[Jacob-list] cleaning dirty fleece

Mon Mar 6 18:54:18 EST 2006

Hi Lia,

Cover 'em!!!

It's not as expensive as it sounds and it'll save you lots of time and excedrin or ibuprofen or
aspirin... just the savings in painkillers getting rid of the headaches you'll have in dealing
with filthy fleeces is probably enough to justify the cost of the coats :-)

Cost? We run 3 sizes of covers per year, per animal... averaging about $10 per coat or $30 per
animal, per year. We run 50 head on average. That's $1500. But you don't have to spend that all at
once and you don't have to spend that every year. The coats are sturdy and durable and, if the do
tear, easy to mend.

Skirting for us, then, is shearing the belly and britch and ruff and throwing it in the skirt pile
(which we use as mulch on the gardens... great stuff!). We then shear the saddle and net about 3-4
pounds of ready to spin fleece (if you don't mind a little dust and lanolin). Saves your 4 minutes
per head rapid skirting and your 1 hour per head picking through and then fluffing in the dryer
and then picking and then carding and then washing and then... and countless hours of frustration
in spinning.

For the fleeces you have, skirt 'em as thoroughly as you can, wash 'em, dry 'em, pick 'em (a wool
picker is a worthwhile investment in any case, but be careful with 'em as they are designed, I
believe, after something that the Marquis de Sade and Torquemada discarded as being too cruel),
fluff 'em and then card 'em. You'll still have VM, but these steps will reduce the amount of VM
drastically. Oh, and a diluted vinegar rinse after washing but followed by a second plain rinse
can sometimes help as it will 'eat' some of the VM.

As for coats, should you want to consider them, I'm gonna to recommend Matilda Sheep Covers. We
use these covers on our Jacob sheep (fits over all but the largest of racks), our llamas, and our
angora goats.

Hope this helps!

Shawn and Jeanette
+--------
Laffing Horse Farm
http://www.laffing-horse.com
http://stores.ebay.com/Common-Threads-fiber-arts-and-more
+--------

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