Quality Fleece and Breeding Stock
The_Farm......The_Fleece.....The_Sheep......The_Shepherd
August 2006 Update
Colourful Sheep, Spring 2004
Enuff Farm is located north-west of Kingston in Ontario, Canada. It moved to its present location near Enterprise in January of 2002. The farm consists of 56 acres of pasture and rough land with wooded areas and a creek. It is on the edge of the Canadian Shield and is decorated with granite boulders scattered on top of limestone overlaying granite. The timber frame house and barns date from the middle of the nineteenth century. A neighbouring building that was built as a school house about the same time is presently the wool shed and may some day house fibre workshops. Enuff Farm markets sheep for breeding and wool production, freezer lamb, white and natural coloured handspinning and felting fleece and roving, tanned sheepskins, and yarn. About half of the animals in the flock are registered Romneys. The remainder are percentage Romneys many of which contain Icelandic genetics. About half the flock is white. The remainder consists of patterned and solid coloured animals in a range of colours including: true brown (in the moorit Icelandic crosses); nearly black or chocolate; and an incredible range of tweeds and greys from dark to pastel, silver to tan. Animals are not entered in shows, but fleeces are. They have won ribbons in major U.S. and Ontario shows. In 1996 we became the first farm to win both the grand champion and reserve grand champion fleece awards at Ontario's Sheep Focus and did so again in 1997. We have exhibited champion and reserve champion fleeces at Toronto's Royal Winter Fair and at the Eastern States Exposition in Massachusetts.
Fleeces are available in white and a wide range of colours. They range from medium fine to medium strong with most in the finer medium strong category. Most have nice luster, defined crimp, and a silky hand. Sheep are not coated, but care is taken to keep them as clean as possible. Fleeces are sold very well skirted. Whole fleeces usually weigh from four to eight pounds. The price per pound depends on the overall quality and colour of the fleece. It normally is in the range of $8 to $10 per pound. Volume discounts, half fleeces, and less expensive wools may be available. Every attempt is made to match the fleece to the requirements of the purchaser. A good description of the type of fleece desired is helpful. Feedback from my customers is appreciated. I have been supplying spinners and felters since 1990, and have had a very positive response to my product. Though I encourage the return of unsatisfactory fleece, this has not happened! Fleece is also available washed and carded into roving in a range of natural colours and strengths including a grey and dark and a white and grey two tone roving that spin into wonderful variegated yarns. Dyed roving in primary colours is also available (the colours are not completely fast, but the rovings can be used in felting or to create fun multi-coloured yarns where bleeding of colour is not a concern). Roving is priced per 100 grams taxes included and starts at $5.25. All product prices are in Canadian funds. Please ask for US pricing….I have a US dollar account so have no problem with US checks. Shipping and handling is $15 regardless of the size order or currency.
Romneys have good meat conformation and exceptional fleeces. They generally have a relatively quiet and friendly disposition. They are good mothers with few lambing problems. Their feet need little trimming compared to many other breeds. Lambs have good tasting meat and can make good gains on pasture. There is great variability in my flock. The purebred animals represent many different bloodlines from flocks on both sides of the U.S.A and Canada and from New Zealand. I was one of the first breeders of purebred coloured Romneys in Canada. The third place coloured ram at the U.S. National Romney Show in 1995 found a new home here that fall. The percentage animals have some genes from a previous commercial flock that included Corriedale, Border Leicester, Romanov, Dorset, and Suffolk breeds. I have crossed with Icelandic to infuse some of their colour and patterns into animals with Romney type fleece. All these non-purebred animals increase the range of fleece types available and add interesting variety to the flock. There are usually mature animals and young stock available for purchase. The flock has tested negative for maedi-visna (OPP), and growth and performance records are kept.
I am a wife and the mother of three daughters in their late teens. I am a spinner and graduated with distinction from the Ontario Handspinners and Weavers Spinning Certificate Program in 2000. I have been teaching about sheep and fleece in that program since then. I taught fleece selection workshops at the Ontario Handspinning Seminar in 1999 and the OHS Conference at Bark Lake in fall of 2001. I have a degree in zoology and am very interested in many aspects of sheep and fleece production, especially animal behavior and the genetics of the various fleece characteristics and colours. I am both a fibre and sheep "junkie," and my barn and wool shed are bulging. My chores take longer than they should because I take time to watch the sheep interact; contemplate the colours and patterns of hay and barn boards; and get my fingers into fleece on the hoof while scratching my woolly friends. I get great pleasure out of sharing these interests with others, and welcome correspondence (RR 1, Enterprise, Ontario K0K 1Z0), phone calls (613-358-5635), or visitors.
Contact Christine Duff English at english@kingston.net