We actually got a few days without steady rain, although occasional showers over the weekend, so the sheep were locked in the barn off and on to keep them dry. Yesterday was hot and sunny. We were able to shear.
Tiny isn’t so Tiny, it seems that she is pregnant again. The vet said that she should be able to deliver without issue. I am hoping that she is carrying a single and not twins though. I am always amazed at how black she really is.
Madame Wu is a beautiful silver gray. She is much lighter this year then last. She generally has the best fleece of any of the sheep in the flock because of the staple length and variation in the fleece. This year between shearings, she delivered two sets of twins. One set in September and one set in April. Then the rain has been really brutal. I am a bit afraid of looking but the tips seem cotted. UGH. Poor Becky, she reserved this fleece month ago. I will be working on skirting the fleeces later today.
This is Madame Wu in September 2007
She is a badger pattern, black sheep. Go figure. I think that she is gray. Funny how her fleece looks light brown on the tips, but it is gray of varying shades throughout.
The funny thing about the fleeces this year has been that they are all much lighter then last year. Wu’s fleece last year was about 14 pounds. This year it was 9. All of the fleeces are about 2 pounds lighter then last years. I don’t know if it is the lanolin content or not.
Craig Marcotte is my shearer. He does an excellent job on the merinos and shears for hand spinning fleeces. Very few second cuts and the fleeces stay together. Craig said that all of the flocks he has seen this year are in the same shape. Poor. As for weight changes, he doesn’t have a theory.
You need 50 pounds of raw fleece to make a run of yarn. With the fleeces that have already been spoken for, I am not sure I will make the minimum. There are several mini mills that I could use, but I am a bit leery as the micron is fine, and not all mini mills have experience with the fine wool. Too much is at risk so I might process the remaining fleeces myself, but the idea of hand combing 30 lbs of wool is overwhelming.
I will know more after I take a good look at them later today. The best part of shearing is seeing the condition of the sheep without the wool. They all look pretty good except for Hoot, she is a little wonky, but throws a 17 micron. She has grace because of that.
