catchall for all things genetic
Ah, the yearly dilemma of figuring out whether a Soay lamb is light phase. We Soay breeders never seem to tire of talking and fussing about it, do we? At least I don’t. I have written about it several times right here, and people tell me they find one of those posts particularly useful in […]
The third in a three-part series Part I: our 2008 AI lambs, posted March 10, 2011 Part II: our 2009 AI lambs, posted March 12, 2011 If you’ve been here recently, you know I talked at length about the increased variety of coat color and pattern in British Soay sheep as a result of bringing […]
The second in a three-part series Part I: our 2008 AI lambs, posted on March 10, 2011 Part III: more new colors in our 2010 lambs, posted on March 14, 2011 Once Norris sired two uniform dark charcoal British Soay lambs in 2008, we figured that was it for new colors and patterns from the […]
The first in a three-part series Part II: more new colors in our 2009 AI lambs, posted March 12, 2011 Part III: more new colors in our 2010 lambs, posted March 14, 2011 In the last three years, the color palette of British Soay sheep in the United States and Canada has expanded dramatically. Looking […]
Few issues vex new Soay sheep owners as much as the quandary about whether one of their animals is “tan” or “light phase.” I recently stumbled across a digital “stack” of photos of our light phase Soay taken over the last several years. Posting several of them here, with minimal commentary, may help train your […]
One of the most enjoyable, ordinarily light-hearted rituals on our farm is the annual selection and implementation of lamb naming themes. This year, picking the right theme took on a certain solemnity as we welcomed lambs with the first-ever new genetics in the British Soay flock here in the U.S., thanks to the wonders of AI, […]