Ewe-A-Day - Whispering Pines Jane Eyre

As the saying goes, always save the best for last. This isn't the twelve days of Christmas, but this is the 12th keeper ewe lamb from 2015.

I said that most lambs don’t really stand out at birth, but every now and then, one does. Unfortunately for us, we usually have five or six ram lambs every year that meet that description, but not as many ewe lambs. Harriet was one ewe lamb that really stood out this year, but so did Jane Eyre. We don't get many lambs this nice, but it makes it all worth while when we do.

Jane is out of Canterbury and Florence. Florence is a Pompey daughter. When you have a lamb like this, you often wonder where it came from. Sure, the bloodlines are very impressive, but that’s true of all our sheep.

 

A lot of our lambs at birth look like they have fantastic fleeces. But you don’t know until September or so, which ones are winners. Jane had the look, that’s about all I can say. There was never any question she would be the top lamb from this year, and she is. But that would’ve been true regardless of her fleece stats.

Her fleece stats are: 17.9/4/22.2/6.5/17.6.

That’s even finer than her dad. I suppose there is a limit to how fine a Shetland can or should be, but this might very well be the finest sheep that we ever produce. I have no idea what to expect with this one, but if my nutrition theory holds up, I would expect her spring numbers to be very similar. She is pretty refined like her father, but she did grow very well this summer and has excellent body condition. Jane reminds me of her father a great deal, so we’re hoping her fleece develops like his as well.

Lamb picture: