Emma, out of Ella, is a white ewe who may be either black or moorit based (B?B?) since both of her parents are heterozygous black (BBBb). She is white (Awt), which is dominant to grey (Ag) and solid (Aa), so she will either throw white and grey/musket lambs or white and black/moorit lambs. She will have to be bred to a solid ram to determine which genotype she carries.
Electra, out of Myra, is a musket ewe. It is interesting to note that of Myra's four lambs, three have been moorit-based. Not that this changes the odds, but it would be nice if she had a black ewe this coming spring! This ewe is very well built and has very dense, even fleece. If breed to a ram with exceptionally soft fleece, she could throw some really nice lambs in 2018. (BbBb/AgAa)
Poppy, out of Mary, is another musket ewe and our bottle lamb. While not quite up to our breeding standards (primarily due to a longer tail), she is a real cuddle-bug! It is interesting to note the differences between Electra and Poppy, especially given they are both solid musket ewes with the same sire and same maternal grand-sire. I am anxious to compare fleeces come March and see how these two ewes look next fall.
Effie, out of Cali, is a great example of the importance of using a top-notch ram. She has superior conformation to her mother, but currently lacks in fleece quality. Cali's fleece has consistently improved since she was a lamb, so I have high hopes for this ewe. Her fleece is simply long and wavy by comparison, much like her father's, only better. She is another AgAa ewe, but it is unclear if she is homozygous or heterozygous black (BBBB or BBBb).
Eleanore, out of Madeleine, is a very alert white ewe. Her make-up is similar to Emma's, having the possibility to be either black or moorit and either Ag or solid. She has a very dense fleece and is built very upright. Thus far she is shier than the other lambs, but I am hoping she can warm up to us and become part of next year's breeding group. Madeleine is five, and of four sets of triplets I have yet to keep a single ewe out of her. This ewe has superior conformation to her mother, but she did not inherit her sit-in-your-lap personality.
Overall, this year's lambs are far friendlier than past lambs. I worked hard at keeping the shy adults out of the pasture until this fall, and it seems to be paying off.
A few notes on the rams. All of Deane's offspring were Ag, so I am assuming that he is AgAg, as both his parents were AgAa. Allante threw white, moorit and black lambs; however, since his only black lamb was out of a grey ewe (BBBb/AgAa), it is uncertain if he will throw black. Given he had a black spot on his shoulder at shearing last February, I suspect he is BBBb.
As for this year's breeding, I chose to only use one ram, Allante. His lambs had superior fleece, which is what we need to improve, and while Deane did produce very square lambs, he is very heavily related to the flock.
Kira is our oldest ewe this year. At 8, this will be her fifth pregnancy and may be her last. She has produced exceptional lambs with exciting coloration, and is an excellent mother. She has had three sets of triplets and a set of twins, and we have retained and used two of her rams for breeding. A solid musket ewe, she always throws musket or grey lambs, indicating she is AgAg. Paired with Allante, lambs could be grey, musket or white and will most likely be solid and have very sturdy conformations. Since she was left open last year and is in great condition, she will probably at least twin.
Maggie is six and our oldest ewe born on the farm. Another ewe who was left open for 2016 lambs and is quite large heading into breeding season. Maggie has produced four sets of twins in the past, and given her current conditioning, I'm guessing she'll have at least twins next spring. Maggie has a primitive fawn fleece but, when bred to rams with exceptional fleece in the past, has produced very nicely fleeced lambs. Given her AaAa genotype, lambs out of Maggie with either be white, black or moorit. They could also carry a modifier, resulting in fawn or shaela lambs.
Claire is our sole mioget ewe. At five, this will be her third pregnancy. Another ewe with a primitive fleece, Allante should improve her offspring in this area. She has singled and had a set of twins, but she comes from a line of ewes who consistently twin; twins are a safe bet. Given that she is mioget, her lambs will either be white, black or moorit-based.
Ella is a four-year-old grey ewe. This will be her fourth lambing, and a repeat breeding from last year. I loved her white ewe lambs so much that I just couldn't resist pairing her with Allante again! She will most likely get next year off, as this will make her fourth straight year of lambing, which is why I'm guessing she'll single. Ella has only produced grey, musket or white lambs, but is AgAa and could produce black or moorit. Of her previous six lambs, five have been ewes and only one has been moorit-based. Paired with Allante, her lambs could be any color.
Mary and Myra are both three-year-old ewes sired by PikeHill Cedar. They are out of a mother-daughter pair of ewes, making Mary Myra's aunt. In otherwords, Mary's dam is Myra's grand-dam. Each ewe has lambed during the past two breeding cycles; however, Myra is a far better mother than Mary, who last year abandoned her ewe. Myra has slightly higher chances of throwing black lambs than Mary, but either could produce black, moorit or white with Allante. Their lambs should have exceptional conformation and fleece. From the pair, they produced two ewes out of seven lambs in the past.
Lucy is the only other repeat breeding. This will be her second pairing with Allante, the first of which resulted in a single black ram. He was beautiful, and so it will be exciting to see what they produce this year. Lucy is grey, but heavily spotted white, and she carries moorit (BBBb) and solid (AgAa). Her lambs could be white, black, moorit, musket or black. They could be wildly spotted or spotless. Jeanne is two and has yet to lamb. She was paired with Allante last year for 22 days and was left open. She is a very shy ewe and has already been spotted fleeing from Allante. I am going to try leaving him in for an extra week this year to make sure he has sufficient time to settle her. She is a very square ewe with a stunning primitive fleece. A dark moorit, I am anxious to see lambs out of her. Her mother easily produced twins, so this could be another opportunity for two more lovely lambs.
Daphne is one of two yearling ewes. She is a darker grey ewe out of Ella who could be either BBBb or BBBB. If the later is true, she will not produce any moorit-based lambs. Since both her dam and sire were grey, she could also be AgAg or AgAa. If the former is true, she will not be able to throw moorit or black, only white, grey and musket. Though one year probably won't allow me to determine her genotype, it could be possible for her to only throw grey lambs (or white). Since she comes from a long line of twins and triplets, and since she has an incredibly deep torso, she may easily twin on her first breeding.
Finally, Doris is the other yearling ewe. She is a fawn ewe and will most likely single. Though she is tall, she has a much shorter body, and her mother singled twice out of six pregnancies.
In the past 10 days there has been wildly fluctuating interests on the parts of the ewes. Each day, a new ewe or two will follow Allante around the paddock; I'm assuming this is a sign that they are cycling. He has shown great interest in all of the ewes and has been flying round the paddock in mad pursuit. Hopefully this time around he'll settle Jeanne and maybe next year I'll even get a nice black ewe lamb or two from him!