| So You Say You Have the Perfect Fleece |
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But There ’s This Ewe And She ’s Still Wearing It By Nadine Chounet
So you ʼve read all the articles and books,fed your animals for their breed standard,picked and cleaned,lectured or blanketed,worried and fretted ...and there it is! You think you have grown the perfect fleece – but what now?? How do you get that creation off the back of your animal and to the N.H.Sheep and Wool Festival? Or into the hands of an appreciative hand spinner? Or sold for top dollar to a commercial enterprise that values great fleeces? You can take that fleece off the sheep yourself.Take a class; read a book;watch a video;watch other shearings.I person- ally think my shearer is worth his weight in gold.I occasion- ally do shear one of my sheep myself – and each time I do it I end up with another fleece for my own use. Ask other shepherds that live around you whom to call.Ask them why. Ask them how the shearer handles their sheep and what the fleeces look like when he is finished. Then call for your appointment.Know that there will most likely be a travel fee or set-up fee plus a per animal charge which will depend in large part on the size of your flock. For additional fees most shearers will also trim feet and administer wormers or shots. Be sure and ask when you make the appointment.If he doesn ʼt know in advance he may not bring the right equipment with him. Treat your shearer well.Have your sheep collected,sorted (by color)and dry.Have a dry,clean and well-lit area for your shearer to work.You don ʼt want him plugging in those clippers while standing in a puddle of water! Have a plan and have the workers there to assist you in carrying out your plan.Best of all relax and enjoy. Ask ques- tions of your shearer and I am sure he/she will share their experience with you. Shearing day has come and gone. Now you have piles of fleeces.Which is the best?Which is the one you are going to enter into the judged All Species Fleece Show at the Sheep and Wool Festival? Which are you going to put into the sale barn? Which are going to be felted into cat beds and donated to the nearest animal shelter? Lay out one of your fleeces,cut ends up.It can be on a simple homemade wire skirting table,a sheet of plywood, a garage floor (swept clean)or a fancy made-to-order skirting table that tilts and is on a lazy susan type device. Just lay it out.Find where the neck is – the legs – the hind end.Picture your sheep laying there,face down,spread eagle and very flat. Now pick out a lock of wool.Holds both ends of it and pull – and pull hard..A long hard steady pull – there should be no snap and crackling,no breaking.It should be strong and steady.When you snap it lightly next to your ear you should hear a twang or ping – not a crunch.. If it passes muster,spend some time grabbing off any second cuts your shearer may have left – those are little ends and pieces of wool that somehow manage to get into the clippers twice.Once that is done flip your fleece over so the cut side is down and the tips (the outside of the fleece)are facing up. Now look critically at it.Is it really clean?A sheep is an animal and there is going to be VM (vegetable matter)in the fleece no matter how diligent you were – but a bit of VM and enough to feed another sheep nestled down into that fleece are two different things. Start picking.Get out all of those pieces that you can remove readily.On a show fleece I have been known to use tweezers and strong lighting.Gentle shaking will loosen up that VM,making it,sand and dirt either fall out on its own or be more easily picked out. You,of course,have also skirted off the entire edge of the fleece – all of the belly wool and yucky lay--down- on-the-ground stuff is gone into a pile that is destined for the dump or compost.Anything hanging around that smells like manure instead of sheep is manure and should be discarded. If you are simply selling the fleece,at this point you are basically finished.If you are intending to show the fleece,the fun has just begun. Continue to pick your way around the edge of the fleece. Are there any cotted (felted)tips?That will not pass muster with the judge! If there are a few around the britch and lower edges that is fine – skirt that off..If all of your tips are cotted,this is not a show fleece. Now very critically look at the britch.Does it ruin the general good looks of your fleece?Is it cotted or extra dirty?Pull it off – but don ʼt put it into the garbage pile; make a separate pile.Britch wool makes some great felted projects,or sock yarn – keep it for yourself or to sell specifically as felting wool if your breed of sheep in fact will felt. You don ʼt want to skirt off the entire back end of the sheep.After all,it is a sheep and the judge expects that it has laid down to sleep probably more than once in its life ...but the really lower leg part is usually what you will remove. Once you are satis fied that the fleece is as gorgeous as it gets,walk away.Let it sit quietly for a few days and then return to it.Does the color cry out to you? Even white can be downright gorgeous if it is healthy and shiny and full of life.Is there some more VM that suddenly has appeared and can be picked out? Does the fleece look like what your breed of sheep should look like? Is it recogniz- able as a Romney if in fact it is a Romney? When you are sure you are completely finished,it is time to roll it up for the festival or to present it for sale. Remember the part about knowing where the neck and tail and legs are situated when it was first set out on the skirting table? Now you are going to find one side of the sheep – right or left,,doesn ʼt matter.Gently fold that over the fleece in a third like you are folding a piece of paper to put into an envelope. Now move to the other side of the sheep and fold that third over also.Go to the tail end and ever so gently roll the fleece toward the neck like a sleeping bag. All the cut ends should be showing now and looking spectacular. Time to set it gently into a clear plastic bag and enter it into the annual N.H.Sheep and Wool Festival ʼs All Species Fleece Show and Sale! We are truly hoping to see you there. If this is your first attempt at showing a fleece,that is great.Don ʼt be shy. We all learn from experience. The judge will talk as he judges and let you know what needs to be better AND what is great about your fleece already. If having your fleece judged is just too scary this time, you can enter your fleece for Sale Only. What fun to see your perfect fleece lined up there in the barn with people arguing over who saw it first and who gets to buy it!Come join us.It will be fun and it will be a learning experience. For more information about events at the festival you can check out our web site at www.yankeeshepherd.org or just come to the Sheep and Wool Festival at the Hopkinton State Fairgrounds. I will be doing some live demos of skirting so you can see up close and personal as we critique and prepare a fleece right after it is shorn off of a live sheep.We think that you will be pleased and surprised at all there is to do and see. Hope to see you and your fleeces there! |
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