Yesterday my sheep kiddos and I accompanied some friends to their AI (that is artificial insemination)...event? Their daughter is upbreeding her Wensleydale ewes to be considered "pure". Here in the states, this breed is still being established. I think that you cannot import the Wensleydales, but you can import the .....necessary male component. As it happens, this procedure is done with a laparoscopy. So, two small incisions are made and the ewe is impregnated right before your very eyes...well, if you are the one looking thru the scope, which we weren't...but we were able to look through the scope and check out the organs during the procedure.
I have some pictures on my phone of our participation, but at this point cannot get them from the phone to the computer....If you are interested.....this slide show is exactly what happened (not too graphic!)...and I have the cutest picture of Z looking through the scope like the 8th slide shows. (Incidentally, this is the man who was doing the procedure.)
We also got to look at some of the processing of the wool AND the finished product! The AI was taking place here.
Since we have recently bought some drop spindles and were then given a spinning wheel (which we have not yet used), we are trying to learn all we can about these fiber sheep.
We had a fun and educational hands-on kind of day!
Wow ! I fallen in love with goats and sheep. I am waiting for the local craft store to bring in more drop spindles and I hope to get one. These creatures have AMAZING locks! As a knitter I am drooling over the thought of their wool, lol. I will have to check out your links. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteBlessings and ((HUGS))
-Mary
Okay...this may be a dumb question...are they sheep??
ReplyDeleteThey are gorgeous!
That has to be one of the best blog post titles ever. :) Your discretion, ahem, is lovely, my friend, and I'm sure this will be one of the favorite days of the school year. God's creation is so amazing!!
ReplyDeleteOh wow those sheep are beautiful. I have had sheep on my mind... and wool, and yarn. I like the look of that wool. I will have to do a little research on them, just to satisfy my curiosity.
ReplyDeleteLove your game night and the post of you all beginning your school year. So so sweet. Makes me homesick for those days when I read about everyone's school days beginning. There is something about the softer sunlit days, the cooler nights, the peacefulness of fall and the beginning of a school year that I don't think I will ever get over. What a
wonderful time when the rest of the world goes back to their business, and we can have our peaceful, cozy family all snug and safe together.
Love it.
First time I've seen this kind of sheep. Aren't they handsome! Look at that wool!! wow.
ReplyDeleteso...are those fancy sheep yours? wow!
ReplyDeleteJacob (in the Bible) figured out how to do AI the ancient way (he! he!) to get himself more specked sheep! Pretty interesting if you think about it.
ReplyDelete