Alder's horns are very wide, he has the kind of horns that we are looking for.
Ironwood's horns are thick, but they are no where near as wide a Alder's.
Killarney is Albion's father (post below), his horns are thicker than Alder's and wider than Ironwood's. Ironwood seems to be telling Killarney that this Fall he gets to spend some time with the girls!
Handsome fuzzy guys you've got there!
ReplyDeleteThose are BEAUTIFUL horns! We disbud our goats (tough decision, but best for us & them) but I always wrestle with the idea of letting one of them keep their horns because they are just so neat looking. Not as magnificent as ram horns though! Do they continue growing throughout their lifetime?
ReplyDeleteLana - Thank You!
ReplyDeleteCarolyn - We disbud our goats too, and I hate the whole process. The horns will keep growing until they are fantastic trophies.
So, let me guess, polled would not be you something you would be happy about. hehe Seriously - these are awesome animals! (and horns)
ReplyDeleteThey are looking good! Yes, every guy has a different "style" to his horns, and that's fine. Alder's brother, Balsam, has even wider horns than Alder, but his body is smaller. I'm wrestling with whether to keep Balsam for breeding or not, because I'm not certain it's genetic but more because he was a triplet and not as wiley about snagging extra milk from the other ewes when they were feeding, which Alder did. I like that Alder was/is smart about that!
ReplyDeleteIronwood looks good. That one horn is a little bit closer than the other, but it's turning out as it grows and will be fine.
Killarney's horns amaze me. I really thought he was going to remain scurred, and I have a ram lamb that has a similar look now, and I'm keeping Killarney in mind as I make decisions about my boy.
Horns continue to grow (rams and ewes) for about 5 years, putting on the most growth in the first year, and then shorter spurts each winter/spring after that, stopping altogether when they are 4 to 6 years old. You can count the growth rings kind of like you count growth rings on a tree. This is much less visible on ewes, of course.
~ Ronda
Michaele - A polled ram would be a disaster but we did get a polled ewe this year. An interesting thing about sheep is that they dissapate heat in the summer through their horns so our polled ewe had been having heat issues of all things!
ReplyDeleteRonda - Thank you so much for the comments on how the boys are doing. Killarney has been a blessing here as the lead ram, his horns are great and his fleece peels right off.