[Jacob-list] winter shearing

[ARTHUR PARTRIDGE]

>Thanks - I had not even thought of the effects of the extra wool growth

come August
=======
I thought that all that wool in the hottest part of the year would not be
good, but others have told me that wool is an excellent insulator in both
winter cold and summer heat.  One lady from Colorado has black sheep and
they are sheared in February or earlier, I can't remember.  She said they
have no problems with summer heat and they will lie out in the sun with a
full wool coat.  You'd think that a wooly black sheep would suffer in the
summer heat in Colorado, but they do just fine.  Maybe the sheep breeds
react differently and some do better with less wool.  I didn't shear a few
older wethers, intending to take them to the butchers, and they did fine in
the summer heat.  What kills sheep in the heat is overexertion like those
mutton-busting competitions, sometimes the sheep don't live through it on a
hot day. 

Cathy
Moscow, Idaho