Bloodlines
We have three major bloodlines in our flock: our original stock from Oregon, artificial insemination from Australia, and artificial insemination from Dorset County, England. All of our sheep and registered with the Continental Dorset Club.
We started raising Horned Dorsets in 1979 when we purchased 4 ewes from N.K. Bates in Oregon. At the time, Bates had won Grand Champion Horned Dorset Ram and Ewe at the Ohio Dorset Show and Sale for almost a decade running. We subsequently purchased rams from Elmer Humphry and Karl Bratland, also from Oregon. For the next several decades, we improved our flock, and eventually became isolated as the breed reduced in numbers. With no other Dorset farms nearby, finding new rams became a challenge. In 2001 we shipped in some semen from a ram in Australia, and artificially bred our ewes. This brought us much needed outside blood and genetic diversity. In 2008 we traveled to England as a family, and visited several Horned Dorset sheep farms. We developed a great working relationship with the Porton Flock in Dorset County, and decided to purchase some ram semen. In 2009 we artificially inseminated our ewes to two different rams from the English stock. We are determined to continue to preserve genetic diversity and improve quality in our flock. Getting new breeders started in the next step in this process, so please contact us if you are interested in getting some sheep. |