united kingdom

MKVT Farm in Glover, Vermont, is home to hundreds of animals. “We’ve got 150 chickens and a dozen pigs. (We have) 70 head of sheep,” said Mark Rodgers, owner of MKVT Farm.These days, it’s the sheep that are running the show, especially if you step into the sheep pen. “Six baby spotties have been born. (They’re) the first spotties in the Western Hemisphere,” said Addie Webster, Rodger’s 9-year-old granddaughter. Webster is referring to the newborn Dutch Spotted Sheep, affectionately called “spotties.”This moment was manifested by Rodgers and his family the same way many animals find their way into our lives.”I saw a picture (of one) and said, ‘Those are cute!’ It’s funny. A lot of things happen when you think something’s cute. So I inquired, and I said, ‘Where in the U.S. can you find one of these?’ The answer was (that) you can’t,” Rodgers said. Rodgers was determined to add the grass-loving sheep to his flock, so he got to work researching how to have embryos shipped to the U.S.It’s a process that’s still in its infancy. But Rodgers, committed to seeing this through, was thrilled this past December when eight Dutch Spotted Sheep embryos made their maiden voyage from the U.K. to the U.S.They were implanted in his sheep with the help of Tufts Veterinary Field Service in Woodstock, Connecticut. “We implanted eight embryos and had seven pregnancies, which is outstanding results,” Rodgers said.After five months of waiting, just this week, four boys and three girls made their grand entrance at MKVT Farm. “Everything went well. It didn’t sink in until about six hours after the first one was born. We saw it walking around and said, ‘Wow, we really did it,'” Rodgers said.The boys are named First One, First Classic, Laddie and they’re still thinking of a fourth name.One of the girls was sold to a farm in New Jersey, while Isla and Hannah make up the two others at the farm in Glover.”We named her Hannah because the first girl in Glover was named Hannah and also because that’s our favorite vet,” Webster said.As for the future of the spotties, Rodgers said their black and white wool will make for really unique yarns so they’ll be mostly used for their fiber.Since these lambs are related, he’s working on getting more embryos from different sheep shipped to the U.S. for another round of implantation.His goal is to eventually start to breed them on his farm.”Our intention is to facilitate growth of the flock in the United States,” Rodgers said.It’s been an unforgettable experience.”It was really fun, and I love doing it,” Webster said.If you’d like to meet the Dutch Spotted Sheep, Rodgers said he’s planning on holding an open house in June. In terms of his breeding program, he’s looking for some grant funding to help sustain his efforts, as interest in having Dutch Spotted Sheep in America continues to grow.