There are always interesting points of view to be found on various blogs and the Shetland groups on Yahoo. I have learned from, laughed with, cried over and cringed at what other Shetland breeders do and go through. There are no "shepherd police" (just as there are no spinning or knitting police, thankfully), so I am free to bumble along here at Boulderneigh in the way that seems best to me given my limitations of space, funds and DH cooperation.
Recent threads have me musing about genetics and breed improvement and prepotency. Some breeders say you need to keep your lambs, because they should be an improvement on their parents. I may do this in the future; in fact, I may HAVE to to lock in the poll gene in my flock. But I don't agree that each generation is necessarily better, or should be. What if someone chose the very best specimens alive for their foundation flock? How can you improve on the very best? Hopefully your lambs are just as good as their parents, but how can they always be better? Genetics is not that exact a science, IMHO.
And how long does it take to KNOW if the offspring are indeed better? One year, to verify horn growth (where applicable) and teeth? Two or three years, to see mature fleece development, mothering ability and ram personality? Ideally, I think that is what a good breeder should do: keep all their sheep several years to prove their good traits or reveal their less desirable traits before parting with them. But the vast majority of sheep shows discourage that by only holding classes for lambs and yearlings. And buyers want those cute little lambs....
A catch-phrase in the horse breeding world has always amused me: people advertise stallions as being "an own son of (name of famous stallion)". First of all, what other kind of son is there? An adopted son? Secondly, I've always thought that if I were to choose a stallion, it would be the proven performance horse (I don't believe in halter horses) - Smart Little Lena or Weltmeyer (or Man'O'War or Figure) not an "own son." After all, the son may not be as good as his sire, or inherit the prepotency of his sire to pass on his best qualities.
I tend to feel the same way about sheep. The sons and daughters may be good, but they may not be better than their parents. And I'd rather use rams and ewes who have proven their genetics through their own quality and that of their offspring than to take a gamble on an unproven youngster - if I have to make a choice. With my limited space, I DO have to make that choice. Other breeders with far more space and resources can keep both the older generations AND the younger generations until all is known, THEN make decisions about who to move on and who to keep in their breeding flock.
All these threads on other blogs and lists do help me look at my little flock more critically. As I do, I see good things and not-so-good things - and changing things! Wool on the poll that comes and goes; a lamb with a bad "bite" that has grown into a yearling with an excellent bite. Ready for some "show and tell"? This week I took "rear end" pictures of my current ewes. (Next month when Inky arrives, I will add a photo of her.) What do you see?
I see nice, straight legs and four slightly different tails. None of the girls' tails are textbook perfect, but Braveheart's is, and he appears to have improved the tails on all his offspring. From the side, one of my girls is a bit down in the back pasterns and another has perhaps too much angle in her hind legs. Do I keep their daughters and sell the ewes? Or do I sell their better daughters to others, and keep breeding better lambs from the adults who I know can produce them?
That's all the rambling for now from . . .
I can't share a photo of this recipe because I don't have ripe tomatoes in my garden yet (can you believe some of the grocery store prices for tomatoes???), but this salad always gets gobbled up at home and at potlucks. As a bonus, the leftover dressing (and you WILL have leftover dressing!) is great on tossed salad, too.
Blizz's fleece is practically making me drool. It's very soft, has beautiful variations of color, and is developing lovely crimp. He's still for sale, but can stay here and produce wonderful fiber for as long as it takes to find a good home for him!
