When inquiring about a lamb in the breed-up program or a purebred Valais Blacknose you'll find there are multiple waitlists. It's lambing season and there are going to be a lot of lambs available in the US. To be sure to get one, you're going to want to get on a waitlist. Typically you're required to put down a deposit. This lets the breeder know you're serious and that is completely understandable. Then your name goes on the list to be called in the order it was received. Some don't refund the deposit if you end up not purchasing, and others keep the deposit on the books and say you'll be on the waitlist for next year. I'm sure all waitlists aren't like this but we know many are.
So what's different about Valais Blacknose of Lovers Lane's waitlist? First of all, we don't take deposits. Why do you ask? We're waiting, just like you. We're waiting for our lambs to get on the ground. We have multiple things to do before we can comprise a list of available lambs.
The first priority is to get them on the ground and make sure they're healthy. Second, our goal is to have ewes to grow our flock and hopefully a good ram. Third, we're going to evaluate the sheep and determine their quality. Once the lambs are healthy and we decide which ones we want to keep, only then can we make a list of lambs available for sale. This goes for those lambs in the breed-up program as well as purebreds. Prices will vary depending on a number of things. To start, if it's an F1, 2, 3, or a purebred. If it's a wether, ram, or ewe. Lastly, the quality of the lamb.
Our available lambs for sale list is made and now it's time for pictures. Pictures help buyers choose which one they'd like. We try to get a view of the front, side, and back. Once the album is complete we're ready to email our waitlist but we have one more step before we hit send. For those who took the time to personally contact us, ask questions or visit, and actually see the sheep, we consider that a deposit. We'll send the album to those few people and give them 2 days to respond with a deposit. After the 2 days, we send out a mass email.
We don't believe there is a right way or a wrong way to have a waitlist. We simply believe this is the fairest way for everyone and the best way for us.
We welcome you to visit our website, take a look around and get an idea of who we are and what we have to offer. If you're interested, add your name to our waitlist. We have recips who will be delivering purebred Valais sometime this week March 7, 2023, and F2s & 3s in April and we'll know soon if we'll be expecting more purebreds in June!