Myrtle - Rich

This old girl is Lofty Pines Molly (we call her Myrtle) (S11881, 3/01). Lofty Pines? Myrtle was a ewe from our original flock in 2001. Although she is only seven, she has always been the old woman of our flock. She definitely recognizes that she has seniority out there, and expects to be fed separately from the rest of the ewes. She has a nice, medium-colored grey fleece that spins up nicely. Myrtle also had the best conformation of our starter flock, which is why she’s still here. She didn’t have lambs her first two years with us, which made me think she was infertile. I even called her infertile Myrtle. I tried to sell her cheap back in 2004, because I thought she couldn’t have lambs. Then in the spring of 2004, lo and behold, out popped a nice black ram. Then in 2005, she had a nice ewe, then a nice ram again in 2006. Do you see a pattern here? All singles! But each lamb was very nice! More importantly, the rams all had very nice horns! So, we kept her and last year she had two very nice grey lambs! Her first twins! And, sure enough, the ram had exquisite horns! She is bred to Cihat this year because he has one of the nicest conformation you’ll ever see in a Shetland! Plus she carries spots (which I didn’t know until last year). She may not have spots this year, but the lambs should be quite nice. Myrtle is also a heavy milker, so her lambs sometimes go through a bout with yellow poop, but (knock on wood), we’ve always managed to make it go away quickly. Last year wasn’t so bad, but I think it’s because she finally had two lambs to share the milk. She produces enough milk for three lambs, to be honest.