Ethel is a full Bolivian and is living proof of 'lingering fineness'. Take a look at her histogram: At 10 years old, she is still carrying 22 micron fleece with a CV under 20! At first glance, she looks to be a bit on the petite side, but don't let that fool you. She has no problems birthing bigger cria...her last 3 have been between 17 and 20 pounds. All have come without issue, and she has plenty of milk to nurse them to impressive daily gains.
She appears to be passing her trait for fineness on to her cria, as well. Her 2009 cria's fleece tested at 19.8 micron at a year old, and also 19.8 micron at 3 years old.
Her 2010 cria's fleece tested at 19.0 micron at a year old, and was entered in 3 fleece shows where he received Best Luster and Best Hand awards.
You will definitely get some bang for your buck with this girl!
We recently received the yarn back that we had spun from Ethel's fleece. The owner of the mill stated that her fleece "spun like a dream, and I never would have guessed that it was a 10-year old animal."
JULY 2013 UPDATE: Ethel has been bred to ATV Zepher for 2014 cria. Zepher has done wonderful things for our herd and we expect nothing less from this pairing.
*** A complimentary 2014 breeding to any of our herdsires is also included with purchase, making this an awesome 3-in-1 package! ***
2009 Fiber stats:
21.4 AFD
4.6 SD
21.45% CV
95.4% CF
2012 Fiber stats:
22.2 AFD
4.4 SD
19.6% CV
95.4% CF