We are owned by a small flock of Finn sheep. We are striving to produce fine quality fleece, meat, high milk, and health. Our sheep are grain, hay and pasture fed. Our sheep are handled with care and worked with polite border collies. They can be caught easily yet moved comfortably by a well mannered stock dog. This breed is incredibly docile and can be handled by children and adults. Their wool is rated as a fine, medium fleece. As a new hand spinner, it is a joy to work with and spin.
This breed is very prolific, known to be the “lamb in litters” sheep. It is not unusual to have 3, 4, 5, and even 6 lambs at a time. The majority of ewes should be able to sustain that many lambs but not always. Therefore, you will find some ewes need to have supplemental milk provided for her babies in addition to her milk. The ewes mature early, breed young and easily, and breed out of season. So, you must keep a close eye on your ram so you don’t have ‘Christmas in July’.
Finns are used in large amounts for cross breeding to increase other breeds fleece and lambing numbers. Terrific cross breeds have been produced by simply adding a nice ram to an already healthy flock of ewes of another breed. Rams are generally 180-200 lbs and ewes are 150-180 lbs but some are being bred much smaller. We have all sizes but are pushing for larger Finns.
Finns come in a variety of colors and patterns which adds to the difficulty of breeding for color. For more information on dominant/recessive color/pattern genes, you can find endless articles and research…good luck!
Side note: no tail docking needed with this breed. A bonus for a lot of people.
Please see the Finn Reg. for more information: http://www.finnsheep.org/
Reservations for next season breeding (2011) as follows:
- Raw fleeces for each sheep
- 2011 lambs
(We will be increasing our flock next season and will keep a few babies)
Contact us for details
Maggie, 4h Grand Champion Ewe Lamb 2009
