Gotland Ewes of Vermont

by Kim Goodling | posted in: Gotland sheep | 0

Mariana

Now that you have met our Gotland rams, let’s take a peek at the ewes! Our five Gotland ewes came from two different farms. You have already met Izzy and Mariana, in our settling in post, and then some of you met them at the VT Sheep and Wool Festival. I will say, that Izzy is the culprit who caused the new Gotland ewes to have to stay in quarantine longer. Every time I tried turning them out, Izzy could not contain her happiness and overwhelmed them by a game of chase. The other ewes, not sure what to think of this, were very frightened by her antics. Still the instigator, Izzy seems to always want to play a game of chase, but now, the new “Gotgirls” as I call them, join in on her fun. If you missed the post about playing in the snow, you should take a peek to see one of their games!

Izzy

The other three ewes took a very long, cross-country road trip, traveling for three weeks in the back of a trailer, to get to our farm. By the time they arrived, they were pretty skittish and unsure of their surroundings.

Carie, the most confident, seems to rule. Her sturdy size gives her the advantage. My Romney ewes seemed to sense Carie’s position of authority. When we turned them out with the whole flock, my Romney girls made sure she knew her place in the flock-and that was not at the top of the pecking order. Carie has accepted this with grace, allowing the Romney ewes to rule. Inside, she still knows she rules over all the Gotlands.

Carie

Ema and Iris both have sweet, timid personalities. They look to Carie for protection, but have learned to trust me. Iris, at 93.5, has the highest percentage Gotland of all the ewes, and Ema comes in second highest at 90.6%. They exhibit beautiful Gotland characteristics of lovely curly fleeces, and clean black faces. All three of these ewes, Carie, Ema, and Iris, have been bred and we look forward to baby lambs in the spring!