© 2000 - 2010.  Website design, text and photos are copyright by Ronda Jemtegaard unless otherwise noted.   Reproduction by any means, electronic or mechanical, is forbidden unless written request

is submitted to and approved by Ronda Jemtegaard of Greener Pastures Farm.

In this age where it's now easy to clone and delete parts of photographs,

and some farmers and webmasters are doing this to published photos of their livestock,

please note that all photos on this website are unaltered in any way!

Colors, conformation, etc are exactly as depicted.

LIFE CYCLE OF CASCADE FARMSTEAD SHEEP

SPRING:  Cascade Farmstead sheep are

typically born in the spring and range in weight

from 5 to 9 lbs at birth, with the average about

7 to 7.5 pounds.  Colors and markings vary,

making lambing season an exciting and

pleasant time.  Owners of Cascade Farmstead

sheep can sleep through the night because

these sheep typically do not require assistance

during lambing, unlike the more commonly

known and less hardy commercial breeds of

sheep.  We wake up in the morning and

exclaim over the beautiful new lambs that

were born in the wee hours, or if a ewe gives

birth during the day we watch with never-ending

awe and appreciation from a distance. 

Lambing season is a joyous, relaxing time with

Cascade Farmstead sheep!

LATE SPRING/EARLY SUMMER:  Fleeces in

adult Cascade Farmstead sheep have a natural

"break" in the fiber, and are shed in spring or

early summer.  Shearing is not necessary with

this breed!  If the fleece is to be saved for

spinning, or if a sheep needs a little help in

shedding, we catch those sheep when it's

apparent that the "break" has occurred and we

gently pull out the cast-off fleece, saving it for spinning, or for a natural weed barrier/mulch in the garden, or even letting it drop on the pasture...  birds love this stuff and once they learn you have it, they will use it to make their nests!

SUMMER:  Lambs

grow quickly on

nutritious sheep's

milk, and begin

eating grass or hay

very early.  They

don't need grain-

feeding. 

Cascade Farmstead

lambs arrive at a

convenient butcher

weight by their first

autumn. We like to

butcher our culls

(culls are those that

didn't meet our criteria

for breeding stock) in

October or November,

and the carcass averages 20 to 25 lbs hanging

weight.  We have found that our Cascade sheep

actually get fat if fed the same diet we feed our

Soays, which means that we can spend far less

in the future. Cost efficiency is one of the many

criteria intended for this breed, and our CFS

are proving themselves far more efficient than

any sheep breed we have had.

AUTUMN:  Lambs, both male and female, can

breed their first fall, with ewe lambs generally

coming into estrus in November when they are

about 7 months old.  We put our breeding

groups together sometime in October or

November. Thus far we have had a 100%

lambing rate resulting from breeding Cascade

Farmstead ewe lambs and ram lambs.

WINTER:  Breeding groups are taken apart

in December or even as late as January if

the farmer has been busy!  However, we

have found that our Cascade Farmstead

sheep breed within the first 2 to 2 1/2 weeks,

and reliably lamb 21 weeks later.

EARLY SPRING:  Gestation lasts a little less

than 5 months.  Ewes may begin showing

obvious signs of pregnancy about a month or

more before lambs are due.  Ewes' owners

typically get very excited with the anticipation

of imminent lambs and the many prospects

of color variety!

SPRING:  Lambs are born, with adults

usually producing twins and yearlings usually

producing a single.  The only "lambing

equipment" necessary is a good camera!

Twin Cascade Farmstead ram lambs; Greener Pastures Thistle and Greener Pastures Tarragon.   April 2008

Above: A CFS ewe nearly finished shedding her fleece. The other sheep in this photo are CFS lambs just 2 1/2 months old. July 2008

Below: Four CFS ewes (the ewe at far left is completely shed out, the ewe in foreground is nearly finished shedding, and the other 2 ewes are about half done. The 4 CFS lambs in this photo are all 2 1/2 months old. July 2008

The End. 

A group of 2008 CFS lambs show me their backsides and their short tails.  April 2008