Who else raises sheep?

[therealshari]

We have 9.75 acres of sand and tumbleweed. I gotta tell you... first you send it north to your neighbors, then the wind changes direction and your neighbors to the west send you their tumbleweed, and around it goes.

I could swear some of our tumbleweed should have blown to Salt Lake by now.

Years ago, when Mom still lived in Ohio, she had a spinning wheel. Not sure she's up to all the work again, though. My plan is to network with some "local" spinners. I've found the name of the Handweaver's Guild Representative in Cedar City, and also have found a neighbor who will be a great resource.

That Icelandic Sheep site is really detailed. I've got it bookmarked for future reference. The Merino wool is "kinky" as opposed to long and silky. Our one PolyPay and our little female bummer both have longer wool that is straighter.

I know there's a place in Colorado where we can send samples to have them graded. It's my understanding that when you can prove the grade, the price also increases for Merino.

One thing for sure, this is going to be an interesting project.

In regards to wash or not wash, looking at eBay... either folks are getting lazy (maybe they don't have time) or the buyers are other than spinners. It appears that washed fleeces bring at least $3 a pound more and officially graded adds even more per pound.

 

[Alleyoops25]

I would love to get back into sheep myself again. And maybe next year I will get my daughter some bummers for 4-H. I have been sreaching every where to find somebody who spins so my daughter can see how its done. I just dont really know of any one who does anymore. And every one seems to be selling thier wool to people else where. I am also afraid it is becoming a dieing art.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

I used to have subscriptions to Spin-Off and Handwoven. Spin-Off is a great source of what's happening in the spinning community, has great articles on techniques, equipment, projects and different wools, great photography, classifieds and information on gatherings around the country and guilds. It's put out by Interweave Press, which also has a lot of great books.

http://www.interweave.com/

 

[Alleyoops25]

I will have to look at the site. thanks woodland woman

 

[WoodlandWoman]

You're very welcome! I noticed they now have the guild listings by state online, as well as articles on how to spin and even make your own spindle and spinning wheel. I hadn't been there in a long time and it was fun to look around and see what's new.

There are sheep and wool festivals in different parts of the country. Those are always interesting and a lot of buying and selling goes on there, too.

 

[cgjsmith]

Where do you find bummer lambs? all the lambs i can find here in TN cost $$$. Crystal

 

[pattycake]

I spin and dye wool and would love to raise my own sheep, too, but am a little nervous about the whole thing. How much space do they need? How much attention?

(Spinning is actually very easy if you get started with a spindle. It takes a few hours of practice, but once you get that down, it's not hard to shift over to a wheel. I make yarn and sell it on the internet. There are LOTS of people who knit and love handmade yarn... but having to order the fleece or roving cuts into my profits.)

 

[therealshari]

Regarding bummer lambs, we get ours from the local farmers in exchange for helping spot births during the lambing time.

That entails spending hours leaning on the fence watching sheep, which is kind of like watching paint dry. Because within a flock, there will be large numbers of ewes who are due, the shepherd can't see all of what's going on at that time.

We've seen as many as four ewes in labor and giving birth at the same time. It's all the shepherd can do to round up the lambs and get them to a clean pen.

We've also established a reputation for working with lambs that "have little survival chance". That means they can give the runts to us, and even little one's who have other difficulties. We lose a few, but that doesn't mean we don't try.

For example, one little girl we have came to us cold and hungry. We spent hours in the night warming her with towels, rubbing her vigorously and feeding her small amounts of lamb replacer. She had a bit of a foot problem in that her feet tended to roll forward. As she's grown up, that has corrected itself.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

Depending on where you live, if you only have a few sheep, it can be hard to find someone to come shear at all. Some people with only a couple of sheep have had to take their sheep to be shorn. If you live in an area where there are more sheep, that helps a lot. Then the shearer can just schedule you on the same day he's coming to your area for a bigger flock. Travel time and gas can really add up for a shearer, just to do a handful of sheep. Sometimes you can co-ordinate with a neighbor. You might be able to negotiate a better deal on the pricing.

Shearing can be hard work and hard on your back. With our rams, it was a two person job, as we were two people with severe back injuries, before we started. I loved those boys, but I'm glad I don't have to wrestle those guys anymore!

 

[therealshari]

I know what you mean about the size of the rams. Ours is about 250 pounds. Fortunately, he's a real pussycat of an animal.

Now, those ewes we got from our mentor... they're wilder than March hares.

Earlier this year we helped with her sheep roundup (in the snow) so she could at least clip their crotches before lambing. Cindy was doing flying tackles to get them.

I had one roped, but my rope was too short... that ewe just kept on going and I got what the little boy shot at.

When we went to catch them to move them from her farm to ours, Cindy got trampled by 10 or so. Next time she'll get out of the way as they didn't change directions, they jumped and knocked her down. Then they went on over her.

I've been working to tame them. Every day, I spend time in the pen with them as I'm feeding... and as of yet, can barely put my hands on the two lambs that are in the big pen with momma.

I really prefer my animals to be responsive to me, so I am willing to invest the time to tame them. It helps to prevent injuries when it's market time, too.