Well, the shearing is done for another year at Wild Rose Farm. YEA! We should start lambing in another week and I like to have the ewes sheared so that we can see what's going on. You may not think of this, but the ewes take up much less space in the pen without 3-4 inches of wool on each side! Here's a picture of the Rambouillet ram being sheared. Rams take 1 or 2 other people besides the shearer to hold them down and help manipulate them around. What a nice looking fleece coming off of him ..... we got a sample to send off to Yocum-McColl for micron testing.
The last sheep to be sheared was "U". Black sheep are always sheared last. This is done to keep the black
fiber from contaminating the white wool. "U" was sick this summer and her fleece had a "wool break", so it is no good for our purposes. When sheep are sick or stressed, their wool can develop a weak spot. The fiber breaks when it is combed or processed causing neps or pills in the yarn.
Next year she should have a great fleece!
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