Kimberwood Farm

More Ewe Lambs!

noreply@blogger.com (Kim Nikolai) — Sat, 02 May 2009 16:52:00 +0000

Fletcher Jolie and her moorit and black ewe lambs
sired by Kimberwood ChanceKimberwood Grace
moorit ewe lamb
Fletcher Jolie X Kimberwood Chance

Kimberwood Violet
black ewe lamb
Fletcher Jolie X Kimberwood Chance

Fletcher Jolie delivered twin ewe lambs late last night, one moorit and the other black. For now they both look like they may not be Ag.

Current Lamb Statistics: 10 ewe lambs and 4 ram lambs!

Mystri delivers a ram lamb....

noreply@blogger.com (Kim Nikolai) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:34:00 +0000

Kimberwood Spirit
Grey or Musket Katmoget (Ag) Ram Lamb
Kimberwood Mystri X Kimberwood Chance

This little guy was here to greet me this morning on my first ewe check of the day. Mystri is a first time mom, delivered him and took care of him all without a problem. I've ended up with bottle lambs before because a first time mom didn't know to take care of her lamb. I'm not sure yet if he is brown based or black based. He almost looks a musket rather than a grey katmoget in the daylight.

This little guy is #12 for us so that makes it 8 ewe lambs to 4 ram lambs.

Walnut Rise Virginia's Lamb

noreply@blogger.com (Kim Nikolai) — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 22:36:00 +0000

Kimberwood Victoria (NFS)
Musket Ewe Lamb
Walnut Rise Virginia X Kimberwood Chance

This little doll was born this morning to Virginia. At least I'm pretty sure Virginia is her mom! Once again I'll have to confirm this with Maureen... ;-)

As of this morning, we've had 7 ewes lamb so far out of about 25 or so that were bred. The girls are ahead 8 to 3!

Twins from BluffCountry Glitter!

noreply@blogger.com (Kim Nikolai) — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 22:28:00 +0000

Well last night Glitter finally lambed. Boy was she huge! She gave us twin Shetland Mules, both ewes! One of them is much larger than the other and the other is not a small lamb!

You can tell the size difference here:
Here is the smaller of the two:
And, here is the moose!
Both are Ag grey and rather striking I think! I did help Glitter a bit with this one. Thankfully she delivered the smaller one first.

V Creek Rosebud's Ewe Lamb

noreply@blogger.com (Kim Nikolai) — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 22:20:00 +0000

Kimberwood Daisy
Black Ewe Lamb
V Creek Rosebud X Kimberwood Chance

This ewe actually lambed last Saturday but it took me awhile to figure out who she is! I believe she is V Creek Rosebud. You see I purchased 4 black ewes from Maureen Koch last year and have had a hard time telling some of them apart. Their tags do not match what is on their papers and I haven't yet found the health certificate that came with them (it had their correct tag numbers on it). Next time I talk to Maureen I'm hoping to confirm it!

Twins from Karina!

noreply@blogger.com (Kim Nikolai) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:57:00 +0000

After 2 days with out new lambs, Karina delivered this set of twins today:

Kimberwood Charles

Musket ram lamb

Bramble Karina X Kimberwood Chance

Kimberwood Katrina (NFS)

Moorit or Musket ewe lamb
Bramble Karina X Kimberwood Chance

Kimberwood Lili Has Twins!

noreply@blogger.com (Kim Nikolai) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 13:02:00 +0000

This morning we woke to find Kimberwood Lili with twins. Lili is one of the ewes who rejected her lamb last year (Halle). She was a first time mom when she lambed during a snow storm, closed inside the barn with all the expecting ewes. She refused to let Halle nurse and we ended up keeping her in the house for a couple days in diapers.

This year I'm happy to to report that even though she isn't yet comfortable with them nursing she is letting them nurse!

Kimberwood Lenice (NFS)
musket ewe lamb sired by Kimberwood Chance

Kimberwood Christopher
grey ram lamb
Could he be flecket or is this just Ag??
He does unfortunately have small horn buds possibly scurred.

Here's another pic of him:

Kimberwood Saucy

noreply@blogger.com (Kim Nikolai) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 19:15:00 +0000

Kimberwood Saucy

We left for an hour or so to run errands this morning and came back to find this little girl shortly after her birth. Her dam is Sheltrgpines Siomha and her sire is Kimberwood Chance. I know the pic above is blurry but it shows the white on her body so I'm thinking possibly spotted. It would be nice to know if Chance happens to carry spots! It also looks like she is a fawn katmoget. Dad is musket so we'll have to watch to see if this little one could also be Ag. Mom still looks like she may be carrying a twin.......

First Crossbred Lambs!

noreply@blogger.com (Kim Nikolai) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 14:38:00 +0000

Cheviot ewe (31/32 Cheviot, that is why she is black) with her new lambs.

Cheviot Mule ewe lamb. (NFS)

Cheviot Mule ram lamb.

Yearling Cheviot Mule
This is what the cross looks like when mature.
This is one of the stinkers who got bred through the fenceline, probably by a Shetland ram.

Too Much

noreply@blogger.com (Kim Nikolai) — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 15:58:00 +0000

Sometimes life can get too complicated. Between an aging mother, our quest to move, expecting our first grand child, training our dogs and raising sheep this blog has been neglected. With lambing about to begin, it's time to get it updated.

We have the barn clean, the jugs set up, the sheep have been sheared, the camera is ready. All we need now are lambs! Saturday April 25th is our first due date and a few of the ewes look like they may not make it until then. We have 24 ewes intentionally bred, some more unexpectedly bred. With space limitations we had some ewes we didn't plan on breeding this year sharing fence lines with breeding pens. Seems a fence line didn't stop some of the girls from being bred. Fortunately most are cross bred ewe lambs but there are a couple of purebred shetland ewes who did get bred which means some DNA testing if they produce nice lambs. Unfortunately one of the ewes, Thistle shared the fence line with her son Chance.......time will tell!

Kind of Fun......

noreply@blogger.com (Kim Nikolai) — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 18:37:00 +0000

AARP 08 Video

I Can No Longer Endorse......

noreply@blogger.com (Kim Nikolai) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:20:00 +0000

Last year we built two feeders for our ewe flock using the plans on Premier's website and with panels purchased from Premier. Today we lost a ewe lamb in one of the feeders. I feel it is because of the size of the holes in Premier's panels. We have had one ewe lamb who notoriously has been caught in the panel, she is not the one who died. We have had to cut the panels to release her several times. This time it was a different ewe lamb and this time she died. I think if Premier were to change the size of the holes in their panels so that they are not perfectly square it might not be a problem or at least less of one. None of my crossbred lambs have ever been caught in the panels. It has only been my Shetlands. Maybe the Shetlands are too smart for their own good?

My Reason(s) for Missing MFF......

noreply@blogger.com (Kim Nikolai) — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 13:26:00 +0000

I had to miss the Michigan Fiber Festival this year. I'm a little bummed that I will miss seeing many of my friends that I only get to see each year because of the festival. But there was a reason for missing it this year. Emily had puppies on Thursday. Even though it isn't a completely happy event I have to admit that her puppies turned out adorable. You see, it was an accidental breeding. When I traveled to WY in June to see a friend and deliver some sheep to her I left Emily at home because she was coming into heat. I was also traveling with Rabb and because my friend Susan also had two intact male Border Collies at her house I thought it best.

Emily had 6 puppies in the litter, all males. The father of the litter is Kaiser, my son's Pit Bull. I've been worried about what to do with these puppies since we knew of their impending arrival. First immediately after the "accident" we looked into "morning after" shot(s) and learned that here in the US they had been taken off of the market. Then we considered aborting the litter but in order to do so we had to be certain she was pregnant. We did an ultrasound on her at 26 days and confirmed that she was indeed pregnant. But even before this when I got home from WY with Rabb, I allowed him to also breed her thinking if she had to go through a pregnancy maybe we could also get some pure bred pups in the litter. So when I got the results of the ultrasound I couldn't have the abortion done. We then talked about putting the pups down if they were crossbred. I knew I couldn't personally do this but my DH said he could. I thought differently because of the emotional bond between him and Emily. The ultimate decision is I can't allow it. So, I've contacted a friend of my daughter who has connections with someone involved with the Pit Bull Rescue organization. She is going to help us we hope in finding quality homes with people who can responsibly raise these puppies.

BTW, we do have hope that these puppies will inherit the excellent temperaments of their parents. Emily has a calmer personality which is different in my opinion of the majority of the Border Collies that I've come across. And even though I haven't met many Pit Bulls I've lived with Kaiser for the past 2 years and I know for certain that he isn't aggressive towards people. That doesn't mean he wouldn't be if someone were to become aggressive toward us though. He has fit into our family quite well and we are all very comfortable with him being part of our family. I only wish my son would allow us to have him neutered........

Three Handsome Rams

noreply@blogger.com (Kim Nikolai) — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 00:16:00 +0000

These handsome guys are available as your next flock sire! I'm getting out of horned shetlands and will be concentrating on producing polled shetlands from now on. All three are spotted and modified. Which will you choose?

Update: Banning is sold!

P.S. There is a fourth one hidden in there but he isn't spotted and isn't interested at this time in becoming your next flock sire. ;-)

Kimberwood Abbie ~ For Sale

noreply@blogger.com (Kim Nikolai) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 18:25:00 +0000

This beautiful moorit yearling ewe is sired by North Wind James (F1 Jamie) and out of Locksfield Brigid. She was not exposed to a ram last fall so she did not lamb this spring. Both parents are modified and I believe Abbie is actually fawn. Abbie is for sale for $300.

Nut Goodie

noreply@blogger.com (Kim Nikolai) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 18:31:00 +0000

Born May 31st, 2008 to Kimberwood Snickers (Justalit'l Kit Kat X Li'lCountry Rugger) and Kimberwood Harrison (Sheltrgpines Tullia X Sheltrgpines Charlemagne AI):

Kimberwood Nut Goodie
katmoget/gulmoget ram lamb

Goodie has some deep depressions where he would normally have horn spots. I'm hopeful that he may be fully polled. I'm still trying to decide if he is fawn or grey. He'll need to grow some to tell I think.

Handling System/ Lambs Update

noreply@blogger.com (Kim Nikolai) — Mon, 26 May 2008 01:44:00 +0000

Almost ready! We have just a bit of fencing to do to get the system up and running. It's located behind our barn in the ewe's paddock.
And for those who have been asking.....lambs!

One of our North Country Mule Ewes with her 3/4 BFL ewe lambs.

A NCC Mule ram lamb.

A Shetland Mule ewe lamb

You'd think after taking 40 pics I'd have more to share!

Oh My Aching Back....No More!

noreply@blogger.com (Kim Nikolai) — Wed, 14 May 2008 23:00:00 +0000

It may be a little difficult to see but this is our new handling system! All 1300+ pounds of it! Fortunately we have a very nice young man (Thanks a million Travis!) who lives next door to us who was kind enough to come over with a bobcat to unload this from the semi parked on the road in front of our house today (or I very well might have had an aching back!). I can't wait to unwrap this and get it all set up. The sheep have no idea what is in store for them.

Okay so I might still have one more aching back coming my way while we get it all set up......

The Girls Are In The Lead Again

noreply@blogger.com (Kim Nikolai) — Fri, 02 May 2008 02:32:00 +0000

Born today May 1st our second to the last lamb for 2008:

Kimberwood Alice
(named for her Grand Dam)
Moorit? or Musket? Yuglet ???
Out of BluffCountry Glitter and Kimberwood Gentry

I've never had one so white and not Awt! Mom is musket and dad is moorit.

Only one more ewe left to lamb and she isn't due until May 18th. This shepherd will hopefully get some rest by then!

The Boys Are Catching Up

noreply@blogger.com (Kim Nikolai) — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 12:33:00 +0000

Yesterday, Kit Kat gave birth to a big single black ewe lamb sired by Dougal. We are now at 30 lambs, 13 ram lambs and 17 ewe lambs.

A few statistics to date:
Out of 24 ewes exposed to rams, 22 have lambed with 1 left to go. (One looks like she is open)

We currently have 30 lambs on the ground.

Shetlands:
15 total, 8 ram lambs and 7 ewe lambs.

Polled (genetics): 2 ram lambs (1 moorit and 1 musket) and 1 ewe lamb(black). All sired by Lil'Country Light Foot.

Horned (genetics): 6 ram lambs (2 moorit spotted, 2 moorit and 2 black) and 6 ewe lambs (2 moorit, 1 black, 1 black HST, 1 fawn katmoget spotted and 1 moorit & white yuglet) All of these are sired by Gentry.

Crossbreds:
15 total, 5 ram lambs and 10 ewe lambs

NCC X BFL: 1 ewe lamb (black) and 1 ram lamb (white)

NCC Mule X BFL: (for 3/4 BFL lambs): 4 ewe lambs all white

Shetland X BFL: 5 ewe lambs (3 black, 2 white) and 4 ram lambs (3 black and 1 white)

Only 1 remaining ewe yet to lamb: Bred to a Shetland.

The only ewe not covered by our clean up ram Harrison looks to be open.

There will be a 2 week break until Snickers (fawn katmoget sired by polled ram) lambs. She is bred to Kimberwood Harrison (black gulmoget half polled ram).

Bliss Did it Again!

noreply@blogger.com (Kim Nikolai) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 19:48:00 +0000

Born today, April 25th to Windswept Bliss and sired by Kimberwood Gentry:

Kimberwood Maxx

Dark Moorit and White Ram Lamb

Does this mean he is a flecket?

More Crossbreds

noreply@blogger.com (Kim Nikolai) — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 03:52:00 +0000

Born today 4/18/08 to NCC Mule Y-245 and sired by Dougal:

White Crossbred Ewe Lamb (3/4 BFL)

White Crossbred Ewe Lamb w/black spot and black hind hooves.

The dam to these ewe lambs is a NCC Mule and her fleece is more like a BFL. She is a first time mom at age 2 and rivals the Shetlands in her mothering instincts. I was very impressed. The other NCC Mule we have has fleece more similar to a NCC and has not yet lambed. A BFL ram was used on these ewes the first time because we do not yet have a Terminal Sire. We are planning on purchasing a crossbred British Suffolk this year to use on them in the fall. We brought these ewes and two black NCC ewes into the flock to use in a 3-tier breeding program for market lambs and also to use in training our Border Collies to herd. We will begin their training this summer as soon as we get our round pen up.

Molly's Crossbred Lambs

noreply@blogger.com (Kim Nikolai) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 23:39:00 +0000

Born 4/16/08 to Molly and Dougal (BFL):

White Crossbred Ram Lamb (one of our bottle babies)

Black Shetland Mule Ewe Lamb

Spots at Kimberwood!

noreply@blogger.com (Kim Nikolai) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 12:15:00 +0000

Born April 17th to Sheltrgpines Siomha and Kimberwood Gentry:

Kimberwood Siobhan
(pronounced sho-vahn)
Katmoget Yuglet/Flecket Ewe Lamb!

I'm having a hard time with determining if she is fawn or grey. She has areas on her belly that are darker than on her body but it looks dark brown to me not black. When looking at her next to her mom they look very similar but Siomha's eye spots and ears look darker (more black). Anyone want to enlighten me?

Here is why I think Siobhan is katmoget: See how dark the color is here on the belly?

And here on each side of her tail.
The consensus is that she is a fawn katmoget.

Guess Who Has No Fear of the Pit Bull!

noreply@blogger.com (Kim Nikolai) — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 01:41:00 +0000

Halle and Kaiser

Kaiser is our son's dog and has become my "Grand dog" according to my son. Halle shows no fear at all of him but I still watch him closely when he is near her. I really don't think he would do anything to her but I won't take any chances he might. Here he is licking her. I sure hope it warms up soon, she needs to go back to the flock. I'm getting really tired of her dirty diapers! You all know how much Shetlands like to wag their tails! Imagine how happy she is to get out of her dirty diaper!