Welcome
Welcome to Sweetland Hill, New York, home of the unusual badger faced Finnsheep. I have been raising Finns for about 20 years, the last 15 or so I have been exploring colored Finnsheep. About 3 years ago, I was attempting to introduce grey color into the white and black that I already had. I purchased a grey ram from Carol Winchell from Stoe Creek and named him Long John Silver. He arrived with some interesting patterning on his body. For the past 3 years, he has been siring blacks, whites (when bred to a white) and a number of unusual patterned lambs. We have had a rather rainy year so far, and, when my sister-in-law looked across the field at the lambs, she assumed that the animals had been laying in the mud. This was not the case!
The “badger faced” pattern is characterized by a solid white stripe down the face with dark stripes down the side of the face, giving the appearance of a badger. The wool is light colored on the back and sides with black wool on the flanks, belly and up under the throat. Several of my sheep have been born with a pattern that Elizabeth Kinne, from Stillmeadow farm refers to as “racing stripes.” They have a darker grey stripe starting from the middle of the flank and coming forward along the side. When the fleece is dyed and carded together, the resulting roving and yarn has a lovely heather shade to the dyed color. I have had stunning results with liliac, purple, teal, blue and other colors. Heather roving is available for sale upon request.
History
Finnsheep originated in Finland as Finnish Landrace sheep. They are considered a”primitive” sheep as they exhibit characteristics of the original wild or “mouflon” sheep. These characteristics include a naturally short tail and legs and face free of wool.They are closely related to Shetland and Icelandic sheep.
Finnsheep will breed at an early age, as early as seven months of age, and will breed out of season. They are known for multiple births — by the time the sheep is three years of age they will be having triplets or quads. They rarely have any problems lambing and are fantastic mothers.
Finnsheep are relatively small and easy to handle. Many are extremely friendly and even affectionate. They come when called, especially at feeding time.
Adult ewes weigh on average 130 to 180 pounds, mature rams weigh 170 to 240 pounds.
Finnsheep have exquisite wool. It is soft and lustrous. It spins like a dream, takes dyes vividly and blends very well with other fibers. I have blended it with mohair, angora, silk, alpaca and, on several occasions, dog hair. It is easy to wash because it is not extremely greasy and has a lower scouring loss compared to other wools. It is classified as a medium wool with a micron count of 24 to 31 microns and a staple length of 3-6 inches. It is a wonderful wool for felting projects.
My Flock
I have been raising Finnsheep since 1990. I have had to assist in lambing in only a couple of births. I have had less than half a dozen instances where a mother has disowned a lamb. In cases of large litters, quads and triplets with older mothers may have had to supplement with lamb milk replacer but the mother has still claimed the lambs as her own and taken care of them.
My animals will usually come running when I call to them and will always answer me if they are within hearing distance. I have had rams who I could shear just standing in a pen. I didn’t have to tip them or fight with an uncooperative animal.
My flock is scrapie registered and OPP free.