Flock Favorites
It’s no secret that I have a special place in my heart for my sheep. While I love our cattle and horses, it’s always the sheep that I come back to. Of course, I have a few favorites, and today I want to share a little about the sheep that have really stood out from the rest of the flock.
First up is Ewe 040, or "40" for short. She has a registered name from her original farm, but I can never remember it, so we just stick to her tag number. 40 is a lovely brown, caramel color, and her fleece produces the most beautiful roving and yarn. But it’s not just her color that makes me love her—it's her incredibly sweet nature. She’s always one of the first to come greet me when I visit the flock. When I call out, she runs to the front of the line, ready for attention. 40 loves chin and ear scratches, and she’ll often stay by my side long after the others have wandered off to graze or munch on hay. If I sit down, she’s right there, nuzzling my face or side, waiting for more affection. Her sister, 041, shares a similar personality, and you’ll often find the two of them hanging out together.
Another favorite of mine is Snowy, a gentle white ewe with an off-white fleece. The kids named her Snowy because, well, she’s white! Snowy holds a special place in our hearts—she was a bottle lamb, and we weren’t sure she’d make it. Born weighing around 2 pounds (Finnsheep tend to have smaller lambs because they lamb in litters), she needed a lot of extra warmth and care to survive. We kept her in the house, snuggling with her and positioning her over heat vents to keep her warm. Miraculously, she grew strong and healthy, and she’ll be having her second set of lambs this April. Snowy is known for always having the dirtiest fleece, which I hope will change this year. I’d love to have her fleece processed into yarn so I can make something special for Colton and Kinzie—after all, they were the ones who spent so much time helping her survive when she was a lamb.
Pig is one of our rams, and he’s adored by everyone. He was also a bottle baby that was always trying to drink everyone else’s bottles after he finished his so we started calling him Pig. I typically don’t keep bottle-raised rams due to their potential for aggression. Lambs raised by humans can sometimes struggle to respect our space, which can be dangerous, especially with rams during breeding season. I had planned to wether (castrate) him, but Colton convinced me to keep him intact, so we could breed him to some of our ewes. And I’m so glad we did! Pig has turned out to be the perfect gentleman—even during breeding season. We do have to keep an eye on our other ram, but Pig has never shown any signs of aggression. He’s still the sweet, lovable Pig we raised, and his fleece is absolutely gorgeous this year. I’m excited to get it to the mill and see what we can make from it!
40, Snowy, and Pig are my top three favorites from our flock of nearly 50. While there are other friendly sheep, these three will always hold a special place in my heart. With lambing season just around the corner in April, we’ll be shearing on February 15th, weather permitting. I’m eagerly anticipating the wonderful fiber we’ll harvest, and of course, the arrival of the lambs. Last year, we had a set of quintuplets, and we’re thrilled that all but one survived!
If you’re interested in purchasing a raw fleece after shearing, make sure you’re signed up for our newsletter. We’ll be hosting a fleece skirting class at our farm sometime in April, and all participants will have first dibs on purchasing a raw fleece. After that, they’ll be available to the public. The dates and prices will be sent out in our newsletter subscribers prior to being posted on social media to give them first chance at the class and a fleece.
