2005 LAMBS EXPECTED EARLY MARCH. EWE LIST AT END OF PAGE.
Reserve yours now! Fleeces available February 6.
Welcome to Triple L Finnsheep, where we have raised quality finns since 1982. This year we have lambs offered from 6 different sires. We will start lambing in early March, and expect a good assortment of both white and black lambs.
We are located on the desert side of Washington State, where the sun shines 300 days a year. Our sheep have been bred for increased size, productivity, fleece quality and milking ability. We had the second set of septuplets born in the US, and that ram, Apollo 7, passed that productivity on to his offspring. Our ewes are expected to bear and raise triplets, although many of them have quads and quints. Extra lambs are left on the moms, and supplemented with milk replacer if necessary. We have productivity records on all of our sheep back to 1982.
Our three new rams did well last year. The General is a sextuplet out of a very productive ewe line, sired by Sergeant. LongJohn is a white ram sired by Silver, who has one of the longest loins I've seen on a ram. And Romeo is a black ram sired by Bjorn who has absolutely the best fleece I've ever seen on a black finn. All produced great lambs last year. And Sergeant, Wilbut and Bjorn also did well, as always.
We maintain strict health standards for our flock. We have been disease-free for over 10 years. We have the flock checked for OPP and scrapies, and have never had a case of foot rot.
We have aggressively bred for fleece uniformity. Our finns have a nice soft fleece, without the 'hairy breeches' that can be associated with the breed. The crimp varies within the different ewe lines, from soft curls to tight crimp to totally straight without any crimp. We prefer the tight crimp with high luster, and are breeding to that goal. We raise white, black and gray finns. This year we have added the pied color pattern, and have a few lambs available with that coloring.
Our ewes are 130-175 pounds, and are selected for the ability to lamb out of season. Our oldest, and first ewe, FSW 2061, died at age 13 having lambed in spring and fall, then again in the spring, leaving us triplets to raise. She had 43 lambs in 13 years. Her great-grandaughter - 751 - is the mother of the sextuplets (24 lambs in 7 years), and her two great-great grandaughters had quads and triplets (3L 1-18) at 24 months of age. Her great-great grandson is The General. It is hard to beat the productivity of a great finn ewe line. Most of her bloodline have lifetime lambing percentages of over 300%.
Finn rams are easily handled - we have never had an agressive ram in all the years we've raised them. They weigh between 225 and 250 pounds. We have several different ram lines so that we can provide lambs of different bloodlines.
Come visit us if you are in the south eastern region of Washington. Our farm is always open with advance warning. We love showing off our sheep, and always have time for a cup of coffee. We do take reservations for our sheep prior to lambing, and should have some excellent fleeces available in February. These go fast, so reserve early! We have a limited number of lamb fleeces available, as well as fleeces from our flock.
Dan and Leanne Mason Hughes
Triple L Finnsheep
danlea23@msn.com - the best way to reach us. Please put something in the heading of the letter regarding 'finns wanted' so I see it!
CURRENT SIRES
Here is a list of our current sheep sires. They all add something to our flock.
THE GENERAL: a sextuplet ram out of my most productive ram line, this ram has it all - great fleece, nice size, and productivity. He is sired by Sergeant. His lambs were great last year.
SERGEANT: This ram is out of our white line bred rams going back to Apollo 7 and Sir Tenderloin bloodlines. A triplet white ram out of a 10 year old Magee ram daughter, sired by Ranger, this ram has a long back, good size, and a crimped fleece of good length. His offspring are tall and long with outstanding fleece quality and very large bone structure. His half-sister on his dam's side just had her second set of quads at age 24 months.
BJORN: a quad black ram from Misty Meadows farm, he is the tallest ram in my flock. His lambs have fleeces with high luster and tight crimp, and excellent bone size.
ROMEO: a quint black ram, sired by Bjorn with one of the best black fleeces ever. His lambs all had this fleece, which had great luster, good crimp, and was very long and soft. He comes from a long line of my best fleeced ewes.
LONGJOHN: a triplet white ram, sired by Silver out of a two year old ewe who has had 6 lambs in 2 years. This ram has a long back and loin, and comes from a great ewe line. He throws his long loin.
WILBUR: a triplet black ram with another great fleece. He is shorter and more muscular than my other blacks, and you can see this in his lambs. He is passing his fleece and muscle on to his lambs.
CURRENT EWES
Ewes are listed by age. Lifetime lambing is listed as a %, with the actual number of lambs/years listed in parenthesis.
3L 751: a white triplet 8 year old ewe who is one of the best in my flock. She has a 342% lifetime (3-2-3-4-5-6-1). Her lambs are great - tall, prolific, nice fleece, and good mothers with lots of milking capacity. She throws black when bred to a black ram. I expect she will be back to her normal large litter sizes this year. She is bred to Sergeant for 2005 - a proven combination!
Witt 3-97: A Black twin out of Misty Mountain Farms in Virginia, this 8 year old ewe has a 300% lifetime (3-2-4) from the time I bought her in 2002. She throws large lambs with lots of size. Her daughters produce well, and are amoung the tops in milk production in my flock. She is bred to Bjorn - a cross that has produced great lambs in the past.
3L 870: A black 6 year old daughter of 3-97 and Bjorn, this ewe has a 400% lifetime (4-5-3) for the 3 years since I've owned her. She produces so much milk that I generally have to milk her until the lambs get big enough to drink it all! The top milker in my flock, she throws nice lambs with great fleeces. Bred to Wilbur for 2005 - this should produce outstanding fleeces! I also have a black yearling ram from last year sired by Silver out of this ewe. He is a beautiful animal with a perfect fleece. I am selling him for $250.
Stillmeadow 385: A triplet white ewe out of Stillmeadow Farms in New York, this 4 year old ewe throws nice lambs with a lot of crimp. Bred to LongJohn for 2005
3L 1-09: a triplet white 4 year old ewe, she is probably the best fleece animal in my flock. She comes from one of my largest lines of ewes. She has a 300% lifetime (3-2-4), and should just keep getting better. She is bred to The General - a cross that was great last year!
3L 1-15: A 4 year old black/pied ewe, out of a silver gray dam, this little ewe has a salt and pepper fleece with a few white spots on it. She has a 233% lifetime (2-2-3), and is bred to Wilbur, who has been known to throw a pied gene.
3L 1-16: a black single ewe who is probably the biggest in my flock, with one of the best fleeces. She is bred to Bjorn, a cross which was excellent last year.
3L 1-18: A white quad 4 year out of 751 and a black ram, this ewe has a solid 300% lifetime (3-3-3). She is the dam of Long John, and produces excellent lambs. She is tall, with an excellent fleece. She is bred to Romeo this year to see if I can improve on the black fleece.
3L 1-26: a 4 year old black triplet ewe, who is the 1/2 sister on the dam's side of Sergeant. This little lady had quads her first two years of life, taking it easy with twins last year for a 333% lifetime. Nice black fleece with lots of crimp. She is bred to Romeo this year to encourage the black fleece.
Stillmeadow 524: A large white ewe out of Stillmeadow Farms in New York, this little lady has a nice long fleece with excellent crimp. She is bred to Bjorn this year for large lambs.
3L 2-18: A quad 3 year old black ewe out of 422, a ewe who had 30 lambs in 9 years, this ewe is bred to Romeo for 2005.
3L 2-52: A 3 year old black quad out of 870 and Bjorn, this ewe has a 300% lifetime (2-4) and is following in her dam's footsteps for production. She is bred to The General for 2005.
3L 2-53: A 3 year old black daughter out of 3-97 and Bjorn, this ewe has a 250% lifetime (2-4) which will only get higher as she gets older. A very nice ewe, she is bred to Wilbur.
Stillmeadow 02768: A quad 3 year old white ewe out of Stillmeadow Farms in New York, this ewe has a 350% lifetime (3-4). She throws beautiful lambs - tall, with a perfect fleece. Throw in good milking ability, and you have one of my best ewes. She comes from a strong line of producers, and is bred to The General for unbeatable lambs this year.
Stillmeadow 02769: A quad pied 3 year old ewe out of Stillmeadow Farms in New York, this ewe has a 250% lifetime (2-3). She throws nice stocky lambs with great fleeces. I look for her to produce well this year. She is bred to Romeo.
3L 330: A black 2 year old sired by Wilbur, this little lady had twins in her first lambing. She has a perfect black fleece. She is bred back to Wilbur this year (no, I'm not certain how that happened), but the lambs should have excellent black fleeces.
3L 338: A white sextuplet litter mate of The General's, this 2 year old had a nice little set of twins in 2004. Her lambs should be some of the best on the farm. She is bred to Romeo - a cross that produced beautiful lambs last year.
3L 408: A black yearling twin out of 1-16 and Bjorn, this is going to be a large ewe. She is bred to Sergeant.
3L 413: A quad white yearling out of 02768 and sired by Long John, she a tall lamb with a great fleece. She is bred to Sergeant.
3L 418: A triplet white yearling out of 02769 and Silver, she is bred to Sergeant for 2005.
3L 430: A quad black yearling out of 2-52 and Sergeant, this is a nice little ewe with a long black fleece. She is bred to Long John for 2005.
3L 431: A quad white yearling out of 1-09 and Sergeant, this is a gorgeous ewe with the great fleece I expect from her dam. She is bred back to Sergeant, which should produce a very tall lamb with lots of milk.
3L 437: A single black yearling out of 2-18 and Wilbur who is bred to Sergeant for 2005.
We are taking reservations for lambs out of specific ewes starting now. When the ewe lambs, I will notify you of what she had, and will then hold the lamb of your choice with a $50 non-refundable deposit. This makes certain you get the lamb you want, and assures that I don't hold a lamb for someone who is not going to buy it.
We are excited about this year's lambs - every year it is Christmas in the spring as each ewe lambs. If I can help you with any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Links to other sites on the Web
FINNSHEEP BREEDERS ASSOCIATION
TRIPLE L FINNSHEEP PICTURES
TRIPLE L FINNSHEEP
© 2000 danlea23@msn.com