double" coats. Ours are somewhat in the middle, with wool that
tests at 24 to 34 microns on second or later year fleeces. Shetland sheep come
in many different shades of brown, black, grey and white, with a variety of markings
possible. Most of our sheep are solid in color, and we have Katmoget (Badger Faced)
and Gulmoget (Mouflon or reverse Badger Faced) marked sheep. Although smaller
in size, Shetland meat is lean and tasty. A wonderful site full of information
about Shetland Sheep is the Shetland
Sheep Information Site, hosted by Linda Wendleboe and Kathy Baker.
Contact us if you are interested
in reserving a lamb for the table or to start your own flock of Scottish Blackface, Shetland or Gotland Sheep, or for any of our other products.
Sheep for Sale! - We several
nice sheep available for sale. Check the "For Sale" page for further information.
Sheep Products, limited quantities available:
Breeding Stock - contact us for more information or see the Sale Page
- SBBA Registered Scottish Blackface Sheep
- NASSA Registered Shetland Sheep
- GSBANA Recorded and Registered Gotland Sheep
Locker Lamb - Lamb available in late October until sold.
Tanned Sheepskins - YES, we have some available, with more to come in the future.
Wool - Select Rovings and Raw fleeces are for sale.
Horns - Occasionally Availability.
For additional information contact EverRanch
by e-mail.
Return to EverRanch Home.
Page last updated December 20, 2010, by EverWeb Designs.
