As the Fall Season rolls in and the boys get restless, occasionally annoying with their pathetic calls, I am trying to decide if I want to breed anyone this coming season. I had an overabundance of ram lambs last year due to my "naiveness" that a 5 month old lamb could breed adult ewes. I have sold 3 ram lambs, 2 are definitely staying ram lambs, 2 have been wethered, 2 I can't decide what I want to do with (both are spotted w/scurs), and 2 more will be wethered (a totally smooth-polled moorit & button scurred kat). Being a new breeder is hard as I do not have the credibility that established breeders have. I have made mistakes, perhaps not pushed hard enough in the sales dept., and I should have had a more planned breeding plan but its all a learning process and perhaps it will start to turn around soon.

Yes, this is Jammer, the stinker that caused much of this:) I can never get a good picture of Jammer as he is always right there by me. His personality plus, thank goodness, passed on to his offspring as the lambs this year have just been a joy of friendliness. Jammer's scurs, however, became fatal and I opted to wether him as his loveable personality won my heart. Yes, scurs are one of those trying issues I have found with the polled lines.
What hurt the most in deciding to wether him was that of all the lambs born here in 2008, he had the best fleece. I am not a fleece expert, but it really is wonderfully soft and has a nice crimp to it. As I have been reading with many Shetland breeders, I am going to micron test his fleece along with ewes and lambs from this year. Curiousity has gotten to me. The one positive thing that came out of the "unplanned lamb explosion" was he passed on wonderful fleece to some of lambs born this year.
(Jammer's fleece above & below)
So, at least one thing is moving in the right direction; the fleece. But I guess I will know better when I send the samples off for testing and get the results. Thats probably when I will truly decide who, if any, I will breed.
Till then, Jammer and I will discuss what to do with all of his "children" and perhaps discuss the "wether" on the farm ........and perhaps he will let go of the string attached to my shorts.