Thursday, March 29, 2007

Good Girl, Bessie!

Well, March is going out like a lamb - Three lambs, in fact!

Bitterroot Bessie, who we bought from Juliann Budde of Little Country, and shipped out here after being exposed to Sheltering Pines Octavian, blessed us with triplets this afternoon. Work on the Ovine Hilton was immediately suspended while we jugged them, iodined navels, weighed, photographed, and generally watched in awe. Here are photos - enjoy!


First is the grey katmoget marked ewe. We think she was born first, weighing just a hair under 5 lb. She is pretty dark and has a lot of phaeomelanin showing.

This one is a dark moorit gulmoget ewe. At first I thought she was black, but her head looks dark brown in the daylight. She weighed in at 5 1/4 lb.

Above is the moorit gulmoget ram lamb. I was hoping for a gulmoget ram from this breeding - now here he is! As far as I know, these are the first gulmoget Shetlands in the Northwest. Anyone else know of any? He weighed about 6 lb.

And here's the family. They're going to keep Bessie very busy. Good girl, Bessie!

4 comments:

Kim Nikolai said...

Jackpot! Congratulations Franna!

Michelle said...

WOW! I would say how jealous I am but since jealousy is a sin I will just sit here and wonder how some people get blessed beyond belief! I LOVE the look of gulmogets (and kats for that matter), and have drooled over Stephen Rouse's photos many times. And you got one of EACH!

I put in my order to Valentine long ago; I want two dark solid lambs, one ewe and one ram. And she doesn't look the least bit pregnant. Hmm, I wonder what you would charge for stud service? I could wait until he's done at your place, then haul him down here for my girls!

Juliann said...

Way to go, Franna & Bessie!
Franna, I can't tell you how happy I am for you! And triplets no less!
Congratulations on these gems!

Franna said...

Thanks, all. Bessie continues to be a great mom, feeding all three as well as our twin moms. I have to admit to supplementing them. They need to keep their girlish figures for enticing rams this fall. ;-)
-Franna