News of Avillion

Twins in August!

2011-09-23T17:08:00.000-07:00

Only a Jacob sheep (actually only this particular one) would pull a stunt like this. Humbug Parsley (one of my spouse's original sheep) lambed with twins on Feb. 2, 2011. She subsequently had another set of twins on Aug. 2 of this year. Basil and Oregano have four- and two-horns, respectively, are wethered and just as cute and friendly as only lambs raised partially on a bottle can be. Parsley is 11 years old now, and did not have much milk after she became ill (now recovered nicely), hence the need for the bottle feeding. If anyone had told me Iwould be feeding bottle lambs in August, I would have laughed at the thought. I am not laughing any more, but the twins do make me smile often. Life here is certainly never dull.

Ecological Lawn Maintenance

2011-07-31T04:07:00.000-07:00

We are still in the phase of establishing truly good pastures, which basically means that the sheep can only be on the new pastures for very brief periods. We were able to use the new pastures for two months during the spring while they were nursing lambs, but otherwise they have been in their drylot being fed hay for much of the year. And then there is the lawn, which we have been having to mow, This property (unlike where I used to live) has lots of lawn. The goats help some (and unlike the sheep will stay around if let out), but they really prefer weeds and brush. This past week we finally got the property fenced off sufficiently to allow the sheep loose for grazing. Hopefully, my lawn mowing days for this year are over.

Lambing Season - Week 3 Begins

2011-01-30T16:12:00.000-08:00

We are now two weeks plus into lambing season. Three jacob ewes have lambed so far - two sets of twins and one single. The surprising thing so far is that they are all
ewe lambs. In this picture the lambs are hanging out together while their mothers are eating their daily ration of grain. This year kidding and lambing season will be very drawn out. The mule flock should start lambing next month, followed by the Shetlands in March and finishing up with the goats in April.

First Lamb of 2011!

2011-01-15T13:09:00.000-08:00

The first lamb of the 2011 lambing season was born on Friday, January 14, probably some time in the morning. This little ewe lamb sticks so tight to her mother and moves so quickly that there will be no catching of either of them anytime soon. As is typical of Jacob ewes, the mother is attentive and very defensive of her lamb.

A Better Way to Carry a Bunny

2011-01-12T17:00:00.001-08:00

Recently I tried something very novel for me to overcome a challenge I was having with moving rabbits around. Spring-Summer-Fall shearing arrangement is very convenient – I shear them on my covered front porch which is relatively near the rabbitry. Winter shearing is different in that I move everything to the basement. This means I have to
open 1 gate, two doors and then go down a flight of stairs carrying a rabbit. I have tried out various methods for carrying the bunny – in my arms, in a cat carrier, in a small milk crate and using a sling shoulder bag large enough to hold a bunny. The canvas sling shoulder bag worked the best, but was still not ideal as it was awkward. Then I saw a lady at the grocery store carrying an infant in a carrier that hangs off the front (as opposed to a backpack). I went to Target to check them out and found a small one for about $15 on sale and brought it home to try. It slips on and off very easily and the rabbits seem fine with being loaded inside and carried this way – no wiggly or fussing whatsoever. I tried it out with 10 different rabbits - 6 Germans that I sheared and 4 German crossbreds that I just took out for a stroll. It worked well in all cases. The attached picture of Avillion Secondfield in the carrier after being sheared.

Geese!

2010-12-12T10:17:00.001-08:00

These are the newest feathered residents of the farm. They are a trio of French Toulouse geese acquired from ISeeSpots Farm in Greensboro. Their ancestors are French Toulouse geese imported by Metzer Farms (California) in 2006. They are a utility or production goose rather than an exhibition or show goose. We were very taken by the pretty contrast between their dark gray heads and intense orange eye rings. They seem to be very docile too.

Avillion Farm Sock Yarn

2010-10-28T18:02:00.000-07:00

This is a new yarn for 2010. This 3-ply yarn is 80% soft wool and 20% strong, shiny mohair contributed by the Shetland sheep and Angora goats here at Avillion Farm. I have had quite a good time dyeing it (left), but have left some in the natural state (right). The idea behind using a 3-ply was to give the finished yarn added roundness, strength and comfort.

New Wool/Angora Blend Yarns

2010-10-13T04:37:00.001-07:00

This year I've had 3 new runs of 80% wool/20% angora yarn spun up at Stonehedge Fiber Mill. These are all two-ply, approximately fingering weight yarn put up in 250 yard skeins. They are oh so soft and bloom beautifully (halo) as they are knitted up. The white is shetland wool blended with German angora, the dark gray is shetland wool with black German crossbred angora rabbit, and the blue-gray (my personal favorite) is Jacob wool blended with blue and lilac German crossbred angora rabbit. These yarns will soon be posted on the website and I'll have them with me at SAFF this year.

Summer Litters - Part II

2010-09-17T16:43:00.000-07:00

These two litters are high percentage German angora crossbreds, all sired by Wiley's Leo. Leo is black with deep brown eyes carrying fawn in his background. The first litter is from Avillion Blue Bayou, who is actually lilac, not blue, and has beautiful blue-gray eyes. There are 3 chocolates (2 bucks, 1 doe) and one black (does). The second litter is from Avillion Black Rainbow (black with deep brown eyes). There are two blues (doe, buck), a black (buck) and a blue tort (doe). These kits are exceptionally chunky and feel very solid when I pick them up. These litters are both exceptionally friendly as well and have been getting lots of attention and socialization.

Summer Litters - Part I

2010-09-16T03:35:00.000-07:00

This house has a large basement which makes summer litters a possibility It is cool enough so that the bucks stay fertile and the does can complete pregnancies and raise healthy litters without heat stress. This picture is of a French angora litter sired by CC's Waldorf (chocolate) and Avillion Gillian (chocolate. They are very cute and fun to handle at this stage and stayed reasonably still and together for
their group photograph. There are 2 lilacs (does), 2 chocolates (doe, buck), 2 REWs (doe, buck) and a lilac tort (buck). If all goes according to plan, they will be at the NC State fair. These bunnies will be available for sale during the last week of October.

Here Come the Mules!

2010-09-14T16:44:00.000-07:00

No these aren't the equine kind of mule. In the fall of 2008, we started an experiment - the crossing of Shetland ewes and Jacob ewes with a Blue Faced Leicester (BFL) ram to produce a commercial style crossbred ewe that would hopefully have the vigor of their primitive breed dams and soft lusterous wool of their BFL sire (Longhope Lord Nelson). These crossbred ewes are called mules. The idea is to breed the mule ewes to a British style Suffolk or Texel as a terminal cross to produce lambs that will finish well and quickly on grass. This breeding scheme is popular in Britain and becoming more widely used in the U.S. You can read more about it at http://www.mulesheep.com.

The first 6 lambs we kept born in 2009 (4 jacob and 2 shetland mules) are now over a year old and ready to be bred. They are shown in the picture below with their Suffolk ram. They are about the same height as their dams, but broader and slightly longer. Based on my experience and reading, the BFL crossed with a Shetland produces colors such as black, white and various shades of gray. The Jacob cross surprised me in that we got some white and dark brown lambs in addition to the black lambs I expected. They seem to produce more wool on a weight-basis compared to their dams. Temperment wise the mules resemble their dams; in fact I often describe the Jacob mules as Jacobs wearing a BFL suit because they are definitely Jacob in behavior, but their wool and body type are more like their sire.

Year of the Butterfly

2010-08-13T17:31:00.001-07:00

It seems like every year there is one particular creature that brings itself to my notice.

This can be beautiful and interesting (frogs, box turtles) or harrowing (snakes, opossums).

This year it is butterflys, which fall into the beautiful category. This year there are more butterflys and different types than I recall seeing in years past - most of which, with the exception of Monarch butterflys, I do not even know the names. There are lots of yellow ones with black markings and black ones with blue markings. I notice them in being especially attracted by the line of sunflowers on the edge of the garden. I don't know if there is any particular meaning to this and the farmer's almanac has nothing to say on the subject as far as I can tell.

Waiting Out a Summer Storm

2010-07-31T15:11:00.001-07:00

Angora goats, much like cats, prefer not to get wet and have an eye for comfort. Since the goats (unlike the sheep) can be relied upon to stay in the yard (or at least close to home), they are often let loose to graze and browse in the yard. This has the added advantage of increasing the intervals between mowing and brush cutting. In the attached photograph the goats, along with their guardian Bonnie, have decided to wait out a summer storm on the front porch.

FCS Farm & Avillion Farm Together

2010-07-31T15:07:00.000-07:00

This is the first official farm blog entry. The farms are together since Gary and I (Elaina) got married in January of 2010. FCS originally stood for Forked Cedar & Scuppernog; unfortunately the forked cedar was lost in an ice storm several years ago and Gary’s Jacob sheep ate all the scuppernogs. The original fiber animals at Avillion Farm are angora rabbits, angora goats and Shetland sheep. The American buff geese, mallard ducks and peafowl supply entertainment and beauty, while the Great Pyrenees guardian dogs (Bonnie and Violet) provide predator protection for the whole farm. I will be using the farm blog to chronicle events on the farm and introduce new fibers, yarns and other farm products.