We have recently gotten involved with two other breeds of sheep, the beautiful longwools Cotswolds and Wensleydales. We now have a flock of one ram and two ewes of the Cotswold breed, and two lovely 73% Wensleydale ewes. We were also fortunate to have been able to buy three outstanding white Angora does, a five-year-old doe and her two daughters, three and two years old. We are looking forward to working with all these great girls (and boy). And shearing time will bring a new variety of fibers to our shop!
We hope to be able to offer lambs and kids from the longwools and Angoras. Of course, our main focus will still be on the Finns, but I am excited to be involved in the preservation of these different rare breeds.
Our shearing plans are not finalized, but these are what I am considering shearing at the moment:
Lempi (gray Finn ewe), Curly, Samantha, Nell, Feather, and Popcorn (Angoras), and the three Cotswold sheep that currently are not named. I am toying with the idea of leaving the Wensley girls in fleece for longer than six months. I would love to play with the long curls. Toivo, Vinny, Eero, Rusetti, and Maria will be shorn in the spring. This will be the first time that Toivo and Vinny will be clipped only once per year.
I am probably going to sell both the mohair and the Cotswold wool washed. Most people seem to prefer longwool and mohair washed, and I can understand why. It is a task that can only be appreciated by those who have done it! The longer the staple, the harder it is to clean. But the results are worth it!
We will be renting a reverse badger black Angora buck, Stryker, from Oak Willow Farm, to breed these fine Angora does. Eero will be breeding my three Finn ewes, and my Cotswold ram will be breeding the Cotswold ewes. I am not yet sure about my Wensleydale ewes. My Pygmy doe Lulu is hopefully bred to Sonny Boy, the Pygora.
Our Cotswolds and Wensleydales
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