Located in Ellensburg, Wa, the Cooke Creek Sheep Company is comprised of a mixed flock of Border Leicester, Blue Faced Leicester, Texel, Wensleydale, and Coopworth sheep. Jami Beintema of Cooke Creek Co was kind enough to spend a Sunday afternoon with me, showing me around her farm, introducing me to her flock, and answering all of my (many!) questions. I initially contacted her because I was researching Border Leicester sheep, hoping to potentially acquire some for my own farm. Border Leicesters aren’t super common in Western Washington, so I had to venture over the mountains in order to meet some face to face.
Jami is also a hand spinner and fiber arts person, and I was glad to find a farm that focuses on fleeces as well as locker lambs. Cooke Creek was the first farm I’d visited that focused on breeding for fleece quality in its various breeds. Jami explained to me that she did a lot of cross breeding between the breeds to create fleeces she liked. For this reason she recently acquired some colored sheep, including a registered Border Leicester ram with positively gorgeous coloring and a soft and finely crimped fleece. This ram was bred to several of the Border Leicester ewes, and Jami is anxiously awaiting the birth of those lambs.
After meeting the rams I was taken to the main flock area to meet the ewes.
About half of the ewes had been sheared the day before I arrived, so some were in coats, some were “naked”, and some were still in full fleece. The Border Leicester ewes were very friendly! I was delighted. Most sheep I’ve met so far on my journey have been very skittish- not these ladies! Every time I put my hands in my pockets, I got a moist nose at my wrist- they thought I had treats! Sadly for them I had no treats, but I did get to make friends with a freshly sheared Border Leicester ewe who loved to be scratched. I can only imagine how good that must have felt after carrying around a thick fleece for half a year! A little disappointing was the news that the “bunny ears” I loved so much in pictures of BL’s wasn’t a trait that was apparent in American Border Leicesters.
A very experienced shepherd, Jami was a wealth of information about her various breeds of sheep. Concerned about the difference in climates between Ellensburg and Longbranch, I was curious how the BL’s fared in wetter conditions- west of the mountains, foot rot, parasites, and pneumonia are much more prevalent over here compared to the relatively arid climate of Ellensburg. I learned that Border Leicesters can be less resistant to parasites than other breeds of sheep, and they can be more adversely affected (ie, it may take several rounds of de-worming before the parasite load is sufficiently lightened). Foot rot is also a definite concern in our climate, and measures will need to be taken on my own farm to ensure that infections do not occur (ie, regular hoof trimming, vaccinations, aggressive treatment and isolation if foot rot occurs).
After learning all I could about the Border Leicesters, Jami brought my attention to two other breeds of sheep she thought would be of interest to me; Coopworth and Wensleydales. I’ve had limited experience with Coopworth wool and no experience at all with Wensleydale wool, so I was all ears! Jami absolutely loves her Wensleydale sheep and the wool they produce- curly locks, beautiful color, soft and smooth texture. One of her Wensleydales is mostly grey and silver and produces fleece that looks almost Gotland-like! I purchased several ounces of both Wensleydale locks and Wensleydale roving. Can’t wait to spin it!
Once I’d met all of the sheep, I was then taken to Jami’s “wool closet”, where she had bags and bags of raw fleeces from her sheep waiting to be processed as well as mill spun and hand dyed yarn, hand dyed locks, and braids of hand dyed roving. Here I was able to compare the raw fleeces of various breeds of sheep, which was fantastic! The Coopworth fleeces had very tiny and even crimp, and the fibers were pretty fine and very soft. Border Leicester is more of a “curly” crimp, and has wonderful luster. Wensleydale also has a curly crimp but is a bit finer, a bit softer, and a bit less lustrous.
I had a wonderful time with Jami at her farm, and was invited back once her ewes start lambing, which is so exciting! It was so fantastic to meet a shepherd who raises sheep for their wool and has interests in wool that mirror my own. Jami and her husband obviously love their farm and their sheep, and I can’t wait to go back and visit them all again.