CASCADE FARMSTEAD SHEEP

What is the perfect specimen of Cascade Farmstead sheep?

First, let's define "perfect."  No animal is perfect, and humans never will create one.  The messes we've seen in kennel clubs and other breed organizations of any species have shown us this.  Requiring a "cookie cutter" ideal is limiting and harmful to the breed; in the quest for "perfection", humans have created tiny gene pools and lost valuable genetics that may not look pretty but added some trait of hardiness to the animal.

Having said that, I have several visions in my mind of the ideal Cascade Farmstead sheep.  Mimicking Mother Nature and the natural selection process that goes on in the wild is a major part of my view of the perfect sheep.  Here are two very different Cascade Farmstead ewes as an example just some of the wide variety found in this breed, and while I might part with their progeny, these ewes will never be for sale:

• Belladonna is polled, blonde, and has short, coarse fleece, and she sheds so well that we define these types as "banana peel" shedders.  She has wonderful, meaty conformation, and is an excellent producer of lambs. 
  

• Honeysuckle is horned, has dark brown long luxurious fleece that sheds by the handfuls, has wonderful conformation and is an excellent producer of lambs.
  

These ewes look nothing alike, and are not related to each other, which is great.  Keeping a wide variety of genetics in this breed is important.  "Cookie cutter" sheep are not what this breed is about. 

Yes, there are specifics to select for.  This is a meat breed first and foremost; culls are to be eaten.  Any Cascade Farmstead sheep that does not meet the following criteria therefore become meals in your freezer:

• Good shedding.  This can vary from year to year in the same animal, but if a Cascade Farmstead sheep does not shed, then you butcher it.  Wild sheep that live in the mountains shed their fleece.  Man created non-shedding sheep in order to meet a desire for a longer fiber for clothing.  We have enough breeds of non-shedding sheep at this time.  We have very few breeds left that will shed at all, and even fewer that will shed as a matter of course.
  

• Meaty conformation.  Some are slower to fill out than others, and it's up to the breeder to decide whether to give the slow grower a chance to catch up, but if it has not by year 2, then it's to be culled and eaten.
  

• Lamb productivity.  The ewe lambs should produce a single lamb in their first spring, and ideally produce twins thereafter.  Weather and/or feed quality might prevent twins in the 2nd year, but if a Cascade Farmstead ewe is still producing a single lamb by year 3, she should be culled and eaten after her lamb is weaned, and the lamb is suspect as well.
  

• Lambing ability.  The ewe should be able to give birth without assistance.  If she requires assistance, by all means give it.  We help as gently as possible when or if it's required.  But then that ewe is placed onto our "cull list" and is butchered after her lamb is weaned. The lamb from such a ewe is suspect as well, and it's up to the breeder to decide whether to butcher that autumn, or give it a chance to prove itself.
  

• Rams must have wide horns.  This is the amount of space between the horn and the cheek of the ram when the horn passes his face in year 2.  As you become more experienced, you can usually tell very early on if this is going to happen or not by the direction the horn is going even when it's only a few inches long.  Selection for horn width is not an aesthetic requirement, although wide horns are much more attractive than narrow horns.  There must be at least a few inches of space between the horn and the cheek in order to allow the ram to chew his cud.  Sheep chew side to side, and horns that are "tight" or close to the face can actually cause a ram to starve to death, and this trait is to be selected against.  Tight horns?  Eat him, don't breed him.
  

• Good health.  This is simple.  Sickly animals are costly, and a detriment to the gene pool.  Keep and utilize healthy stock.  Animals that tend toward sickliness are to be removed from the gene pool by culling.  Culling = butchering.  Whether you eat that animal or not depends on the situation, but it must be put down humanely. 
  

We have yet to see a sickly Cascade sheep, but I'm sure it will happen someday.  "Showing" sheep at a fair, or transport that puts the animal in contact with other livestock that are carrying some disease can bring this disease onto your farm.  We do neither, and use common sense in farm visitation and bringing in new animals, without going so far as to keep our sheep totally isolated from anything and everything. 

Cascade Farmstead sheep are the sheep of the future.  As our society becomes more aware of the problems with our food supply and the associated costs, both monetary and to our health, more and more people are moving to small acreages and producing some of their own food.  This breed meets the needs of busy people who want quality meat without a lot of time and monetary requirements.

If you are a common sense person who wants to run a small farm in a common sense way and produce healthy meat for your family, please read more about our sheep via the links below before you visit our purchasing page to get on our waiting list.

© 2000 - 2011.  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.