Stella

Stella (MAE 100M) Born 4/22/02 in Minnesota
Black Mouflon Horned Ewe
Lambing record NB, (not bred), 2,3,3,2,3

Stella has been with us since 2005. I love her mouflon pattern. She is one of our hardest working ewes, with a 260% lambing record. She is a wonderful milker, which produces fast growing lambs. She is tall and deep, and displays many Leadersheep** traits. The leadersheep Blesa was her Great 3X grandmother. http://isbona.com/vol4no1win00.html Even though Stella's not our largest ewe, she's the head ewe in our flock, and is quick to defend that position when we bring in new sheep. Her lambs are very personable, and bossy, just like her. Most black sheep turn grey as they age, but she has retained her black color well, which is a plus. We have many of her offspring in our flock, so all three of her lambs will be for sale this year, sired by Echo HMRR 917T, from Hawks Mountain in Oregon.

**Icelandic Leadersheep, from Wikipedia--- ...a unique, small population of sheep developed which displayed outstanding abilities to help the farmers and shepherds to manage the flock on pasture, namely the so-called leadersheep Although farming practices have changed and reduced their role, these highly intelligent sheep with special alertness and leadership characteristics still form a population of approximately 1000-1200 sheep within the total national sheep population of just under 500,000.Most of the leadersheep are coloured and horned, even four-horned in a few cases. They have a slender body conformation, long legs and bones generally, yet of lighter weight than other sheep in the flock because they have been selected for intelligence, not for meat traits. Leadersheep are graceful and prominent in the flock, with alertness in the eyes, normally going first out of the sheep-house, looking around in all directions, watching to see if there are dangers in sight and then walking in front of the flock when driven to or from pasture. They may even guard the flock against predators. There are many stories on record about their ability to sense or forecast changes in the weather, refusing to leave the sheep-house before a major snowstorm.