Canadian Arcott Sheep

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- and yes, I can provide rams for a starter flock too. I use 11 sires, and next year I am going to be up to 13. No worries there. Also ask about semen if you are looking to AI. Ram collection did not start this year as the cost of feed and trucking was so exorbitant. Rams are slated to be collected in 2024, probably four. And another four in 2025. So if AI is your method of choice, at least in the next couple of years, we can look at that as well. I am not really collecting them to sell, rather to preserve the fullblood lines. So I don't care if they sit in the tank for years, but they will be export eligible.

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.

Here is a ram who has the looks and the pedigree! He has the old Sawyer C 82Y ewe for his grandmother, and he also goes back to the AI sire Polycott 551Y and the FCLB 43637C ram as well! Lots of interesting animals on this pedigree....

He is thick, long, and correct, with great bone, muscle for days, and lots of color. He must have gotten the color from his sire because his dam is white as snow. On June 10 he weighed 142 lbs.Scrapie genotype RR

On hold for 2025 All Canada Classic.

This ram impresses me more every time I see him. Like his dam, he is big. His sire is actually moderate sized, albeit wide, deep, thick, and built like a tank. His dam, however, is a big girl, a sheep who has been to more than one show in her life. This ram is a twin, and his sister is just as impressive as he is. Having the Sawyer C 4Z ram as his grandsire is another bonus. He also goes back to my old Alice 333A (dam of 104C), so once again the pedigree is full of positives.

On June 10th this ram was 152 lbs. He was the second-heaviest Canadian Arcott ram (the heaviest was a single, and only 4 lbs heavier).  Scrapie genotype QR.

MAGNUS 396M has been selected to show and sell in the 2024 Grasslands in Humboldt, SK July 20-21!

THANK-YOU to Don Johnston of Sky Blue Farm, Donnelly, AB for the purchase of this ram at the Grasslands!

Link to video: https://youtu.be/Ygz_-0d831Q 

Having the Romance 170E ram on a pedigree is rare, as we bought the last two straws in 2018. But there are two other sheep on this pedigree that make it even better! Polly 998G is a daughter of Clover 540C, and Coco 110C goes back to Aspen 367A and therefore Sawyer C 104W. These are the sheep that appear on so many pedigrees because they just always dd everything right.

This ram is very like has dam. Incredibly smooth, crazy long, good bone, nice black feet, and muscles for miles. On June 10 he weighed 147 lbs. Scrapie genotype is pending but his sire is RR. And Max 399M is first out of the gate for the January rams, as he is SOLD! Thanks Konur!

Distantly line bred to Sawyer C 47T, this ram also goes back to Sheep Trax Clovis 470C, who was a son of my old Aspen 367A. Clovis had stretch for miles. 

This ram was 136 lbs on June 10. Because he is sired by the old VCSF ram who died on New Year's Eve 2023, he iinherited length. 519F was a train, as was his sire, Sheep Trax Chevy 106C. This ram lamb is very smooth and correct and has great bone. Scrapie genotype RR.

SOLD! THANK-YOU TO ROSE RANCH OF BURNS LAKE, BC FOR PURCHASING THIS RAM!

To see Sawyer C 4Z on a pedigree close up is great, but to see Badger 83B amd Alice 333A that close is the icing on the cake. The Genesis 927G ewe is one of my absolute favorite ewes. And she is my only Badger daughter (and I have a son that I just got back), so the Badger offspring are few and far between. Even more interestingly, Badger was sired by Germanie 4072Y, and this ram lamb reminds me so much of that old Germanie ram.

Scrapie genotype QR.. On June 10 he weighed 146 lbs. This ram is already pretty special, I am certain he will be a powerhouse as a yearling. Despite the fact that it is common practice to take RR rams to the All Canada Classic, I think so highly of this one that I have decided to hold him for the Classic anyway. Eveyr time I see him he stands out, and by the time of the 2025 Classic he is going to be one impressive yearling ram.

Both the AI sires Canadian Arc 559X and Polycott 551Y are in this pedigree. Another name that keeps appearing on pedigrees is Sheep Trax Daisy 126D, and Polly 998G's dam is Clover 540C (a pattern emerges).

Long, thick, deep, heavy muscled. great bone, it's all here. On June 10 he weighed 138 lbs. Scrapie genotype QR.

SOLD! Thanks Josh!

The heaviest Canadian Arcott ram on June 10 at 156 lbs (and second only to one Suffolk in the whole group), this ram is a bruiser and he is impressive. This guy inherited his sire's dark brown color, as well as his size and stretch. His mother is also the dam of London 270L, who was the high-seliing ram in our Badlands Spring Select Sale this year. She has both AI sires in her pedigree.This guy is entered in the Badlands Summer Select Sale Aug. 9-10. Scrapie genotype QR.

Sawyer C 4Z on top, Sheep Trax Clover 540C on the bottom, these are the ones to look for! I am noticing this year that despite the number of different sires I use, my rams are becoming a little more similar. Selection is important, and you need to know what to select for. Even more importantly you need to know what to cull out. The rams are becoming more uniform every year because the ancestors are so consistent. Thus I end up repeating myself- length, loads of muscle, great bone.... here it is again! This ram lamb weighed 129 lbs on June 10. Scrapie genotype QR.

This ram may be selected for the Badlands Summer Select Sale in August. Selections will be made soon and listings will be updated.

This ram could be tied with 403M for my favorite. Sheep Trax Canon 233K is my all-time favorite ram (and out of Clover 540C, who raised him to 115 lbs at 76 days when she was 7 years old). Sheep Trax June 165J is line bred to Sawyer C 76X, a ewe family that is heavily represented in my flock. I just love everything about this ram lamb, and I am not bothered that he is a single because his dam had just lambed 8 months earlier.

He has heavy bone, and could travel for miles on pasture or function just fine on a concrete floor. He is heavily muscled like his sire, and very long and thick. And he has nice wedge-shaped shoulders for lambing ease. On June 10 he weighed 134 lbs.

Scrapie genotype is QQ, so he will not be selected for the 2025 All Canada Classic. I have opted to offer this ram in the Badlands Summer Select Sale, Aug. 9-10, on DLMS Farmgate.

This ram goes back to some great old sheep- Germanie 4072Y, FCLB 43895C, Sheep Trax Daisy 126D, just to name a few. And that's just on the dam's side! Sired by Canon 233K is an added bonus.

Tons of muscle on this guy, good bone, black feet, smooth and correct. On June 10 he weighed 129 lbs. Scrapie genotype QR.

Sheep Trax Dancer 119D was the fastest-growing ewe lamb I ever raised. A triplet with two giant brothers, she would not take a bottle from me no matter how hard I tried to tempt her. Every tme I saw the lambs that year, I didn't recognize her because she was just so much bigger. I have never, before or since, seen a ewe lamb grow like that. Her pedigree goes back to some really old stuff, Sawyer C 58X and the Zubot 42X ewe. Breeding her to Canon 233K was another growth booster.

This ram lamb was 135 lbs on June 10. Phenomenal bone, super heavy muscle, this guy could end up being a big ram. Scrapie genotype QQ. 

This ram has been selected to sell in rhe Badlands Summer Select Sale, Aug. 9-10 on DLMS Farmgate.

This ram has some of those really desirable ancestors on his pedigree- Justice 212J goes back to Badger 83B and Daisy 126D, and his dam is a daughter of Dancer 119D. I coiuld probably find more if I did a deep dive, but I don't need to! 

Typewise, he really resembles his dam, who is a big girl. He gets his depth and excellent thickness from his sire. This ram lamb weighed 133 lbs on June 10. Scrapie genotype QR.

This twin ram's dam has a pedigree that goes back to some old Sawyer and Germanie sheep. The sire goes back to old Sawyer lines as well. Forrest 916F is an impressive ram. He is very heavy muscled and ridiculously long. This muscular ram lamb weighed 116 lbs on June 10 (note his late January birthdate). Scrapie genotype RR. 

This ram lamb has been selected to keep back to yearling, for the 2025 All Canada Classic as an alternate. If you don't keep an alternate, you will need one every time.

Out of a Clover 540C daughter and the big old man Forrest 916F, this twin ram lamb has some serious potential. On June 10 he weighed 120 lbs (note his Feb birth date). He has his sire's incredible length, and he has excellent muscle and bone and nice black feet. This ram is built exactly like his sire, long and heavy muscled. And yes, he has a slight hump- that is the ribeye muscle and it is the mark of a superb market lamb proiducer. You may not want to keep sons or daughters sired by a slightly humped ram (but you might after all, depending on the mother), but if a terminal sire is what you are looking for, this is the guy.

Scrapie genotype RR.

I have opted to put 494M in the Badlands Summer Select Sale. I want to have several sires represented in the sale, and I also wanted to offer at least one RR ram in the sale. 

When people come to see the flock sires, the first Canadian Arcott ram they point out and ask about is Juno 156J. He is such a well-put-together ram, he grabs attention immediately. This ram is an out-of-season twin out of a Clover 540C daughter sired by the Polycott ram, and she is super pretty, just the kind of ewe I look for. 

This ram is similar to his sire in that he is moderate-sized but very long and heavy-muscled with some really great bone and feet. Scrapie genotype QR.

The first of just three September-born rams that are going to sell in the Badlands Summer Select Sale, Aug. 9-10 on DLMS Farmgate.

Delaney 181D is still here, producing lambs. She goes back to old Sawyer and Napkin Farm sheep, and the sire Canon 966G also goes back to Sawyer lines as his dam was a daughter of Sawyer C 76X.

Canon 966G is a big ram. He is used a little more sparingly because he is scrapie genotype QQ. The ram lamb is also a QQ. He takes after his sire and looks very much like him. He is also a big guy; by the time of our spring sale June 1, he fit right in with the May-born yearlings. 

The second of three fall-born ram lambs kept back for the Badlands Summer Select Sale, Aug. 9-10 on DLMS Farmgate.

A colorful ram lamb who is an out-of-season twin. His pedigree is full of great sheep- Badger 83B, Alice 333A, and two times Daisy 126D (who was the dam of ol 960G). Scrapie genotype QR.

Thick and long, this guy is the third of three fall-born ram lambs that will sell in the Badlands Summer Select Sale Aug. 9-10 on DLMS Farmgate.

This ewe lamb, twin to the Laramie 390L ram, is very similar to her dam. Thick, long, and well-muscled with great bone but still feminine enough to appeal to those who look for that. She has the old Sawyer C 82Y for a grandmother, which means she is a member of the 76X ewe family. She also goes back to the FCLB 43637C ram, and he has very limited progeny.

Where her brother was 142 lbs on June 10, this ewe lamb was not far behind, at 123 lbs!  A handful of the ewe lambs have been selected for scrapie genotyping (mostly for the purposes of finding a couple to keep for the 2025 All Canada Classic, if we decide to go), and this was one of them. Scrapie genotype RR.

LYRICA 391L has been selected to show and sell in the 2024 Grasslands at Humboldt, SK July 20-21!

THANK-YOU to Divina Bergevin of Lazy U R Canadian Arcotts, Westbridge, BC, for purchasing this ewe lamb!

Link to video: https://youtu.be/AT9n0VmJuQQ 

This ewe lamb is right at the top of the heap this year. I have so many good things to say about her. I love that she is a granddaughter of the old Sawyer C 4Z ram, but I confess I actually believe she is a throwback to Calliope 104C's dam, Alice 333A, who produced the most stupendous females, and type-wise this one is from the same mold. This is exactly the kind of ewe lamb I strive for.

Deep-bodied and long, with good bone but not too heavy, striped feet, a nice topline, heavy muscled but still feminine. On June 10 she weighed 113 lbs. I would love to keep her but I still have her parents. This ewe lamb was also one of the handful selected for scrapie genotyping.

Scrapie genotype RR.

On hold for the 2025 All Canada Classic.

This ewe lamb is the twin sister to 392L. A little slighter built, she is super feminine and may appeal to those who look for a more maternal style. Having the old Sawyer C 76X and the Alice 333A ewes in her lineage means she is set up for longevity and production. On June 10 she weighed 103 lbs. Her sire is RR.

If I were to put together a wish-list of sheep I want to see on a pedigree, I would have Madeline 394M. Her ancestors include Sawyer C 76X (grandmother of Fortune 188F), Clover 540C (dam of Polly 998G), Alice 333A (grandmother of Canon 941G), and Aspen 367A (daughter of Sawyer C 104W). Every line hits the jackpot. Scrapie genotype RR.

I love everything about this one, her type, her style and color, her muscle, bone, and smoothness. On June 10 she weighed 120 lbs.

She is being kept back to yearling for 2025. She may be going to the 2025 All Canada Classic, but she is at least an alternate.

Another descendant of the Sawyer 76X ewe and the Alice 333A ewe. The proof is in the pudding. This ewe lamb, twin to the Magnus 396M ram, is so like her mother and grandmother it's spooky.  Like her dam Eva 116E, Jitrbug 962J is a big, impressive ewe who has been to more than one show in her lifetime and probably has one or two more shows in her future. Long and deep, excellent muscle and bone, nice dark feet. She was 117 lbs on June 10. She has been selected for scrapie genotyping, she is QR.

Twin to the 405M ram. She has super ancestors in her pedigree (Sawyer C 76X, Daisy 126D, the foundation AI ram, just to name a few). Just what a Canadian Arcott ewe lamb should be- long and correct with lots of muscle but still feminine (and giant ears too), this is one for those who like color. Her sire is RR. On June 10 she weighed 99 lbs.

When the Lakeland College flock was dispersed, I bought some older sheep from them, and while we were there I bought one ewe lamb, and that was 809H. She comes from lines I don't typically use but she was a good ewe lamb so we threw her in. She has produced well and has recently been confirmed pregnant for September. This twin daughter is really popping. The 941G ram is very masculine, to look at him you would never predict a lot of femininity in his daughters, but he seems to throw both masculine sons and feminine daughters- a good, all-around sire. This ewe lamb is what I look for- long and thick and smooth, with nice black feet. Her sire is RR. On June 10 she weighed 115 lbs.

This was one of those ewe lambs that slid along undetected until shearing day. As she was waiting in the chute to be shorn I looked at her and said, who's THAT? And then seeing her with the wool off, I asked, where did you come from and why haven't I had my eye on you before? There are a few like that every year. This is a really impressive ewe lamb. She got her stretch from her sire, who was a train, and her femininity from her mother, who traces back to the Germanie flock from Quebec. This ewe lamb was selected for scrapie genotyping, she is QR. On June 10 she weighed 116 lbs.

Another ewe lamb with phenomenal ancestry, going back to Clover 540C on top and Badger 83B (and therefore Sawyer C 104W) on the bottom. She is line bred to the foundation 559X ram; the Canon 233K ram is perhaps the best ram I have ever raised.  And that trademark Badger coloring shows itself every time. This is a very pretty, feminine ewe lamb. On June 10 she weighed 101 lbs.

What a fabulous pedigree on this ewe lamb. Canon 233K for a sire, and therefore Clover 540C as a grandmother, are always a plus, and on the bottom, the Felix 260F ram was sired by FCLB 43895C, and the Govan Ranch ewe was sired by the wonderful old Sheep Trax Benny 392B ram. The dam is a big ewe purchased as a yearling out of the 2023 All Canada Classic, and the ewe lamb is shaping up to be very like her.. One of two Coyote Acres ewe lambs this year! She weighed 105 lbs on June 10. *This ewe lamb is very friendly and loves attention, so if anyone is looking for a ewe lamb for kids to halter break and show, Molly would be a great choice.

Molly 439M will sell in the Badlands Summer Select Sale Aug. 9-10 on DLMS Farmgate.

A very cool pedigree on this twin ewe lamb, it contains both AI sires, the Clover 540C ewe, and the Delilah 192D ewe, who is a daughter of Sawyer C 76X and the old Sheep Trax Billy 72B ram. This is a really good example of what I look for in a Canadian Arcott ewe- long and smooth with lots of muscle. standing square on her legs, with good bone and nice black feet. The higher back end tells you she still has some growing to do; on June 10 she weighed 96 lbs. For those who like color!

Here is a ewe lamb line bred to the Sawyer C 104W ewe. You couldn't find a better female to appear twice on a pedigree, that ewe could not throw a poor lamb. She was dam to the great grandsire Badger 83B on top, and also to the grandmother Aspen 367A on the bottom. This ewe lamb's mother 945G has been to more than one show in her lifetime. This twin ewe lamb is muscled yet feminine, standing squarely on good bone and nice feet. Her sire is RR. On June 10 she weighed 99 lbs (note the birthdates are getting later as the weights are getting lighter).

On this ewe lamb's extended pedigree, the old Sawyer C 104W ewe will appear three times. Genesis 927G, Felix 260F, and Sheep Trax 123E all go back to her (via Badger 83B, Coco 110C, and Angus 366A). Despite that, this lamb's inbreeding coefficient is only slightly over 7%, which doesn't bother me a bit. Honestly, if you are afraid of line breeding, you may pass on some pretty good animals. 

You can tell she goes back to the Badger 83B ram by that pirate eye-patch. This is a solid, well-muscled ewe lamb who weighed 109 lbs on June 10. Her sire is RR.

Line bred to Sheep Trax Aspen 367A (and therefore to her dam, Sawyer C 104W), this is the last lamb out of the 104C ewe. At the age of 9 she finally reached the point where she wasn't producing enough milk anymore. You can hardly fault her for that at 9 years old, an age that many producers would never dream of keeping a ewe to. Despite that, the lamb did not take a bottle and grew just fine, and on June 10 she weighed 91 lbs. I was pleased with that, knowing that the old ewe had a limited milk supply. That tells you this ewe lamb had enough hustle to eat what she needed to keep growing. And with a sire like 916F, the grow is definitely there. This is a nicely put-together ewe lamb with stretch and muscle. Sire is RR.

Sheep Trax 269D is one of my all-time favorite ewes. She has a preference for throwing singles, but if I expose her she catches every single time. She lambs every 8 months without fail. So bring on the singles. She is bred again for this September, confirmed by ultrasound. I knew she would be. She always does. And remember she is 8 years old! I have sold every one of her lambs all her life and last year I finally kept a daghter. So this daughter is for sale. 

I love that Angus 366A is on that pedigree, as well as the Germanie 6734A, and on top, the Equinox 3E ewe is out of Angus's twin sister, Aspen 367A. Why do the same animals keep popping up on pedigrees? Because they were the ones that worked over and over and over again.

This ewe lamb pretty much speaks for herself. Size, stretch, muscle, wrinkles to grow into! Having 916F for a sire means she will likely get to a pretty good size. Born late January, she weighed 107 lbs on June 10. Sire is RR and the dam is not genotyped but based on previous lambs it is highly likely she is too; we know she is at least QR as Angus was RR.

There is a whole lot to recommend this ewe lamb. Pedigree-wise, she goes back to Dancer 119D, Aspen 367A, Sawyer C 76X, and the old Germanie 4072Y ram. Oldies but goodies. Her dam, Harlie 91H, is a triplet out of a Sawyer C 76X daughter. Harlie has had twins, but does tend to throw more singles because she is an accelerator who lambs every 8 months, and she is confirmed pregnant for September. She consistently has high-selling daughters in our Badlands Select sales. She is a phenomenal ewe, and to get her someone would have to pry her out of my cold, dead hands. 

And this ewe lamb, well she is certainly in her mother's mold. She wasn't even born until January 30th, and on weigh day June 10th, she was the heaviest Canadian Arcott lamb at 124 lbs. In the whole group, only the two Suffolks and one Dorset (who is 26 days older) were heavier. She has this growing thing all figured out. Scrapie genotype QR.

I like everything about her, from her size and stretch, through her depth and thickness, to her excellent bone and black feet. She stands square and sturdy, and she is so smooth and correct, that I think she is a great prospect for a Classic. Therefore she is being held to yearling for the 2025 All Canada Classic.

Ancestors include Sawyer C 76X, Aspen 367A, and a double shot of FCLB from Quebec. The FCLB is where the color comes from, via that Egypt 153E ewe, who was dark brown. The dam of this lamb got named Jet because she was born jet black (did not stay that way, but she is very dark brown). 

I love the look of this ewe lamb. Smooth and correct but well-muscled and sturdy as the day is long. If you like color, so much the better. The sire is RR. On June 10 she weighed 111 lbs.

There aren't too many left that have the Sawyer C 76X ewe up this close, or the Billy 72B ram. Throw in the Aspen 367A (dam of Equinox 3E) on top and that is a great combination that goes back to the old lines I love to keep going.

This is a very corrent little ewe lamb. She is a little smaller than the rest at 83 lbs on June 10 (note her Feb. 3 birth date), but she will catch up, I have no worries about that. The 76X ewe family knows how to grow. Delilah 192D is now 8 years old, so if her lamb (a twin) needs a little more time, so be it. Type-wise this lamb is like a clone of her mother. Built to produce, and if she is like her mother, built to last. Longevity is a thing, at least for me. She is a great representation of a Canadian Arcott ewe. Sire is RR.

The sire is a grandson of Aspen 367A, and the dam is a granddaughter of Angus 366A (twin sister and brother out of Sawyer C 104W). Great combination. The K Bar throws in a little outcross.

Another one for those who like the colorful ones, she is a really well-balanced, deep-bodied ewe lamb with good bone and black feet. On June 10 she weughed 107 lbs. Sire is RR.

Maple 492M will sell in the Badlands Summer Select Sale, Aug. 9-10 on DLMS Farmgate.

This ewe lamb goes back to Chloe 535C, a twin born to a 10-year-old Sawyer ewe, now 9 and still here, having just had twins in May. Longevity!

This is the youngest Canadian Arcott ewe lamb to make the cut, and despite that she weighed in on June 10 at an impressive 115 lbs! This one is built like a tank (like her sire). Thick and extremely deep-bodied, heavy-boned with beautiful black feet. If you like the burly type, this is the one for you. Sire is RR.

I like this ram so much 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, and is very similar in type to the 38H ram. 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 and had a beautiful ewe lamb that sold in the August Badlands Select Sale, then had a set of twins in May. 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. 

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 was put with a group of ewes in August 2022; his lambs looked terrific. In fact, one of his triplet daughters sold for a 4-H ewe project at just 69 days of age! There is also a son out there who is his spitting image; two of his three Jnauary sons sold in the August Badlands Select Sale. 

233K was also bred to four more ewes for May of 2023. This resulted in a set of twin ram lambs; a single ewe lamb that I am keeping (because I have never kept a daughter of her dam, who is one of my best ewes and is now 7 years old); and two sets of ram & ewe twins. Look for any of these lambs who "make the cut" to be selling as yearlings in the June 2024 Badlands Select Sale.

And in 2023 he was used again, exposed to 11 ewes for January 2024. His lambs look great once again!

  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. I am confident enough in this young ram that I had him semen tested in April, and once he passed I exposed him to four ewes for September lambs (update on that, one did not cycle, the other three lambed in September!). 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 is going to be the second cleanup ram in December for the May 2024 lamb crop, though, like 129J, I hope all the ewes catch on the synchronization and he has no one to breed. Also like 129J, he has a good out-of-seasn record, so he will be used in April for the September 2024 lamb crop.

 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 9 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 used him again in a small synchronized group in 2023 so he has January lambs on the ground.  I do plan to use him in April for September 2024 lambs, as he has a good out-of-season record.

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 do not have a Badger son,  a grandson is 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 just used again in August for January 2024 lambs.

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 now 82Y has a daughter here, and this son as well. This ram is line bred (the 15H ram also goes back to the 76X ewe), and he will fit in here just fine. All those old lines are gone now. How perfect to breed her 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 was just bred to a group of ewes for January 2024. Someone saw him in a photo on social media and inquired about him, so I put my "I don't want to sell him" price on him. Needless to say, he didn't sell. Thank goodness. This is a really good ram, with a pedigree that simply cannot be found elsewhere.

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 stays. Update- I have lambs coming in May 2024 sired by this ram that I am anxious to see. He will be used again in the summer for January 2025 lambs.

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 and am very happy with his lambs. He also has lambs coming in January 2024.

QQ single AI-sired son of the foundation ram Canadian Arc 559X, this ram does not only go back to the roots of the breed on his sire's side, but he is also chock full of old lines on his mother's side too. 966G is a great example of why it is not a good idea to select solely based on scrapie genotype. The pedigree on this ram dictates that scrapie genotype is irrelevant!   Lots of great Sawyer breeding there, from a ewe family that certainly knows how to grow. Sometimes it is the sheep that make our decisions for us. Canon 966G phenotypically rose to the top, and because of his incredibly unique pedigree he was selected to stay in the flock. This ram does not get heavily used every year, he is here for linebreeding to a specific ewe family. But he will be used again in future, every ram has something to contribute.

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 had last summer and fall off, but since he is a proven out-of-season breeder, he will be used in April for September lambs.

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 23 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.

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.

Here is a ram full of old lines with a family tree full of great old Sawyer and Zubot/Ivelcote animals. You cannot get this stuff anymore. This ram, scrapie genotype RR, a fall-born single, was going to show and sell in the 2020 All Canada Classic, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I am confident he would have done well in both the show and the sale. I sold a half-interest in this ram to someone not far away, and in the spring of 2022 I brought him home to use.  916F was used in a synchronized group, and then also used as the cleanup ram this fall, so there will be lots of his lambs running around in 2024. Update- 20 ewes confirmed pregnant to this ram, at least five are carrying twins. You cannot go wrong with lambs from a ram like this. He is crazy long, deep-bodied, heavy-boned, and as wide as a table top. The problem with width is that selecting exclusively for it can cost you in length. So when selecting, you still need to look for the length first, then the width, otherwise the sheep end up more square than rectangular. Never fear with this guy, he is a table, a train, and a tank all rolled into one.

This is a five-year-old ram I purchased from Veteran Colony in the summer of 2022. VCSF often only uses a ram for two years, but they thought enough of this guy that they used him at 1, 2, and 3 years old before deciding to move him on at 4 years of age. They have lots of his daughters in their flock. He is a ram with a great pedigree, being 100% Sawyer on his dam side and sired by a super ram I sold Veteran Colony 8 years ago. Sheep Trax Chevy 106C was in the "One that Got Away" category, as was his sire, Sheep Trax Clovis 470C. Chevy's dam was a half-sister of the ewe lamb I took to the 2015 All Canada Classic in Winnipeg, who won the market lamb show. Obviously these are lines to keep going!

This RR ram sadly passed away on New Year's Eve of 2023. He was incredibly long and had great bone and a straight top. He has January lambs on the ground, two ram lambs and a ewe lamb. There is one ewe exposed to him for May 2024, I will update after we preg check!

 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.