Foundation Females
For all the attention a stud male might receive, his contribution is only part of the equation when it comes to the success of his progeny. The genetic impact of a strong female, combined with her contributions in supporting her cria's optimal development in utero and after birth are just as important. For a female to be considered for breeding within my program, she must display not only strong conformation traits with robust health; but also a sound, easy-to-work-with temperament emphasizing mothering traits. Females here do not begin their breeding careers until a minimum of 3-4 years of age, when they are fully mature and are at less risk of dividing their energy resources to growing and feeding cria, fleece, and themselves. This also allows their fleeces to be confirmed as retaining the positive qualities I am aiming to produce in the pursuit of an animal remaining productive well into maturity as a baseline, for further monitoring as they navigate pregnancy through until weaning.
Available Females
As much as I would like, I am not able to retain every female I produce. As a small program, often many of the females I produce are too related to my males for use within my own herd. Additionally, some females simply do not meet the personal criteria I am looking for in my breeding program, or may have retired from breeding and are remaining with me for the rest of their days as companions and aunts or fibre production. While those girls who may not meet my personal criteria may be retained for other purposes, they may be released to other farm programs where her strengths may be better suited to meet their own breeding goals.