The NW Shetland Sheep Group sponsored a Benefit Auction
for the Black Sheep Creamery,
one of the family farm businesses hit hard by the recent unprecedented flooding
in Lewis County, Washington.
This auction is now closed! Take a look at the site
to see how much we brought in for the Gregorys!
See the Auction Site HERE.
At EverRanch Farm we have a small flock of SBSBA Registered Scottish Blackface
Sheep, NASSA Registered Shetland Sheep, Registered Finnsheep, % Gotlands and
a few crosses.
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.
Exciting news for 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. These will be used to continue breeding up until
we reach "purebred" status. The Gotland
Sheep Breeder's Association of North America is newly online. The site has
details on the breed and the breeding up program.
There are 33 sheep at EverRanch in January, 2008, going to a target of 27 by
late January! Select sheep are available for breeding stock and for the table.
See our Sale Page or contact
us for Spring and Yearling Lamb.
Lambs expected in 2008 are 50% and 75% Gotlands, purebred Shetlands, purebred
Scottish Blackface and a handful of market bred lambs.
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 28 to 31 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! - As of January,
2008, we a few 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 % Gotland Sheep
Locker Lamb - Next group will be mid/late January, 2008
Tanned Sheepskins - YES, we have some available - a large group is going for
processing in late 2007. Expected back in mid 2008.
Wool - Select Rovings and Raw fleeces are for sale.
Horns - Check for Availability.
For additional information contact EverRanch by e-mail.
Return to EverRanch Home.
Page last updated January 20, 2008, by EverWeb Designs.
