Shetland, Jacob sheep and llama for sale

As most of you know I am having a dispersal sale of all my sheep due to continued mountain lion predation. I have found excellent homes for all my ewes except one Jacob ewe (most are going home to where I originally purchased them from), and Duncan, my Shetland ram is moving to Arizona! I still have 5 exceptional ram lambs, 4 out of Duncan. All are respectful (probably inherited from Duncan):) and are a pleasure to be around.

Following are his progeny:

Ram lamb, moorit out of Stonehaven Valeria, known as Valentine. Valentine has a gorgeous lighter moorit fleece, more golden. I don't know if this ram lamb will stay as dark as he is now but he does have a lovely fleece.

Next is a fawn katmoget ram lamb out of Stonehaven Ilse (musket). This boy has stood out from day one. He has quite the presence about him and a gorgeous, soft, thick fleece.



This little ram lamb is a grey katmoget, he is out of Boulderneigh Bella (grey flecket katmollet)and also has a gorgeous, soft fleece.



Last of Duncan's boys is out of WSR Rechel (grey flecket) with a lovely soft shorter fleece. This boys fleece is also on the shorter side but very soft. His horns are OK...may get even better. He is a grey katmoget.

The last ram lamb I have available is a gorgeous flecket gulmoget. Aries is a real looker, and would have lots to offer as a flock ram. He's out of Shady Oaks Chantel (Grey mirkface with bioget markings that also carries yuglet) and Underhill Jet, a black gulmoget with a phenomenal horn set.



I also have a nice pair of registered 4 horn yearling Jacobs. The ram is a chocolate lilac and the ewe is black and white. Ewe is friendly, ram is respectful. Very nice fleeces on both.



Also for sale is Gallo, my guard llama gelding. He has been a guardian llama for sheep for quite awhile...I purchased him from Kenleigh Jacobs, where he was a guardian for years for her ewes. He loved to be with his girls and really misses them. He is not fond of other llamas or the ram lambs (though he hangs out with them). Gallo is a shy boy, but once you get him he stands still and will cooperate nicely to get sheared, his feet trimmed, wormed, etc. He is constantly humming especially when he is asking you a question.....like what are you doing with my ewe. :) He really is a great llama and if he didn't seem so lost without his ewe flock I would keep him.


If you have any questions, want fleece samples, prices or more pics please e-mail me and let me know. gone2thedawgs@gmail.com I can also possibly deliver to other areas of WA, OR, ID, No. Cal. (anywhere I can get to and back in a weekend).

Ah Spring! warmer beautiful days, blooming flowers and shearing!

Saturday dawned clear, and as the day progressed the temperature rose. I LOVE this time of year.....it actually makes me enjoy going outside to do things. :)

Walking out of the house I am greeted by the sunny colors of some mini tulips (the brown spots on them by the way, are from my dogs digging in the dirt/mud next to them.....at least they didn't dig them up!), and a crocus and another bulb flower that I can't remember at this given time......



Walking down over the hill to the barn the valley opens up into a heart-warming expanse.




At the gate I am greeted by a disgruntled llama and a more than tickled ewe lamb, Jet.


Last night I had placed my girls and boys in stalls to make sure they were dry for the shearer. Gallo was definitely not pleased, and kept humming questions at me. Jet, on the other hand who had been picked on since she was the new girl in the flock was extremely pleased to be the only girl that Gallo had to share his hay with. I really should have taken a pic of them laying down together the previous night.

Here is a pic of everyone in their stalls, wondering what the heck was going on. Even standoffish Bella stood up on the door and allowed me a chin skritch.....anything that might get me to let her out!




Franna of EverRanch and Sally of Sleepy Hollow Shetlands were extremely kind and offered to show up to help (Molly of Blackberry Moon Farm also offered but was unable to come at that time).

Eifion (from Wales) showed up with his brother-in-law, Joe (from Whidbey Island) and set right to work. I tried to be organized (something I have to REALLY work at....) and somehow managed to forget the first thing I had on my list. Running extension cords to the barn for his shears! Boy, did I ever feel sheepish (pun intended) when Eifion said "C'mon Tammy!". I'm definitely going to get power down to the barn this summer!

He started with the boys and worked thru the girls. Joe would grab the next sheep and pass them to Eifion. He sheared, gave shots, wormed and trimmed their feet. He was definitely quick. A few of the girls got nicks, but I learned (from Franna) that the difficulty he was having getting thru some of the fleeces was because of the rise. (That and that the Jacobs don't have that problem).




Here is my help. :) I learned so much from Franna and Sally, it was worth it's weight in gold just to be able to hear their thoughts on the process and Shetland sheep in general.



And here are some pics after the work was done.....






Jet, was laughing (I KNOW, I could just hear her....) "Ha, Ha now I have more wool than you!" And they all are on the same page now as they butt each other and get to know each other all over again.

After Eifion and Joe were on their way, Franna gave me a skirting lesson with one of my fleeces. She also showed Sally and I how you can spin with just your fingers! It was fun (and amazing)!

Now I just have to get busy and skirt the rest of my fleeces. I wish I had been able to take more pics but I was definitely hopping when Eifion was shearing and I was so intent on learning how to skirt that it completely slipped my mind.

Anyway, thanks again to Franna and Sally. I have to say that all the sheep people I have met in both the Jacob and Shetland world have been the most wonderful people to get to know!

OH! Another sign of Spring? The return of our Osprey from South America. I need to get some pics of them. It's really not very picturesque when they are in their nest....it sits on a big high tension wire tower. They have used this nest for the last 12 years we have been here and I'm not sure how long before that. The nest is HUGE. They have 2-3 babies every year and it's great when they are all learning to fly and circle over our home.

I'm definitely reveling in this beautiful Spring weather....and dreading what I hear is coming next in the middle of the week......more cold and rain. sigh.

New Friends and an Old Enemy

A tragedy struck Wrensong about a month ago. One of my favorite ewes, Ellen, my black gulmoget was taken by a mountain lion.
I still find myself looking for her every time I go down to the barn. She loved a good skritch and was such a sweet girl.

I am an admirer, and hold no animosity towards both mountain lions and coyotes, just not when they come after my livestock/pets. I met a mountain lion face to face when I was riding my horse on the mountain behind our house. It was a life altering moment and burned permanently in my brain. He was one of the most gorgeous animals I have ever seen.

I must admit I had become a bit complacent. I had a Jacob lamb taken about 1 1/2 years ago which made me replace all my fencing (it had been mostly NZ for my horses at the time) with no climb and a hotwire run on top. Had no problems until this.

I am fully aware that having other prey animals as guardians is iffy at best, they do seem to work great for the coyote or two that finds their way onto the farm, but a cougar is a completely different story.

That said, I'm hoping if nothing else, total confusion and mayhem (between the braying donkeys, peacocks, guineas, llama and dancing emus...) will help the sheep get the time they need to get to safety.



Introducing Gallo. Shannon of Kenleigh Acres was kind enough to offer him to me. He has plenty of experience being a guard.
I love the way he is so bonded with his girls already. When I was catching and loading up some Jacobs I had sold he was right there, concerned, humming a question at me the whole time. When I open up a pasture he checks the perimeter of the fence, sniffing and looking for any present danger.


Next, is Rosebud (formerly Dolly), a donkey rescued from an auction where the only other bidders were men that wanted to use her for roping practice. Thanks to Pat in Portland for letting me have this sweet girl.


Jasmine initially was unsure about the addition of ANOTHER donkey. After all she IS the QUEEN of the barnyard. She stood, with her ears back, next to my friend, Tara, and I and just looked at Rosebud romping and playing about the pasture. She glared at Rosie every time she came near. A couple of days later, however, and she must have decided it was great to have a friend of her own persuasion.

NEXT, peafowl. I had a lonely male that I absolutely love. I know a lot of people say they are SO noisy, but I'm here to tell you they don't hold a candle to my guineas. I contacted a wonderful lady, Karen, on the Oregon coast. She convinced me that peacocks like guineas need to be in a group for survival. That way one can always be on the lookout for the other while they eat. (And of course, more sets of eyes watching the better). So, the peacock count is now at 9.


I had placed the peas in a dog kennel with netting and a tarp over the top to help them to get acclimated to the area and all the other animals. We had some snow again which did a number on the tarp/netting and some of the peas managed to escape. It actually worked out well, as they wanted to stick close to their friends that were still in the kennel and they were able to meet the single boy and develop a relationship with him. One by one they escaped (I had decided to not repair the netting as this seemed to be a good way to release them), until I only had two left in the pen. I finally let those two out and then they all went walkabout. I e-mailed the neighbors and asked them to watch for the wayward peafowl. I got e-mails and phone calls as they made their way around the mountainside. I tried a couple of times to go herd them up but they were gone by the time I arrived where they were last seen.

Still a bit of confusion as to who they should be trying to impress......


I had just begun to think that we now had a "neighborhood" peafowl flock when they showed back up on our property. They have remained here since (though I have no doubt that they go walkabout during the day when I'm not home). They sleep up in a big fir tree on the property and I can't wait for the day when the boys have those beautiful sweeping tails. As for noise? I think I have heard one or two peacocks do a short call probably 3 times in the last couple of weeks.

The surprise of the month was the addition of a little female quail that showed up on our place. She is so cute and tiny running in and out of the big birds eating what she can. I figure she must think she is a small guinea fowl or that they are really large quail because she has taken to hanging with them.

Another new addition is Thunderhead Jet. A lovely little ewe, a fading black from Flett lines, from Quintin and his Mom, Mylrea. I had a wonderful time visiting with them and their family and seeing their farm and sheep. Unfortunately they recently had a cougar attack and lost a favorite ewe that was getting ready to lamb.

Jet recently was sheared but here is a pic of what she looks like in full fleece:

The rest of the pics are just some I took of some of the ewes down in the pasture, and my latest witchhazel in bloom.

Valentine
Matisse
Claire
Rechel
Bella

Aurora

Ilse

Bevin



Arnold's Promise Witchhazel


THE END