# B. C. P. Journal



## KellyK (Mar 24, 2020)

*Shetland Sheep *

We have 4 Ewes and 1 Ram. So far we have 6 lambs. 5 ewe lambs and 1 ram lamb. We have one more Ewe to go. Not sure she is even pregnant. She could be as the first one to lamb this year did not look pregnant. She was a bit of a shock to find lambs as early as we did.


*Our Ram

Wrangler*

He has surpassed our expectations.





*Our Ewes

Heather*

Just gave us twins this morning. A ram and a ewe.



*Ezri*

Gave us twin ewe lambs the start of March



*Gerty*

Not sure if she is even expecting. She does not look to be expecting.



*Ruby*

Was the first to lamb and she gave us twin ewe lambs in early February. She also did not look to be expecting.


----------



## KellyK (Mar 24, 2020)

These two were born 02/08/2020

Violet



Primrose






These two were born 03/01/2020

Iris




Katniss





These two were born 03/24/2020

Yin



Yang





I find it interesting that each ewe produced twins this year. Each produced a light and a dark lamb. Yang is the only ram lamb out of the 6 lambs. That was another surprise. Only one ram lamb. We had been prepared for 5 ram lambs and 1 ewe lamb.


Had to correct the names as I was overruled on some of the names.  LOL


----------



## frustratedearthmother (Mar 24, 2020)

Cute, cute, cute!


----------



## KellyK (Mar 24, 2020)

frustratedearthmother said:


> Cute, cute, cute!




Thank you. Only one more ewe that could possibly be expecting.


----------



## purplequeenvt (Mar 24, 2020)

Where are you in KY? I just moved to KY in December (I'm in Rineyville), but I came with my flock of sheep. I have Border Leicesters, Shetlands, and some crossbred ewes. I only have 5 Shetlands at the moment - 1 older ewe, her lambs from last year (ewe and a wether) and her lambs from this year that we born yesterday.

I'll be in the market for a registered Shetland ram this year and I've got a nice little moorit ram lamb (assuming he grows out nicely) available after weaning.


----------



## SA Farm (Mar 24, 2020)

Aw  So cute. I would be tempted to keep far too many of those adorable little girls!


----------



## Duckfarmerpa1 (Mar 24, 2020)

What breed?  I’m starting to think about getting into sheep....  and they are beautiful!!  Congrats!!


----------



## KellyK (Mar 24, 2020)

purplequeenvt said:


> Where are you in KY? I just moved to KY in December (I'm in Rineyville), but I came with my flock of sheep. I have Border Leicesters, Shetlands, and some crossbred ewes. I only have 5 Shetlands at the moment - 1 older ewe, her lambs from last year (ewe and a wether) and her lambs from this year that we born yesterday.
> 
> I'll be in the market for a registered Shetland ram this year and I've got a nice little moorit ram lamb (assuming he grows out nicely) available after weaning.




I am really close to Rineyville. I'm about 4 miles east of Custer. We moved to KY back in 2016. The only Ram lamb we have is the one born today. We are hoping He grows up to look like his sire.


----------



## KellyK (Mar 24, 2020)

SA Farm said:


> Aw  So cute. I would be tempted to keep far too many of those adorable little girls!



We are considering getting another ram for those little girls.


----------



## KellyK (Mar 24, 2020)

Duckfarmerpa1 said:


> What breed?  I’m starting to think about getting into sheep....  and they are beautiful!!  Congrats!!



These are Shetlands.


----------



## purplequeenvt (Mar 24, 2020)

Are yours registered? 

Is Gerty the one that might still lamb? If they are registered and your last ewe has a non-white ram, I might be interested!


----------



## KellyK (Mar 24, 2020)

Yes, they are registered. 

Gerty is the only one who has not lambed. We are hoping she does, but not sure she is pregnant.

If she does and has a non white ram lamb I will let you know.


----------



## Duckfarmerpa1 (Mar 25, 2020)

Shetland..are they on your avatar?  Are they low to the ground?  Require a lot of shearing, more than once a year or so?  I’m getting info on these breeds to see what might be a good fit for us....good luck with the lambing..if she does!!


----------



## KellyK (Mar 26, 2020)

Yes, my avatar is Iris, one of this year's lambs. They only need to be sheared once a year.  Some of the points about the breed that sold my husband were:

Shetlands are a smaller wool breed. Ewes weigh up to 100 lbs Rams weigh up to 125 lbs
Easy Lambing and great mothers. Bottle babies are rare
Hardy breed Economical to feed
Nice Wool
Good meat source
Some lines can be milked


----------



## KellyK (Mar 26, 2020)

Little Miss Katniss standing in the feeder.  Her twin Miss Iris is looking to join her.


----------



## KellyK (Mar 27, 2020)

My husband and I are looking to add other livestock or replace current breeds of livestock.  We have very specific wants for our place. We are looking at heritage breeds. We also want them to be registered.  We have gone with the cheaper unregistered stock and found that it does not work for us. I am looking to add the following to our place.  Just looking for a male and one or two females. 

Cattle 

Dexter
Highland'

Swine

Glouchester Old Spot
KuneKune
Mulefoot


----------



## SA Farm (Mar 27, 2020)

I don’t know enough to really give you the pros and cons of the breeds, but I would want highland and kunekune personally


----------



## Jesusfreak101 (Mar 27, 2020)

I have read on the highlander but i have on the dexters i love how tame they are and their size and dual purpose but they do take 2 years to get to butcher weight. The kunekune are a very docile non rooting pig that loves to graze and is very hardy like the Dexter  longer to go to a weight.


----------



## KellyK (Mar 27, 2020)

SA Farm said:


> I don’t know enough to really give you the pros and cons of the breeds, but I would want highland and kunekune personally




Personally we are going through the pros and cons of each breed. It just depends on what we can find within the distance my husband is willing to travel.


----------



## KellyK (Mar 27, 2020)

Jesusfreak101 said:


> I have read on the highlander but i have on the dexters i love how tame they are and their size and dual purpose but they do take 2 years to get to butcher weight. The kunekune are a very docile non rooting pig that loves to graze and is very hardy like the Dexter  longer to go to a weight.




Not really worried about the amount of time to get to butcher weight. Slow growth is usually best.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie (Mar 28, 2020)

Miss @Fernie,

Would Maine be a bit too far for highland cattle?


----------



## KellyK (Mar 28, 2020)

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Miss @Fernie,
> 
> Would Maine be a bit too far for highland cattle?




It might, but I am not sure. LOL We are currently in KY. He is currently running a truck to Canada and back.


----------



## KellyK (Mar 29, 2020)

Iris is such a love. Waiting to see how her color and markings change as she grows.


----------



## KellyK (Apr 11, 2020)

purplequeenvt said:


> Where are you in KY? I just moved to KY in December (I'm in Rineyville), but I came with my flock of sheep. I have Border Leicesters, Shetlands, and some crossbred ewes. I only have 5 Shetlands at the moment - 1 older ewe, her lambs from last year (ewe and a wether) and her lambs from this year that we born yesterday.
> 
> I'll be in the market for a registered Shetland ram this year and I've got a nice little moorit ram lamb (assuming he grows out nicely) available after weaning.




If the pattern holds she will birth around the 17th, The first sets were three weeks and one day apart, the next one was three weeks and two days, so Gertie should go at three weeks and three days. We will see.


----------



## KellyK (Apr 11, 2020)

My husband, Bob, came home for a week. I have been busy. We are working on expanding the main pen for the sheep. I need another 75 pallets to finish the pallet fence on that pen. We will see what I have laying around here.


----------



## purplequeenvt (Apr 11, 2020)

Fernie said:


> If the pattern holds she will birth around the 17th, The first sets were three weeks and one day apart, the next one was three weeks and two days, so Gertie should go at three weeks and three days. We will see.



Does this mean you think she is bred after all?


----------



## KellyK (Apr 11, 2020)

From what we have seen she may have been. He has been very interested in each of the girls since we sheared them. I am waiting to see what happens. 

We sheared them this weekend 



He is registered as white but has other colors in his coat after being sheared. His "white" son may have the same or similar markings. 









Not the best job but it was done with hand shears so not as pretty when finished.


----------



## purplequeenvt (Apr 11, 2020)

He’s got to be moorit under that white since he’s thrown so many moorit babies out of black ewes. What’s his registered name?

Remember, all Shetlands are either black or moorit. White (Awt) is a pattern along with solid (Aa), gray (Ag), katmoget (Ab), and gulmoget (At). Gray, kat, and gul are all co-dominate, although gray eventually can mask other patterns/markings. White is dominate over all other patterns and hides the sheep’s base color. The gene for spotting is recessive so both parents would have to pass on a spotting gene for the lamb to be spotted.

Unfortunately, your wildly colored ewe lamb will end up being gray (musket in Shetland terms). That is, a moorit base with a solid and gray gene. The spots are complicated. I’m not sure if she’s truly spotted or if the appearance of spots has to do with how her graying gene is expressing.

Any chance you’d match up the lambs with their moms so I can see who produced what? It might help figure out the color genetics in your ram. 

Sorry if that was way too much I formation. I spent a lot of time trying to understand Shetland color genetics when I got my first 3 Shetland ewes. They were all out of registered stock, but only 1 of my ewes was actually registered at the time. I was able to figure out who was who and was able to get them registered as adults based on the previous owner’s records of their patterns, colors, and ear tag numbers.


----------



## KellyK (May 9, 2020)

Ms. Gerty had a single lamb. A little Ewe.


----------



## KellyK (May 10, 2020)

purplequeenvt said:


> He’s got to be moorit under that white since he’s thrown so many moorit babies out of black ewes. What’s his registered name?
> 
> Remember, all Shetlands are either black or moorit. White (Awt) is a pattern along with solid (Aa), gray (Ag), katmoget (Ab), and gulmoget (At). Gray, kat, and gul are all co-dominate, although gray eventually can mask other patterns/markings. White is dominate over all other patterns and hides the sheep’s base color. The gene for spotting is recessive so both parents would have to pass on a spotting gene for the lamb to be spotted.
> 
> ...




Sorry I did not get back to you. I just saw your reply this morning.

I really could use some help with the colors. Ewes are registered Grey, Grey, Grey Katmoget, and a Fawn Katmoget.  I am seeing more brown based babies and trying to figure out how that is happening.

LSSF Wrangler is the Sire. NASSA Registraation # S48991
Give me a bit to post the moms with the Babies. 

I could use help to name colors and markings in the lambs.  If you want to give me your thoughts that would be great. A few have lightened a bunch in the past few weeks.


----------



## KellyK (May 10, 2020)

NarrowGate Ruby - NASSA Reg #S41708






She had

Primrose who has faded from this to a Mioget






Violet who appears Morrit.


----------



## KellyK (May 10, 2020)

Innisfree Ezri NASSA Reg #S49446





She had

Katniss who still looks like she has makeup on 





Iris who now has a mostly white/light grey face now


----------



## KellyK (May 10, 2020)

Point O Rock Heather NASSA Reg #S47721 






She had

Yin






Yang


----------



## KellyK (May 10, 2020)

GG Gerty  NASSA Registration # S49125 






She had

Rose


----------



## KellyK (May 10, 2020)

purplequeenvt said:


> Does this mean you think she is bred after all?



She had a singleton ewe last Friday.


----------



## purplequeenvt (May 10, 2020)

Ok.......

Starting with the ewes.

Ruby is a gray Katmoget. She has to carry moorit because she's black based and yet had a brown lamb. She might also carry the graying gene. 

Ezri is a black based gray. She carries a gene for solid (no pattern) as well as a gene for graying. 

Heather is also a black based gray. What's interesting about her is that unlike most gray shetlands, she doesn't have the classic "sugar lips" or gray rings around the eyes. That makes me think that she may not have the graying gene, but instead has a modifying gene that changes her solid black fleece to a shade of gray. That might make her Emsket, but I'm not positive. She could carry moorit based on her registration paper.

Gerty is a fawn Katmoget. She has 2 copies of the moorit gene so bred to a moorit ram, she will always have moorit babies. Bred to a black ram (black is dominate to moorit) her babies will be at minimum carriers of moorit. She does not look like she carries gray.

Wrangler is obviously white. The question is, what is his actual base color? Based on what you got for lambs from your ewes, he has to at least carry moorit. I think his pattern genes are for white and gray. Next time you get your hands on him, check his tongue color. Pink means that he's moorit, blue/black means that he's black.

Now for the lambs......

Primrose is Katmoget and carries the graying gene. I can't tell from the picture whether she brown or black based. You can't go off of the brown on her head or legs because most Katmogets get that gold/brown color regardless of base color. Take a look at her belly between her rear legs, is the hair there black or brown? You can also check her tongue, but it would probably be quicker to check her belly. If she is black, then she'd be registered as a gray katmoget. If brown, then as a fawn katmoget (I might use musket katmoget to indicate that she carries gray, but that's just me).

Violet is solid and graying patterned moorit lamb. She'd be registered as a musket.

Katniss would be registered as a white, but she looks like her base is black based on her dark nose and eye rims.

Iris is musket. The spots she had at birth are just an expression of the graying gene (possibly she carries 2 copies of the gene??)

Yin is gray.

Yang is white - again, check the tongue color to determine base color. 

Rose is musket.

Registration papers can only go so far in helping figure out the color genetics in your flock because a lot of people mislabel their sheep. One of my 1st ewes was registered as a white (she was actually mioget that carried gray) because her original farm registered based on the color of the fleece. Her fleece was pretty much white and so that's how she was registered despite the fact that she absolutely was not white and never produced a white lamb in her life. I found a few errors in some of your sheep's papers. The most notable one was Ruby's sire. He's registered as a dark brown gulmoget. There is no way that he is gulmoget unless the sheep listed as his parents are incorrect.

Hopefully that helps and didn't completely swamp your brain. I was getting a little dizzy re-reading it.


----------



## KellyK (May 11, 2020)

purplequeenvt said:


> Hopefully that helps and didn't completely swamp your brain. I was getting a little dizzy re-reading it.




The tongue color of all of the lambs (we have not checked Rose as of yet) has been pink. We will be checking again before I put in the registration paperwork because I think I am sure there are errors in the previous registrations. 


Primrose is a yellowish brown now. So I would call her (based on what the colors are described on the NASSA site)  Mioget now fawn. She has gone very pale. She also is a pain to get a picture of as she will stare at you and as soon as you go to click she turns away or puts her head down. 





Iris is an interesting one. She has lightened an incredible amount. She is facing the camera in this picture. Violet is the one facing away. 




Katniss still looks like she has on makeup. Blackeye liner. That is the best I can do to describe how she looks. 

I think you meant Ezri, not Ruby. Ezri's sire is listed as dark brown gulmoget, not Ruby's. 

Rose is grey/white colored closer to the skin and she has touches of grey/white at random spots. She is also the only lamb that went limp when I picked her up. Didn't even cry out for Mama. All the others screamed for mama. Rose didn't make a peep and she played dead.  Want to talk about stopping your heart. We also did a complete search of the upper pasture for any more lambs, because she was so quiet. 

From what I have been told, Heather was as dark as Yin is when she was a lamb and she lightened up to what she is now. Which makes me think Emset would be the correct color for Heather. I also think she may be Krunet. She has the "sugar lips" but for some reason, it doesn't show up on the side shots. Here is another angle.




She looks like she ate a powdered donut and wiped most of the evidence away. I only got this particular picture of her because I had graham crackers which I found are her favorite of all time treat. 

The colors are not what I expected from any of the sheep. My head has not exploded as of yet.  My husband would fill my head with facts and such about big rigs. Rather have information in there that I can use like sheep colors and markings. LOL 

Now to look for a new ram for the girls my husband plans to keep. The plan is to sell one lamb from each of the twins and keep the other one. Yang will be wethered if we do not find a new herd for him. He is sweet and funny.


----------



## KellyK (May 11, 2020)

Fernie said:


> because I think I am sure there are errors in the previous registrations.




and this is why I should be forced to drink a cup of coffee before I get online. lol


----------



## purplequeenvt (May 11, 2020)

You're right, I did mean Ezri. Like I said, I was making myself dizzy.



Fernie said:


> Primrose is a yellowish brown now. So I would call her (based on what the colors are described on the NASSA site) Mioget now fawn. She has gone very pale. She also is a pain to get a picture of as she will stare at you and as soon as you go to click she turns away or puts her head down.



I would guess, and it's just a guess since I haven't seen her in person, that she's not actually mioget. She's probably a fawn that's been washed out by the gray gene.

I have a few sheep like that. My Shetland's tend to be very photogenic, but there's always that one sheep that, as soon as you point the camera in their general direction, is hiding behind the other sheep. And it's always the one that you absolutely need a picture of.



Fernie said:


> Iris is an interesting one. She has lightened an incredible amount. She is facing the camera in this picture. Violet is the one facing away.



That is what is so cool about Shetland genetics. Two sheep can have the same basic color make up and turn out completely different. The amount of fading that Iris has already is what makes me wonder if she carries double graying, but there's not a good way to know for certain.



Fernie said:


> From what I have been told, Heather was as dark as Yin is when she was a lamb and she lightened up to what she is now. Which makes me think Emset would be the correct color for Heather. I also think she may be Krunet. She has the "sugar lips" but for some reason, it doesn't show up on the side shots. Here is another angle.



Yup, I can see the sugar lips now! That's a tell tale sign of the gray gene. She wouldn't be Krunet unless she has a white patch on her head. I'm only seeing gray floof on top, not a spot. 

The problem with all of these color names is that there isn't a clear definition of what each color actually is. Like is Emsket just a shade of gray or is it controlled by a specific modifying gene. That's why I generally stick to the basics of black, moorit, gray, and musket when registering. A solid fawn colored sheep supposedly is a moorit sheep with a modifying gene that changes the body color, but nobody seems to really understand or is able to track those genes well. Of course that is part of the frustration with registration papers because so many people have thrown around the colors without really understanding the genetics behind them so you never really know what modifying genes you might have lurking in the background.



Fernie said:


> Now to look for a new ram for the girls my husband plans to keep. The plan is to sell one lamb from each of the twins and keep the other one. Yang will be wethered if we do not find a new herd for him. He is sweet and funny.



I will have my guy available if you are interested. He'll be old enough to wean on the 18th, but I normally leave the Shetlands on their moms longer than 8 weeks. He's solid moorit, no gray so he should stay dark. His horns are looking good so far (his dad had one of the nicest sets of horns I've ever seen). His fleece is looking like it is going to be an intermediate type fleece. Not a ton of crimp, but should be soft.


----------



## Senile_Texas_Aggie (May 12, 2020)

purplequeenvt said:


> sugar lips



Huh?


----------



## purplequeenvt (May 12, 2020)

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Huh?



Sugar lips = gray/silver hair on the sheep’s face. It can look like a dusting of sugar around the mouth.


----------



## KellyK (May 12, 2020)

purplequeenvt said:


> I will have my guy available if you are interested. He'll be old enough to wean on the 18th, but I normally leave the Shetlands on their moms longer than 8 weeks. He's solid moorit, no gray so he should stay dark. His horns are looking good so far (his dad had one of the nicest sets of horns I've ever seen). His fleece is looking like it is going to be an intermediate type fleece. Not a ton of crimp, but should be soft.




I forwarded the picture to my husband. He has the final say on the next ram.  We are delaying registering any of ours until we are sure of who we are keeping and who we are selling.


----------



## KellyK (Mar 24, 2021)

Been a while since I have been here. Still looking for a registered ram for two of my girls as we found out the one's grandsire is the ram's sire. 
Currently, we are raising a variety of critters

Registered Shetland Sheep
Pedigreed American Rabbits (Blue)
Faverolles
Ancona Ducks
Pilgrim Geese
Royal Palm Turkeys
I have an incubator full of eggs due to hatch over the next several weeks. May have to add guineas and quail to the mix at some point.


----------



## purplequeenvt (Mar 24, 2021)

I have a fawn gulmoget/katmoget ram lamb that will be available this year. He’s going to have a finer fleece and may be polled/scurred. Really pretty little guy.


----------



## KellyK (Mar 24, 2021)

We lost Yang and Ruby this past fall. We have sold all the ewe lambs but Primrose. She will be staying with our flock. Primrose and Heather are looking for a new Ram. We may also be looking for unrelated ewes in the next few months as well. We will see


----------



## KellyK (Mar 24, 2021)

purplequeenvt said:


> I have a fawn gulmoget/katmoget ram lamb that will be available this year. He’s going to have a finer fleece and may be polled/scurred. Really pretty little guy.


Not sure what direction we will be going with the herd. We have to be sure that they are not closely related as that is the current problem we ran into with our ram's sire being the grandsire of one of the ewes


----------



## KellyK (Apr 1, 2021)

The first two lambs arrived this week. March 29, 2021

The girl is mostly white with a black spot on one leg








The boy is looking to be an interesting one. His legs are dark-colored, his body white and he has face markings. 






Not going to name the colors/markings just yet. I will be taking a ton of photos over the next several weeks to document the colors, markings and changes.

Waiting on two more ewes to lamb.


----------



## purplequeenvt (Apr 1, 2021)

I actually like to determine the lambs’ colors/patterns at birth vs a few weeks or months old. In my opinion, what is important is the genetic color/pattern instead of the visual one. Birth is sometimes the only time that you can actually see what you’ve got.

White, Gray, Solid, Katmoget, and Gulmoget are your pattern genes. Each sheep has 2.

White is dominant and covers up everything. 

Black and Moorit are your color genes. Every Shetland is either genetically black or moorit, how that color presents is determined by patterns and other modifying genes. Moorit is recessive to Black.

Spots/spotting have their own set of genes.

There was a time when Shetland breeders didn’t care so much about the genetics of the colors and just named them based on their fleece. I had a ewe registered as “white” who was in fact, a mioget (modified Moorit, the sheep ends up a honey color).

I can’t make a guess on your lambs genetics without pictures of mom and dad.

My 3 Shetland lambs will be registered as follows:
*Fiona* - gray katmoget/gulmoget. She got the gulmoget from her dad, katmoget from her mom. The “gray” is not because she has the gray pattern, but because the katmoget pattern turns her black body wool gray.

*Farr* - Musket. Musket is literally just a Moorit Solid/Gray patterned animal. She got the Solid from mom (I know her mom is Katmoget/Solid based on what she’s thrown crossed with other rams) and the Gray from dad. Her wool is already an oatmealy gray color. Her face and legs will stay brown, but her face will probably get a lot more gray as she ages. 

*Oban* - fawn katmoget/gulmoget. He’s fawn because he’s Moorit with that katmoget pattern.

This website was extremely helpful to me when I first got my Shetlands. https://www.shaltzfarm.com/shetcolgen.html


----------



## KellyK (Apr 2, 2021)

purplequeenvt said:


> I actually like to determine the lambs’ colors/patterns at birth vs a few weeks or months old. In my opinion, what is important is the genetic color/pattern instead of the visual one. Birth is sometimes the only time that you can actually see what you’ve got.
> 
> White, Gray, Solid, Katmoget, and Gulmoget are your pattern genes. Each sheep has 2.
> 
> ...


Wrangler is "White" but he has dark spots we discovered last year when he shaved him. Mom is Grey. I take pictures every few days of the lambs. At about 2 months it is weekly until they are 4 months old. At that point, the pictures are every other week and at 6 months they get a monthly picture. 

I look to go back to what the colors and markings mean. I had one registered Grey Katmoget that was visually fawn katomoget. Being I have Spotting and greying genes in my herd the colors most definitely do change from birth to about 6 months old


----------



## Baymule (Apr 2, 2021)

What fun, figuring out what colors you have! My hair sheep don't change colors as they grow up.


----------



## KellyK (Apr 2, 2021)

Baymule said:


> What fun, figuring out what colors you have! My hair sheep don't change colors as they grow up.


I had one that was almost jet black for the first 4 months of her life she is now so light grey she is almost white,


----------



## KellyK (Apr 3, 2021)

Ezri lambed this afternoon.  I knew she was close. She of course waited until I was in town to have them. She had ram and ewe twins.


----------



## KellyK (May 8, 2021)

This year we have three ram and three ewe lambs. We have not named them as of yet. Nothing so far seems to fit any of them. Once named I will be registering them,


First the ram lambs:






This is our first born ram lamb this year. He is brown based. Still trying to nail down his color and markings. 






This was the second born ram lamb. He has so much personality. We watch him play with the other lambs and he is by far the best jumper. 






This is the last one born this year. He seems to be a pale fawn color.


----------



## Baymule (May 8, 2021)

The picture in the middle, if he was a dog, I’d call his color blue merle. Whatever color you call it, he sure is pretty!


----------



## KellyK (May 9, 2021)

Baymule said:


> The picture in the middle, if he was a dog, I’d call his color blue merle. Whatever color you call it, he sure is pretty!


He is the kids favorite this year.


----------

