August 6, 2021
Oh me of little faith! We picked up our “Connecticut Blankets” on Sunday, the ones that I thought would never get woven. It took 18 months for something that usually only takes 6 – but like everything else, if you just add a year for COVID, then it's all pretty much on schedule.
We ear tagged all the new lambs this week. I don't like doing it, but the lambs don't seem to mind. The tag gets punched through their ear not unlike humans getting an ear pierced. It's a federal law that all sheep in this country have to be ear tagged, so if a sheep ever tests positive for Scrapie (a form of mad cow disease), the health authorities (USDA) can trace the animal back to the farm it was born on. In addition to the Scrapie requirements, we use a different colored tag for each year, and that helps identify the animal and it's age from a distance. We also keep a data base which tracks the health, age, fiber output and quality, and the lineage of each animal, which all would be impossible without the ear tags. So as much as I dislike the process of tagging them, it's extremely handy to be able to keep track of each individual animal.
We also welcomed a new ram to the flock this week, and with him, a totally fresh, unrelated, blood line. We have been successful the last few years using our own “replacement rams” (rams born from our own ewes). It has worked well for accentuating the good traits we already have in our flock, but there is always concern that the gene pool will get stagnant. From the best I can tell, when you use rams from your own flock, you call it “Line Breeding” when it works and “In Breeding” when it doesn't. The benefit of using our own rams and having a “closed flock” is once we open the doors to a new animal - if the farm it comes from ever tests positive for scrapie our entire flock would be confiscated and destroyed, regardless of whether any of our animals actually contracted the disease. The new ram “Cinnamon”, appears very healthy, has a beautiful fleece, both structurally and in color, and he is a good sized, lively guy. His horns aren't ideal but we can try to breed that out of his offspring, using once again, the magic of “Line Breeding”.
In an attempt to break our own world record for “The Most People Knitting in the Company of Sheep” for a third year in a row, we are making plans for the big day. No-one else competes with us so it's pretty certain we will win (again).
Since we are getting so adept at setting world records, I'm thinking next year maybe we will go for “The Most People Picnicking with Pigs”, but then again it sounds more like a lawsuit waiting to happen, than a world record in the making. Perhaps we'll just stick with knitting with sheep...
Join us!
September 19, 2021 from 12-2
Advanced registration required
Tickets to benefit Hill-Stead Museum
3rd Annual Knitting in the Company of Sheep | Hill-Stead Museum (hillstead.org)