[Jacob-list] Re: Fleece growth

[Cathy Robinson]

Just for the sake of curiosity, I went back and looked at my wool 
records for last year.  Weights on our fleeces were much more satisfying 
in 2003 than in 2002, when we had an extremely mild winter.

It seems like I skirt with a heavier hand each year.  We sheared 24 
sheep last year, and of those, there were 7 that weighed 3-3.5 pounds 
AFTER skirting, so were definitely over 4# before skirting.   None of 
those is a harsh fleece....they are among the first to be sold here each 
year,  and they were reserved by their buyers (handspinners)  months ago 
for shearing next month.  

Of those seven, 3 were in one family group (mother, daughter, wethered 
son), and two were in another family group (mother, daughter).

The remainder of the fleeces last year weighed out in the 2 - 2.5 range 
after skirting, which I was pleased with.

While the fleeces look good for length and density this year, I suspect 
we will be throwing more wool away this year with the extremely wet 
conditions we had for most of 2003 coupled with our clay soil here in 
western NC......where it is snowing today and work is cancelled!

Cathy

  



Mary Hansson wrote:

> Hi all,
>  
> It is the extremely unusual sheep that I have had over the years that 
> would produce an UNSKIRTED fleece of 4 pounds.  I can think of 3 sheep 
> specifically.  Most produce 2-2.5 pounds UNSKIRTED WT.
>