Mighty Merinos

Well I did it again. I found more sheep that I couldn't resist to bring home. Two beautiful Merinos from Mendenhall Wool Ranch! One is a quarter Dohne ewe, and the other is an older merino out of more standard merino type lines. I don't know exactly "who" she is other than her number, and according to Mrs. Mendenhall's web page, she is Madeline, and she shore an 18 micron fleece in 2010... so that is pretty exciting. She is supposed to be bred to the ram "Montana" and is due around January 22. The little Dohne yearling is due around January 18, and is bred to this years Supreme Champion... so needless to say I am pretty excited and keeping my fingers crossed for lots of  ewelambs!

  Now, for those of you that don't know what Dohne Merinos are, you are in for a treat! The Dohne Merino is a strain of merino derived out of Peppin Merinos, and SAMMs (South African Meat Merino), and selected through a rigorous grading system. They where developed by the South African government, in a successful attempt to create a hardier more profitable merino. They are generally in the 18-21 micron range, are cleaner faced, planer bodied, more muscular, and also more prolific than a regular merino, not to mention they are POLLED! In my own very non professional terms, I think that they are officially pretty cute, and sound about like what I am looking for in a good ewe. From a shearers standpoint they look even better... short clean legs, clean faces, and good shearing hides! Eh! They just made top of my list for ideal sheep to have. That little yearling was the best shearing sheep I came across while I sheared the prestigious Mendenhall Merino flock, and I'm very grateful that she was able to let her go so she could come work in my program. 

Here are some photos of the flock so far. It has grown quite a bit since I started the blog, but by acquisition, so as you can imagine I am so excited to get to see it grow solely by replication this spring! I can't hardly wait to see what I get between  merino genetics and my little rambouillets! Their tight flocking instinct, curiouse and docile nature, and short legged compact bodies, make them somewhat of a favorite for me, so if I can get all of that plus next step up fleeces I will be quite the happy camper!



Number 74 or 2 is probably my favorite pest! She has a nice fleece for a commercial rambouillet, and a winning easy going temperament... She made herself somewhat of a pet, so she better make it easy on me and have nice lambs this spring!




This is 74's wool up in front of her shoulder. Its not to much different midside, although it does open up slightly going towards the britch.



Here is an over the top of  the biggest pest Mack, and his partner in crime 74. Its interesting to note how different their fleeces appear. Being pure Merino, Mack's fleece is much denser, so much so that he never did get wet to the skin in the last rain. He also is lacking in any yellow color to his grease, and shears a beautiful pure white fleece, that combs nicely.

Mack, and one of his newest friends "Madeline" or 7022. She is a nice older ewe with a very fine, bright, dense fleece, and a set of good teeth in her head. Being here in our dry climate has already worked wonders for her poor feet. I'm glad that she has come to join  my flock, and look forward to seeing what she will give me in January! 



I tried to get a picture of the quarter Dohne yearling, aka. 11, but she is a bit camera shy. She is a lovely solid little ewe with just the right length of leg to fit in with my bunch. Hopefully by next fall we will be able to either have her AI'd with pure Dohne semen, or be having Dohne embryos from Australia transferred into her and all the younger ewes, for an automatic grade up to the real deal.




Rear view of number 11. If I could change anything, and in this order, it would be: a more bare breech, and about 2in. more depth on that leg. Either way, I really enjoy her the way she is, and still think that she was a wise addition to the Four Points Flock! Oh, yeah, and look... not a breech wrinkle to be found!