Canadian Arcott Sheep

I have no intention of selling these lambs, but it is important to sometimes showcase what you produce, and what you choose for your replacements. I got just two sons and two daughters out of the 901G ram, who I sadly had to ship. But not before I collected him and put a lot of his semen in the tank. In reality, I can get loads of lambs sired by him in the future, but for right now, those four lambs are all I have, and believe me, they are worth hanging onto. 

480N is out of Polly 217K, and 492N is out of Polly 47H, both AI-sired by the first-generation ram Polycott 551Y. So the lambs are more than half-sisters. And they have the Badger 83B-Gainer 901G look stamped all over them. The lambs in that family are utterly unmistakeable. And the growth and conformation are just phenomenal. 480N's GenOvis numbers are good, her Gain and Carcass are well above average, and 492N's numbers are fantastic. But for me, the proof is in the pudding, the numbers are secondary. A poor lamb with great numbers is still a poor lamb. A great lamb with poor numbers is still a great lamb. I know which one I'd choose.

Keepers, both of them.

I got two sons out of 182H sired by Gainer 901G (and two daughters I am also keeping). These rams are a bit of an anomaly. They have the Gainer/Badger look all over them, you cannot mistake them. Being twins, one got a bit more groceries than the other, but their growth was typical of that line- phenomenal. Nexus 457N was the lighter of the two (and consequently has the lower GenOvis numbers). These numbers are credited solely to him (and his sire) as his dam has very poor accuracy on her GenOvis data, owing to parents with little to no data. This is the brother with the numbers that are much lower, yet there is not that much difference between the two to look at them. In many ways I actually prefer this one!

But growth and carcass are what this breed is all about, and this guy may have been outshone by his brother, but he was no slouch himself. His adjusted 50-day weight was over 55 lbs and his adjusted 100-day weight was 98 lbs. I think for a twin with a moose for a brother, he did all right!

*UPDATE- this ram's twin, 456N, sustained a serious problem, either a huge hematoma from an injury, or a hernia. His scrotum became very swollen, and even after treatment and the pain subsiding, the swelling simply did not go down. An exam by Dr. Lynn Tait confirmed that he was unlikely to recover without a major surgery. Because I am AI'ing 15 ewes to the sire, Gainer 901G, in October, the hard decision was made to ship the brother. So to all of you who have inquired about these rams (and there are a few), THIS is exactly why I held onto both of them. And I must emphasize, if I had sold the 456N ram, the problem may still have occurred in his new home, and also if I had sold the 457N ram, then had to ship 456N, well- that was exactly the scenario I was attempting to avoid by hanging onto both of them! And there has been some pretty good pressure on me to sell this one, but I am standing firm until 2026 when I have a lot more 901G sons on the ground. 457N is at this time not for sale!

Scrapie genotype RR

456N GenOvis: Gain 65% CARC 52% Mat 49% Mat-U 50% Mat-HP 32% Mat-UHP 46% *Note his loin measurement is in the 99th percentile. This is a ram to improve loin depth.

Remember that in a terminal breed, the only index that really matters is Gain. This guy's numbers have gone up since his loin scan, but remember that the numbers only tell part of the story! I prefer to look at him and judge for myself.

*In that vein, I decided to use this ram for January 2026. I bred hiim to only four ewes, as I am AI'ing 15 ewes to the sire Gainer 901G in October. Hopefully we get six or eight lambs out of this guy and maybe that will help his mediocre numbers, but in all honestly, I am not bothered by those numbers at all. They are what they are. Big deal. Might I add, there have been two visitors here who saw this ram and his twin brother (the one with the great numbers), and they preferred this one too!

So, to reiterate- if I decide to sell this ram, it will not be until the summer of 2026 when I see what the March AI lambs look like.

Of the five January 233K sons, this is the one that most resembles his sire.  As soon as I see him, I know he is a 233K son. He has both the foundation ram and the first-generation ram on his pedigree, so he is close to the foundation of the breed. His growth was great, and his loin scan was too. Though his CARC index is only in the 72nd percentile, this is due to his being a little heavy on the back fat; however, his loin measurement is in the 92nd percentile. He has stretch and a nice wide top, his loin is very long, and on loin scanning day the depth was 31.1 mm.

Scrapie genoptype QR.

GenOvis data as of Sept. 28, 2025.

484N GenOvis: Gain 90% Carc 72%  Mat 80% Mat-U 80%  Mat-HP 66% Mat-UHP 74%  *Ultra Loin is in the 92nd percentile.

SOLD!.... But wait!

Look for this ram in the 2025 Canadian Western Agribition Sheep Show and Sale in Regina, exhibited in the purebred show and consigned to the sale by the Lakeland College Sheep & Stuff Club.

They have two months to get him halter broke, washed, trimmed, well-behaved, and show-ring ready. Let's see what these ladies can do!

Just because I sold him, it doesn't mean I just wash my hands of him. I will be keepig in touch with the club, asking for photos and updates, and with their permission posting them here. We are happy to help them as much as they like if they have any questions or need any assistance. Sale day at CWA I hope to see lots of people taking an interest in this ram.  Let's see who takes him home!

 On loin scanning day, 490N was the heaviest of the five 233K sons, and in fact of the whole group of 15 ram lambs, only two ouweighed him. He is a bit of a bruiser, great heavy bone and loads of muscle. (Please take note, in the photo where he looks hump-backed, he is busy bawling, they always look humpy when they're bawling, the photo was bad timing on my part.) This guy knew how to grow, and that is not just a testament to his sire, but also to the great milking of his mother. The 15H daughters are a maternal line, and good milking means growth- his 50 day Gain is in the 96th percentile. Add in the 233K ram as a sire, and you can't really go wrong- his 50-100 day Gain is in the 97th percentile. (His twin sister was no slouch, either.)

Scrapie genotype RR.

GenOvis data as of Aug. 31, 2025.

490N GenOvis- Gain 97% Carc 98%  Mat 87% Mat-U 91%  Mat-HP 82% Mat-UHP 89%  *Ultra Loin is in the 93rd percentile.

He is my top ram (and the top Canadian Arcott  ram) on Genovis for carcass on the Top Rams In Proof list. He is also my highest on the Gain list.

This ram is being held for the Badlands Spring Select 2026.

VIDEO- https://youtu.be/wmj-lwj6DWg 

This is my top Canadian Arcott ram from the January-February 2025 lamb crop on GenOvis for Gain. Adj. 50d wt 56.5 lbs, adj. 100d wt 118 lbs. Yes, he is a single, but give his mother her due, she is an accelerator. Without time for a proper flush, accelerators do tend to throw more singles. She is also the dam of the top May 2024 ram, Major 544M. (Her own GenOvis numbers are extremely high as well.) *Update, she lambed again in August and had triplets.

So, meet Neptune 499N. Being a grandson of Pol 943G never hurt anybody. And the CARC 559X line is known for growth and size. He is an impressive ram in the flesh. 

Not only is he my top ram on the GenOvis Top Rams In Proof list (for Gain), he is my second-highest for Carcass.

Scrapie Genotype QR

GenOvis data as of Aug. 31, 2025.

499N GenOvis: Gain 98% CARC 96% Mat 87% Mat-U 90% Mat-HP 84% Mat-UHP 89%. 

Like 490N, he is technically available, but I am also quite happy to sell him as a yearling. If this is the ram you want, message me anytime, but I am in no panic to sell him now.

SOLD! Thank-you to a repeat buyer, the Lethbridge Research Farm!

Finally, I have a group of 161L sons to offer. Of the 15 January ram lambs selected to keep or sell for breeding, five were sired by Luke 161L. That ram was my chosen 943G son, and I have never regretted that decision. 

The Sky Blue 4211J ewe is a bit of a sleeper, she is one of those ewes you don't notice, she just sort of sits in the crowd, doing her thing. She likes to have singles, though she has had twins, and she doesn't like to lamb out of season, so I found myself not expecting great things, and then she did this. His 50-day weight (atrributed more to the dam's milking) was in the 84th percentile. This lamb grew like a weed, and you couldn't help but notice him. He is super smooth, has great bone, and a really nice loin and hindquarter. Type-wise he follows in the footsteps of his sire and grandsire, looking just like them. HIs 50-100 day Gain (atrributed to genetics and sire influence) is in the 90th percentile.

**UPDATE-watch for the maternal numbers to take a nice jump on this guy. His dam, Sky Blue 4211J, after I posted the comment about her not having a lot of twins and not liking to lamb out of season, just decided to prove I was a bit hasty. She had triplets in August.

I love everything about this ram. He may not be the biggest, or the heaviest, but when you look at the overall animal, it's the smoothness and correctness that strikes you. Conformation and structure matter too, and his percentiles are still good even if they are not in the high 90s. There are other things in life besides numbers.

When comparing this ram to the 490N ram, and the 484N ram who has sold, you can see that the 233K sons are flashier, showier, bigger framed, etc. But this guy is your market lamb producer. His loin is easily as wide as those of the 233K sons, and maybe even a little longer. He has a super twist and will be a top market lamb producer for somebody (but don't rule out keeping sons and daughters).

I want to offer this ram as a yearling in the 2026 Badlands Spring Select. I won't rule out selling him privately, but the price has gone up.

Scrapie genotype RR.

GenOvis data as of Sept. 28, 2025.

566N GenOvis: Gain 89% Carc 85%  Mat 79% Mat-U 81%  Mat-HP 70% Mat-UHP 76%  *Ultra Loin is in the 83rd percentile.

VIDEO- https://youtu.be/2-J-WERVLBs 

If you like a ram that is built like a tank, this may be the one for you. In the photos, you may think he is short, but he isn't. He is so thick that it visually shortens him up a bit, but if he was unusually short, he wouldn't be here (we won't keep and sell something we wouldn't use ourselves). The thickness on this ram is unbelievable. He is built like a brick (expletive deleted) house.

One of the lighter lambs on loin scanning day, he was also the youngest of the Canadian Arcott ram lambs. But his loin measurement was great (back fat a bit high). The first thing I notice on him is the bone. This ram can go out for pasture breeding and travel for miles. He could take a concrete barn floor, too. Some of his growth can be attributed to his dam being a 15H daughter (my maternal girls); they milk well and his 50-day weight is in the 82nd percentile. The 50-100 day Gain is in the 87th percentile, and that is more attributed to genetics and the sire's influence. There is no doubt the 161L sons know how to grow. He has the muscle and thickness we hope to see on Canadian Arcotts.

Scrapie genotype QR

GenOvis data as of Aug. 31, 2025

110 GenOvis: Gain 87% Carc 80%  Mat 68% Mat-U 72%  Mat-HP 57% Mat-UHP 70%  *Ultra Loin is in the 99th percentile.

SOLD! THANKS HENRY & DAWNA!

This is a fall-born ram that had some kind of injury, probably from a fight, so I decided to pull him out of the Badlands Select Sale. However, he is now completely recovered. The concern was if his fertility was affected by a combination of discomfort, stress, and heat. So I had him semen tested at OC Flock Management, and he pased with flying colors.

A pedigree chock-full of the foundation and first-generation AI sires. I can't go wrong when I breed a Canon to a Polly (or a Pol to a Candy), and this ram's sire, Canon 941G, is knocking it out of the park consistently. 941G is the sire of the Champion Canadian Arcott Ewe at the 2025 All Canada Classic in Brandon, making this ram her half-brother. Forgetting who his sire was, I took one look at his photos and I knew, this is a 941G son. Which translates to thickness, muscle, and a top like a table.

There are certain breeders who prefer a larger frame with longer legs, and there are breeders who prefer a more moderate sized, heavier-boned, low-slung, shorter-legged style of Canadian Arcott. This guy is the latter, so if that is your type, this could be your ram. His 50-100 day Gain is in the 88th percentile. His dam was the mother of the high-selling ram in the 2024 Badlands Spring Select.

*Update,- this ram's sire, Sheep Trax Canon 941G, is slated for semen collection this fall. Before export-eligible semen can be collected, all rams have to be MV-negative. I am holding this ram until we know the sire is MV-negative. If he happens to be MV-positive, I will collect him for owner's use only, and then ship him. If that should happen, I am keeping 439M. So for now he is on hold. But please remember we have tested several sheep for collection and for export, and haven't had any MV-positives yet that have lived their whole life in this flock. Rams that have been away and brought back can potentially be a different story, but 941G has been here since birth. He was clean on pre-isolation testing, and entered the collection facility on Fri.. Oct. 3rd. Post-isolation testing will be next, then post-collection, plus the extra tests required for some South American countries. When all testing has shown 941G to be MV-free, then I will consider parting with 439M. 

Scrapie genotype RR.

GenOvis data as of Sept. 14, 2025.

439M GenOvis: Gain 89%  Mat 73%  Mat-HP 47%

Video- https://youtu.be/epaLj0HRppE 

New Video- https://youtu.be/Hd_JsBCjCHU 

I had two tremendous ram lambs to choose between for my replacement for the 943G ram, that I unfortunately lost in late March 2023. Luke 161L was my choice. He is a son of Sheep Trax Ellyn 125E, who is one of my most productive ewes. She lambs out of season, and she routinely has triplets. Best of all, her grandmother is Sheep Trax Aspen 367A, who was another phenomenal ewe who was out of Sawyer C 104W. That is a ewe I love to see on a pedigree. (Three of the four grandparents you see on this pedigree go back to the Sawyer flock.) Secondly, he is a triplet, and while that is no guarantee of anything, it sure doesn't hurt. Thirdly, I love the look of him, as he is very smooth and correct, with good legs and feet and a nice straight top. His birth weight was 10.7 lbs and he was 108 lbs at 116 days of age. Scrapie genotype QR (just like his old Dad).This one was a no-brainer.

As he has matured, he more and more resembles his sire. I am grateful I had this ram to keep back! 

Of the 15 ram lambs I kept for sale from the Jan-Feb lamb crop, five are sired by this ram. Luke 161L is slated to go for semen collection in the fall of 2025.

161L GenOvis: Gain 84% Carc 85% Mat 73% Mat-U 77% Mat-HP 67% Mat-UHP 75%

In the national flock, particularly in western Canada, there are two Sawyer rams that have had a pretty large impact, and those are Sawyer C 47T and Sawyer C 3X. In my personal flock, there is a ewe that has had a pretty big impact, and that was Sawyer C 76X. 76X was a daughter of 47T, and she was bred to 3X; the resulting daughter was 82Y. I pined for 82Y for several years, and finally was able to purchase her from the Lakeland College flock dispersal. I owned 76X, I purchased her directly from Colleen Sawyer; she has had many daughters, and grandsons and granddaughters, added to my flock, including 82Y, who is still here and is now 14 years old. And now 82Y has a daughter here, and this son as well. She also had a ram lamb in late January 2025, just one month shy of her 14th birthday. If he develops well and looks good, he will be staying here too!

The 397K ram is line bred (the 15H ram also goes back to the 76X ewe), and he fits in here just fine. All those old lines are gone now. How perfect to breed 82Y to a son of a first-generation ram too! This ram was a little small (any lamb would be whose mother is 11 years old!), but when we went through the rams, we liked what we saw. And now he is really coming along. While he has that maternal-type roman nose, he is also looking particularly butch, so it looks like he got the best of both. He is a keeper, to carry on the 76X/82Y line. *Scrapie genotype RR. This ram has quite a few May 2025 lambs, which has improved his GenOvis data signifivantly. Once we have loin scans and 100-day weights, it should improve again.

GenOvis data as of Sept. 21, 2025.

397K GenOvis: Gain 56% CARC 62% Mat 46% Mat-U 50% Mat HP 19% Mat-UHP 34% *Ultra loin is in the 76th percentile.

I liked this ram so much as a lamb that I simply couldn't part with him; I sold a mature 559X son to make room in the ram pen (because I didn't need four). This whopper of a ram weighed 115 pounds at 76 days of age, and from very early on he stood out, he would be the first lamb I noticed, every time. He has the 559X stamp on him. Scrapie genotype QR.

The dam, what more can I say about 540C? She raised this at 7 years of age, and lambed again in September 2021 and had a beautiful ewe lamb that sold in the August 2022 Badlands Select Sale; then she had a set of twins in May of 2023. Then she had a ewe lamb in May of 2024 (give her a break, she's getting up there!), and that daughter sold in the 2025 Badlands Spring Select Sale. I have kept several of Clover 540C's daughters, but her rams were always sold to other breeders (her son was the high selling Canadian Arcott ram in the 2021 Genetic Impact Sale). Not this time. 

*Update- 540C has a ewe lamb from Aug. 2025 that is simply spectacular; her Gain index on GenOvis is already at 89%, and that is without even doing her 100-day weight yet. Her Carc index is 90% and Ultra Loin 93%, and they will not even be scanned until early December. At the age of 10, this ewe is still doing the job. This is what Canon 233K comes from.

On July 26th, 2022 at 6.5 months of age, this ram lamb weighed 197 lbs. On Aug. 20, 2022 he was Champion Ram at the Priddis & Millarville Fair sheep show. Canon 233K is consistently used whenever we pen breed. He is used strategically, so as not to breed him to a bunch of his half-sisters. I wouldn't mind, but the buyers might!  His lambs always look terrific. In fact, one of his triplet daughters sold for a 4-H ewe project at just 69 days of age!

I have used 233K in every breeding season, including the August 2025 season. He has lambs on the ground born this August, those will be selected for the Badlands Summer Select for 2026.

Canon 233K went to OC Flock Management for semen collection in the fall of 2024, and there is export-eligible semen from this ram.

GenOvis data as of Nov. 2, 2025.

233K GenOvis: Gain 94% Carc 94% Mat 88% Mat-U 90% Mat-HP 79% Mat-UHP 86%

Canon 233K is on the GenOvis Top Proven Rams list.

If it is not enough that Pol 960G was my pick of the 2019 AI Polycott 551Y sons, Sheep Trax Genesis 927G is one of my favorite ewes ever. Out of Alice 333A, who threw some of the most phenomenal females ever, she is sired by my beloved old Badger 83B ram. This is a pedigree that can't go wrong. This ram is growthy and correct, long and thick, with that trademark Badger coloring on the face and ears. As I did not have a Badger son until I got 901G back, a grandson was the next best thing, and being a son of the 960G ram, who sadly has died, ticks two boxes with one ram. Another bonus- scrapie genotype RR! This ram was used in December for May 2023 lambs, and was used again in August for January 2024 lambs. He was also used in April of 2024 for September lambs, as he is a great out-of-season breeder. Two ram lambs and four ewe lambs sired by 212J from the September group made the cut. One ewe lamb is a replacement, but look for two of the other three ewe lambs and one of the ram lambs in the 2025 All Canada Classic. They will show individually and as a Get of Sire, and sell! The other ewe lamb and ram lamb will sell in the Badlands Summer Select, Aug. 8-9, 2025.

212J GenOvis: Gain 83% Mat 70% Mat HP 50%

 What 188F passed on to his sons more than anything is length, along with good bone and great feet. This ram is a half-brother to Joe 129J.

I decided to keep this guy, as he was the only ram in existence at that time that was a grandson of the Romance 170E ram. His scrapie genotype is QR. 

This is a ram I could have sold, but because of that pedigree I chose to use him. And I have not regretted it. He has produced some really phenomenal lambs.

He also has a good out-of-season record, making him an all-round performer. And every time someone comes to see the flock sires, he is the first one they point to and say, "Who's that?"

Juno 156J went to OC Flock Management for semen collection in the fall of 2024, and there is export-eligible semen on this ram.

156J GenOvis: Gain 85% Mat 83% Mat HP 85%

 This ram's dam is an AI-sired daughter of the Polycott 551Y ram, and her dam is one of those ewes that just continue to impress, Clover 540C (she keeps appearing on pedigrees!). She is still here, and lambed again in September 2022 (a single) and May of 2023 (twins). Being a C, she is now 10 years old. She produced a phenomenal ram in January of 2022 (see listing for Canon 233K). This ram's dam (540C's daughter), Polly 998G, tends to lamb every 8 months and produced twins in January 2022.  Joe 129J  is standing out as perhaps the best ram of the May 2021 bunch (though I have to admit, I saw two from that crop that sold to Veteran Colony, and they sure looked good). Scrapie genotype RR. On July 26, 2022 he weighed 207 pounds. Because this ram is looking better and better all the time, and he is scrapie genotype RR, I left him up for sale but I also really like him, so I used him. This is one of those times where you can't quite put your finger on why he didn't sell, but other people's loss is definitely my gain. This is not a ram you ship if he doesn't sell, this is a ram you put to work in your own flock. The longer he has been here, and the more he matured, the more I realized I really didn't want to sell him at all. I use him occasionally in small synchronized groups, and in the group lambing in May 2025 he got used a little more; there are 16 ewes bred to 129J. I believe after loin scans and 100-day weights are done, he will improve quite a bit. We will know in September! 

GenOvis data as of Sept. 21, 2025.

129J GenOvis: Gain 84% CARC 93%  Mat 58% Mat-U 70%  Mat HP 46%  Mat-UHP 69%   Ultra Loin in the 98th percentile

Sheep Trax Hammer 143H is the Sawyer C 4Z son I selected to keep, to be a replacement for his sire. Scrapie genotype QR, this is a ram with great thickness, straight top, excellent bone, and loads of muscle. It didn't hurt at all to hold onto this guy. Just a year old in September of 2021, this ram was nearly as big as the yearlings and mature rams he lived with. The Sawyer genetics are strong in this one, as his dam's grandsire was also a Sawyer ram. Because he was heavily used for the 2023 lambing, he was used only lightly for 2024, and will have a couple of fall-born daughters in the Badlands Spring Select in May 2025. He has two yearling sons from January 2024; Milo 424M also sells in the Badlands Spring select, and Magnum 403M has been entered in the All Canada Classic in Brandon, MB in July. The 403M ram is one of the best rams I have ever offered in a Classic. Hammer 143H was used last summer and has 16 lambs on the ground in the Jan-Feb 2025 lamb crop. Naturally, as soon as they had 100-day weights, his GenOvis numbers began to rise.

143H GenOvis: Gain 83% Carc 91%  Mat 76% Mat-U 81% Mat-HP 70%  Mat-UHP 80%

An AI-sired twin out of an AI-sired ewe, this ram and his twin sister have the most unique pedigree, having the first-generation ram Polycott 551Y as their sire and the foundation ram Canadian Arc 559X as their grandsire. In other words, this ram is 3/4 foundation stock, hitting the reset button. Going back on his dam's side to the old Sawyer C 76X ewe is an added bonus.

This is a more moderate-sized ram, mainly because he was a twin born to a ewe lamb that was 10 days shy of her first birthday. She raised the lambs without supplementation. His twin sister is a phenomenal little ewe. Scrapie genotype QR.

 In the 25 years I have had Canadian Arcott sheep, I have noticed (keep in mind this is anecdotal only) that roman-nosed Canadian Arcotts appear to be very maternal, and this ram is definitely roman-nosed. These roman-nosed Canadian Arcotts are a little smaller in stature, tend to have lots of mutiples, and the ewes are easy to graft lambs onto and breed out of season. If there is anything to the theory, then I would also venture to say that the rams are more fertile out-of-season as well. There are not a lot of Canadian Arcott breeders who  breed out of season, but for me it is another consideration. If a breeder selected only this type of sheep as replacements, they could really change the profile of their flock, so I firmly believe this type of sheep is to be used properly along with more terminal type animals, to keep the breed a good balance of both. Once all the kinks are worked out, it will be interesting to see if his GenOvis numbers reflect this.

I have kept several daughters of this ram. They look to be very feminine and I will take care to breed them to a more terminal style of ram, but if the theory holds out, they will have more lambs over their lifetime and have other more maternal traits, such as breeding out-of-season and having lots of milk. Again, these things do not matter to all breeders, but to some of us they are another thing on the list to check off. It is important to be careful not to select on these types of traits alone, as doing so will change the profile of a flock. This is a meat breed, whose strongest traits are growth and muscle, and we have to remember that.

Pol 15H has two May 2024 born lambs that will be seling as yearlings in the Badlands Spring Select Sale at the end of May. These are a ram and a ewe, Mac 534M and Mila 541M. There are also two promising fall-born lambs from 2024 that made the cut, one ram and one ewe. Look for them in the Badlands Summer Selct Sale in August.

15H GenOvis: Gain 80% Mat 46% Mat HP 20%' data as of Sept. 14, 2025.

I sold this guy as a ram lamb in our 2020 production sale, and immediately regretted it. And naturally, his sire Badger 83B died the following fall, and there I was left with no son. The buyer knew I would take 901G back as soon as they were ready to part with him and in 2024 that time came. We brought him all the way back from the Peace Country.

Sawyer and Germanie made a pretty powerful combinaton. Line bred to the ewe Sawyer C 104W  (Badger 83B and Angus 366A were her sons), this ram is so like his sire that I often would walk by him and accidentally call him Badger. 

There is size and muscle here, length and bone, great strong legs and feet, just pure ram power.

Sadly, Gainer 901G developed a problem and had to be shipped. But not before he was put in the tank. Though he is no longer here, I will leave him up as a Reference Sire because in future we will definitely be AI'ing ewes to this powerhouse of a ram.

Gainer 901G went to OC Flock Management for semen collection, which was collected for owner's use only. It is good to know this ram still has a future here.

And best of all, before he was collected, he was used here! He has two sons and two daughters here, and they are all staying. I may sell one of the rams in 2026. (Look for Nitro 456N and Nexus 457N.) The lambs look phenomenal, and they look just like their sire, which means they look just like their grandfather Sheep Trax Badger 83B. The sheep in that family are stamped with a certain look, as soon as you see one, you know it.

Gainer 901G is a perfect example of why people should LOOK at sheep first, before they look at numbers. I say this despite his great GenOvis numbers (remember the main number to look at with a terminal breed is the Gain):

901G GenOvis: Gain 89%  Carc 90%  Mat 64%  Mat-U 72%  Mat HP 57% Mat-UHP 72%

Please note that with that great gain (89th percentile) and carcass (90th percentile), he will not appear on the GenOvis Top Proven Rams list because he does not have enough progeny. That will change in 2026, after his AI-sired lambs are weighed and scanned. On Oct. 7, 13 ewes were AI'd to him. After those lambs have weights and loin scans, I predict this ram will have even better numbers than he does now. And even if he wouldn't, I would use him anyway. Numbers are just one piece of the puzzle.

901G was deliberately line bred. HIs Coefficient of Inbreeding was 10.63%, a number that a lot of people would consider high, and which would horrify some. In our genetic diversity study with AnGRC/AAFC (more on that later on the News page and in the summer issue of Sheep Canada magazine) his heterozygosity was 57% (the optimal minimum is considered to be 60%). That may seem low to some (for example, most of my rams were well into the 70s, and Juno 156J was a whopping 86%). And remember heterozygosity goes hand-in-hand with growth. But even so, with the exception of 233K, nobody's lambs grow faster. The moral of the story- don't put too much stock in COIs. The other moral- COI is not necessarily a good indicator of heterozygosity. *Update- after getting final results on our diversity study, I would take that a step further and say that COI is not AT ALL an indicator of heterozygosity.

AI-sired by the Polycott 551Y ram makes 956G close to the foundation of the breed. On his dam's side he goes back to the Germanie 4072Y ram. That ram was a stupendous producer of rams and market lambs. His grandmother Aspen 367A takes him back to Sawyer C 104W, a ewe that I always love to see on a pedigree. That makes him related to Badger 83B and Gainer 901G, through the 104W ewe family. This ram is not the same type as those two, but give him his due, that carcass was definitely there! This is what the Canadian Arcott should exhibit- a long body with loads of muscle. He is a bit finer-boned, but coming from a 367A daughter, this is no surprise. 

This ram was sold as a lamb in the 2019 Genetic Impact Sale. Little did I know that five years later I would be getting him back. When I lost my Pol 943G ram, I wanted to get a Polycott 551Y son back that was not related to the other AI sire, Canadian Arc 559X. Pol 15H was the only one I had, but he is a grandson of 559X, and I wanted the option to keep those lines separate. So I got 956G back. 

This ram is moderate sized. He may not impress you much when you look at him now, as an older ram, but his 2025 lambs are sure looking good! He currently (Apr. 21) has a son on the GenOvis Top Rams In Proof list, his growth is in the 91st percentile. 

**956G has got low GenOvis numbers, mostly because he has so little progeny. There is a huge gap in his history because he was not here for five years. His parents are long gone. This means that he may never have GenOvis numbers that reflect his true potential. So I will let his lambs do that for me. He has very few now, but he had a few more in May. I am hoping his lambs will slowly help with those dismal numbers, but quite frankly they don't make me change my mind about the ram or regret getting him back.He was shorn on May 2, 2025, and he looks phenomenal! *Update, his GenOvis data has improved, though still not impressive for those who put all their faith in numbers. He has just seven May lambs, so once we have 100-day weights and loin scans done we wil likely see some more small improvement. Remember he was gone from here for five years, so there is no prior history and therefore poor accuracy on his indexes.

Scrapie genotype RR.

GenOvis data as of Sept. 21, 2025.

956G GenOvis: Gain 56% Carc 56%  Mat 62% Mat-U 61%   Mat-HP 32% Mat-UHP 44% *Ultra Loin is now in the 60th percentile

*Note this ram's GenOvis numbers have improved tremendously. For instance, he started off (with no history because he had been in another flock for five years) with Gain at 16%. In August his Carc was at 23%. This ram is a great example of how the numbers change with more progeny, and how missing data affects indexes. Look at the numbers, but not until after you look at the sheep.

Pol 956G entered collection facility at OC Flock Management on Fri. Oct. 3rd for semen collection. Pending all his tests being clean, this will be export-eligible semen.

Single AI-sired ram sired by the foundation ram Canadian Arc 559X, and a grandson of two really good sheep: Alice 333A who was always a favorite, and Clovis 470C who went on to be a very good ram in other flocks. This is a nice, compact, heavy muscled ram with a very laid-back temperament! As he matured, he just filled out non-stop, and has become simply a tank. If you could keep him still enough, you could safely set your beer down on the table of his back. His scrapie genotype is RR, and he is the only RR  of the 2019 559X sons. I  have used this ram many times, and am very happy with his lambs. He had a bit of a rest last year, but he had lambs last year that turned up as yearlings in the Badlands Spring Select, as well as the 2025 All Canada Classic.*UPDATE- his daughter was the Champion Canadian Arcott ewe in the Classic, and sold for $2300.** 

The longer I have this ram, the better I like him. So much so that he is slated for semen collection in the fall of 2025. His Gain index is good, certainly well above average, but where this ram excels is in producing long, wide loins with a straight top, as well as excellent bone. He has a handful of May 2025 lambs on the ground (watch for them in the Badlands Spring Select 2026), and he was just exposed to five ewes for January, so having more of his lambs with data will give a clearer picture on GenOvis (as long as you realize that GenOvis numbers are just a small piece of the puzzle).

GenOvis data as of Aug. 31, 2025.

941G GenOvis: Gain 69%, Mat 35%, Mat HP 13%. His 50-100 day Gain is in the 71st percentile. 

 In mid-January of 2019 the first batch of AI-sired Canadian Arcott lambs hit the ground (softly). In 2019 we once again AI'd to these old rams. All of the AI-sired ewe lambs are staying here and the available rams are all sold. I was so happy with the G crop that we AI'd again, and the H crop was just as good.

 What an incredible opportunity this has been to take the breed right back to the beginning! The lamb pictured is a son of Sheep Trax 258D and Polycott 551Y. He shows exactly what I was looking for from these sires- excellent length, good bone, and that topline! Topline can be an issue in this breed, with so many breeders pushing for ribeye muscle depth and selecting based strictly on Genovis numbers, and these early animals are showing the capability to keep that topline straight. We are also carefully checking feet. So far these lambs are looking great!

Now we proceed with the legacy of these two rams, breeding their sons and daughters, grandsons and granddaughters. It is very gratifying to see a foundation ram and a first-generation ram making their mark 30+ years later. It is also really interesting to note that in those 30+ years we have not really been able to improve on the breed. And I don't think that is a bad thing. It is fairly arrogant to think that we could have done so much to improve them, because this was a phenomenal breed from the start! This opportunity to 'press reset' has been nothing but good and I am excited about the future of Sheep Trax Canadian Arcotts.

On Aug. 12, 2021, I AI'd another dozen ewes to these two rams, and 8, or 2/3, caught to AI; three caught to Canadian Arc 559X, and five to Polycott 551Y. This is the last of my straws, so once again, rams will be for sale but ewe lambs will stay in the flock! UPDATE- from that AI, I got a beautiful group of ewe lambs, I am over-the-moon happy with them, as I have been the other two times. What a phenomenal group of ewes! Also I am happy to say that in Sheep Trax Canon 233K I got what is probably the best ram I have ever raised. He is my favorite Canadian Arc 559X son, to stand alongside Sheep Trax Pol 943G, my favorite Polycott 551Y son. 

I cannot stress enough how these AI sires have corrected the two biggest conformation issues in the breed- toplines and feet. The consistency is so satisfying, I have hardly culled a ram lamb for feet in the last couple of years. And the straight tops are sure nice to see.

A word to anyone who is considering importing Canadian Arcott females into the US. First off, you will NOT regret it. As you see on this web page, this is not a Rideau. They will not have quads and quints. They will lamb out at about 180% (maybe a little higher if you flush well and only lamb once a year and at the right time of year). But those lambs will GROW. If you are looking for muscle and growth, moderate-sized (and therefore less costly to feed) sheep that tend to have a very nice temperament, sheep that can be run on pasture or in confinement, please get in touch! This is the ideal sheep for producing lambs that will get to market weight sooner, and save you money in feed costs.

sheepncats66@hotmail.com 

403-741-8597

NOTE- all ewes entering the USA must be scrapie genotype RR. SInce we sell May and September lambs in our two production sales, it is the January crop that is available by private treaty. We would appreciate a lot of lead time so we can figure out which females to genotype, either for private sale or in the sales if you are looking to bid. We do not have all the ewes genotyped, but all of the rams are. Thus we can eliminate any ewe lamb that is sired by a QQ ram (though I only have one) or out of a probable QQ ewe. 

ALSO NOTE- I can provide rams for a starter flock too. I have 11 flock sires, so unrelated or only distantly related rams can be provided. Also ask about semen if you are looking to AI. Rams were collected in 2024, the two rams eligible for export to the USA, Mexico, and Colombia are Sheep Trax Canon 233K and Sheep Trax Juno 156J. The plan is to collect three more in 2025, one of those will be Sheep Trax Luke 161L, the others have not been chosen yet, though the three in the running are Canon 941G, Joe 129J,and Justice 212J (all RRs). So if AI is your method of choice, at least in the next couple of years, we can look at that as well. I was not really collecting them to sell, rather to preserve the fullblood lines. However, due to a slight communication glitch, I ended up with lots of extra straws.So I don't care if they sit in the tank for years, but they are export eligible, if anyone asks.

Lastly, our local vet is certified by the CFIA  to do all the testing and the paperwork! And speaking of testing, be sure to contact your state vet to find out what tests need to be done. This varies by state.