Twin Springs Farm - Black Angus Cattle, cows, calves, cattle, Shetland Sheep, sheep, Mammoth Jackstock, mules, donkeys, rams
      Kali
Kali
100 Twin Springs Lane
Avonmore, PA 15618
              Phone: (724) 697-4930

Cattle Page | Galloway Page | Contact Us | E-mail Us | Home Page
Our Shetland sheep are small fine boned
primitive sheep that are calm and docile
and respond well to handling. Their
primitive nature translates into healthy
thrifty sheep that lamb easily producing
vigorous lambs that are up and nursing
quickly. Shetland ewes have plenty of milk for their lambs. Our ewes generally produce twins every year but a few even raise triplets unassisted each year. Their naturally short tails never
require docking. Their most important
physical characteristic is their soft
durable wool, the finest of any British
Ink Spot
               Ink Spot
breed, which comes in 11 official colors such as white, black, shades of gray,
shades of moorit/brown, and 30 different markings or patterns.
Within our flock we strive to maintain a wide variety of fleeces both in color and type.  Some of our Shetlands have more primitive fleece:  soft, wavy, long stapled.  Others have a fleece more in the English style:  soft, very crimpy, and single coated.  And still others have a fleece somewhere in between.

Our ewes come in a wide variety of grays, fawns, moorits, blacks, and whites, as well as dark browns. They are a good mix with some solid colored and others spotted with markings such as krunet, bersugget, smirslet, flecket, sokket, and yuglet, and still others having the pattern of katmoget or glumoget. In 2003 Bonnie produced two strikingly marked lambs - white with black flowing from their heads onto their shoulders. This is an old but rare marking which we refer to as "caped flecket".

"Lambs"

We have 40 ewes bred to lamb this April so are expecting around 80 lambs. Over the past two years we retired Ezra, Jonah, Isaiah and Jeremiah. Fall of 2010 we added Adison from Maple Ridge in Vermont and Lamech and Levi, both home-raised. Fall of 2011 we added three home-raised ram lambs: #1108, a moorit gulmoget and two black and white caped fleckets #1129 and #1154.



"2011 Lambs"

Thanks to all our customers who helped make 2011 such a successful year! 38 bred ewes produced 77 lambs. Hedy, who had triplets her first year followed by two sets of quads chose to limit herself to a set of twins this time.



Some of our Rams:

S'More, a black and white wide horned yuglet, sokket, flecket came from Missouri in 2005 and is throwing beautiful spotted lambs.

Lamech; #1011 is a black/grey spotted katmoget with a finely crimped fleece out of Greysong. If his lambs show him to be carrying moorit as a recessive he will replace Jonah who turns nine this spring.

Levi #1051 is a finely crimped moorit out of Kelly and should add more crimp to the lambs.

Adison is a musket ram lamb with an incredibly soft fleece who joined our flock from Maple Ridge in Vermont. He should produce some lambs with buttery soft fleece as well as add outside genetics.

Meshach #1108 is a friendly moorit gulmoget with a very fine crimpy fleece and a nice tail.

Malachi #1129 was a finely crimped black and white caped flecket with great horns and a perfect short fluke-shaped tail. Unfortunately reintroduction with the other rams was his undoing and 2012 will see his only lambs.

Micha #1154 is a black and white caped flecket with a long finely crimped fleece and wool on his poll and forehead.

All of these rams are even tempered and easy to work with.

When it comes time to trim hooves, worm, vaccinate, or move the sheep, having friendly, halter trained Shetlands makes the job easier and more pleasant. That's why we handle and halter train all our ewe lambs every year. By August each year the lambs are weaned and ready for new homes. Delivery within 200 miles is available. Longer distances can be handled in various ways. Delivery to the FLFF is possible
     
      

Joy being curious

Joy being curious



       S'More
S'More



    

Lamech



    

Meshech



    

Levi & Adison



    

Micha



    

Malachi



    

Malachi (note tail)



    

Isaac

Isaac

See our sheep and fleeces by visiting us at the farm or at the following events:
Date Event Location
September
15 and 16
Finger Lakes Fiber Festival Hemlock, New York
1st. Weekend
in May
Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival Friendship, MD
(see following paragraph)
 
Since 2002 we have been taking a few sheep and fleeces to the Finger Lakes Fiber Festival in Hemlock,NY, which we thoroughly enjoy. A few years ago we started donating a yearling ewe to the Youth Conservation Project sponsored by the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. We are only there for Sunday, the day of the presentation, and don’t take sheep for display, but would be happy to talk Shetlands if you give us a call beforehand.
Raw Fleeces

We take pride in the quality of fleeces we offer for sale.  We try to produce a clean fleece as free as possible of vegetative matter (hay).  The flock is grazed on tall fescue winter pasture which means less hay is needed. And that hay is fed on the snow or ground which minimizes hay in the neck or back wool. All fleeces are heavily skirted.
The fleeces are available in a wide variety of colors and shades, fiber lengths, and crimp.  Some are a solid color while others have a main body color with darker shades of the same color, others have fibers that vary in color from tip to base.  We have adult as well as lamb fleeces.    All of our fleeces are described in a comprehensive chart free upon request, and we will gladly provide you samples before you buy. Photos of individual fleeces and locks are availalbe on request. We ship throughout the United States.










2011 Lambs


Eudora & Triplets

Two of Firecracker's Triplets

Grey Song's ewe lamb, Morning Song

Felicia's

Ivory's

Koriander's
 
Cattle Page | Galloway Page | Contact Us | E-mail Us | Home Page
National Shetland Sheep Association (NASSA)
  www.shetland-sheep.org