Suzy Beggin, Shepherdess

                                                                                                                                            Suzy@SuzyBeggin.com

 

 

 

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Other Fun Links:

 

1858 Historic Ball

A historic dance in celebration of the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas Debate to take place on August 30, 2008.

 

Suzy's Doozies & Suzy's Musings

My book and weekly articles.

 

Galena Historic Dance Society

A fun group to practice and learn 19th century dance.  We meet on the fourth Tuesday of each month at the ARC in Galena.  All are welcome!

 

Stephenson County Fiber Art Fair

A marvelous celebration of fiber.

Text Box: The Different Breeds

Text Box: You know there are different breeds of dogs, horses and cows, and in that sheep are no different.  And just like dog breeders, sheep breeders will insist that their favored breed is hands-down the best breed of sheep to ever walk the face of this planet!   And also like dog breeds, a purebred is important if you plan to show the dog, but if your only concern is to have a healthy pet then a mutt is just as good.  In fact so many dog purebreds are cross-bred and in-bred to keep the bloodlines pure, that a mutt is often a healthier alternative.  The same is true with sheep.   I have two characteristics when I breed: I want high quality fine or medium wool, but just as important, I want healthy ewes who have good, unassisted births.  Since health is so important to me, many of my sheep are crosses.  So while most of my sheep are not purebreds, they do all have origins in historic breeds.   Merino The best known of the historic breeds, merino sheep were developed in Spain, probably descendants of the Ancient Romans’ sheep.  In the 700s (that's correct, 700s not 1700s), the merino became greatly prized and from then until the late 1700s it was illegal to take merinos out of Spain.  During the American Revolution, David Humphrey served as a field secretary under General Washington.  After the War, in 1796,  he was appointed minister to Spain and while there he studied the merino sheep.  In 1802 he brought merinos to Connecticut, and in 1810 developed the state’s first wool company.  "The domestic culture of the sheep, for the sake of its wool, has long occupied the attention of civilized nations, and has produced the highly-valued merino species, from which our best wool is now procured." Decorative Needlework, by Miss Lambert, 1846.              Merinos became a very common breed in America.  Almost every farm had some, and pioneers brought merinos with them west.  Thomas Jefferson had a flock of merinos at Monticello, and Civil War uniforms were woven from merino wool.                Merinos naturally have some wrinkles, especially around the neck.  In the late 19th century breeders started selecting merinos for their wrinkles, and photographs of super wrinkley merinos typically date from the 1880s and 1890s.  The number of wrinkles increased the surface area of the skin – the more skin an animal had the more wool it could produce, and the more profitable it became.  With the invention of the electric shears at the turn of the century, breeders strove for a smooth or nearly-smooth skin.               Merinos have superior wool, and because of that most breeds - even new breeds - have merino in their bloodlines.  However, merinos grow slowly and typically have single births, both characteristics that make them unprofitable for meat farmers.               My ram Dodge is 100% merino with a medium amount of wrinkles.  Many of my lambs are Dodge’s offspring, making them at least half merino.               Cheviot              The Cheviot Sheep (pronounced chevy-it) originated from the Cheviot Hills in Scotland.  The breed was first documented in 1372.  According to legend, they walked out of the sea.  Most likely, they came ashore from a shipwreck carrying live sheep as a source of fresh meat along the journey.               For centuries, the Cheviot sheep lived in the hills with very little help from humans and developed into an extremely hardy sheep.  Cheviot wool has always been held in very high esteem, and is best known for its use in Scotch Tweed.              In 1834 the children of Thomas Laider, a shepherd in the Cheviot Hills, immigrated to America.  In 1842 Laider sent each of his four children three Cheviot sheep, and from those twelve sheep all the Cheviot sheep in New York had their origin.              While most cheviots are white, my cheviots have been intentionally bred for their color, a recessive gene, by Nanette Mosher.                My 100% cheviots are Harriett, a brownish / dark gray cheviot, her twin sister Flower, a medium-gray cheviot with a lighter gray stripe down her back, and their mother Angel, a medium-gray cheviot with a tinge of reddish-brown.               Half cheviot are Harriett’s daughter Fritzi Girl, a dark chocolate brown, and Flower’s daughter Blossom, solid white.   American Cormo Although the American Cormo is a modern breed, it was created by crossing well established, historic breeds.  Cormos were created in 1961 by mixing Australian Merinos, Saxon Merinos and Lincolns.  With so much merino blood, the cormo’s wool has the same high quality as the merino.  However, the cormo has smoother skin - better for electric shears - and no horns, which can damage fences or injure other sheep. What’s a weather?              A weather is a castrated male.  I keep one weather, Lambert.               In order to prevent lambs from being born in the winter, I have to keep my ram, Dodge, separated from the ewes for six months of the year.  But sheep are herding animals and are not happy alone.  I can’t keep Dodge with a ewe or she may be bred too early.  I can’t put him with another ram or they’ll fight.  The solution is to keep him with a weather.  Lambert and Dodge live together in their own pasture for six months each year, and with the ewes in the big pasture the rest of the year.   My cormo ewes are bred to Dodge, the merino ram, to encourage the merino qualities.  Some of my ram lambs have even had horns - a merino trait.  My cormo ewes are Ewella, Bouffant, and Left Ear.  Half cormo are Bouffant’s daughter Bugger and Left Ear’s daughter Spots.  My only weather, Lambert, is also cormo.    Dorset              Dorset sheep originated in England, and the breed is noted in A Shepherd’s Guide, printed in 1749.               Throughout most of history dorsets had horns, and some still do, although mine do not.               I have two dorsets, Toni and Dorry, both white.  Wooly Ben, the daughter of Toni and also solid white, is half dorset.    East Friesian              A German breed, East Friesians are known for their high milk production and medium to fine wool.               Currently I have only one East Friesian, a black ewe named Blackie.  At one time I also had a white ram, Bossy Baldy.              Fritzi Girl and Blossom are half cheviot and half East Friesian, the daughters of Bossy Baldy.