# Do any of you knitters keep your own sheep?



## AshleyB (Aug 6, 2005)

I have just started knitting, and I'm hooked. I've fallen in love with this craft. I'm one of those "go all out" gals, so now I'm wondering about keeping a few high quality sheep, shearing them, spinning, and dying all myself. However, I'm already busy. I have number child number four coming in March, I homeschool, I already have three milk goats, and a passle of chickens, and plan to keep my biggest garden ever this year. How involved of a process is the shearing, spinning and dying? Does it take For-ev-er?

What kind of sheep are best to get? Merino? Those are really expensive!

Thanks for your help. :hobbyhors


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## Wisconsin Ann (Feb 27, 2007)

Used to have shetlands...kept with those of a friend on her farm. I helped with lambing, shearing, etc. picked my own fleece, washed it, carded it, spun it.

pretty time intensive but worth it. You could start out slow (like I did) by buying some roving and learning to spin. (roving is the washed and carded wool). Then, if you like the spinning, buy raw fleece and learn to scour (wash) it, card it, and maybe dye some into whatever colors you like. (you could do the dyeing with the roving, too...or even your spun wool)

The biggest problem (from my experience) with raising sheep for the wool is either being able to shear yourself or finding someone who is good at it. it takes practice so that you get a single cut..no second cuts that give you slubs on the yarn...and of course, you don't want to hurt the sheep.

I really would suggest starting off learning to spin; or learning to dye already spun wool and cotton. Dyeing can be REALLY exciting and darn intensive all by itself. Then you could look into sheep next year?

that's my 2 cents worth.


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## Liese (Dec 12, 2005)

Actually the sheep own me!


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## AshleyB (Aug 6, 2005)

Anne, thanks for the advice, that never even occured to me, but that would be the wise thing I believe. I will look into it.


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## Slev (Nov 29, 2003)

Ashley,

My thought would be to actually get enough sheep so that when they are shorn, you would have enough to possibly "barter" with. Meaning, sell off or trade some of your wool for the processing. If you start with just a couple, or three sheep, you're still out the expense of their "care" and with a few more sheep, then it's a little more of your time. If you are lucky enough to have someone near you with the breed of sheep you like, I'd buy only their ram, and go further out to locate the ewes. This way you can trade out rams with your neighbors when they/you are ready. (Seldom do you get your money back out of your ram, but since he equals 50% of your flock, you want to buy the best stock you can afford.) Maybe you can rotate back and forth.

Honestly, before you go buy sheep, I would attend a few wool events, feel and touch everything that you can...! Everyone prefers something different, be sure to buy what YOU like, that way if you can't sell it to anyone else, you'll always be happy. 

My dislikes are: 

Not too small. -eventually selling lambs for meat may be an option for you. finn, babydoll, even Jacobs and Shetlands I think are small. 

Not to wooly. -Romney, rambulets, merinos, etc. -I just prefer a clean face and legs, I'd hate to gouge out an eye while trying to shear them. Plus its crap wool, so no point dealing with it. (I still like these sheeps wool quality, just not the other issues)


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## MTDeb (Feb 20, 2003)

I had the sheep and then I decided I better learn to knit so I'd be able to something with all this wonderful wool. 

It's hard to explain, but there's a real satisfaction and sense of accomplishment when you take some wool from the sheep, clean, process and spin it into yarn and then knit, crochet or weave into a finished product.


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## donsgal (May 2, 2005)

AshleyB said:


> I have just started knitting, and I'm hooked. I've fallen in love with this craft. I'm one of those "go all out" gals, so now I'm wondering about keeping a few high quality sheep, shearing them, spinning, and dying all myself. However, I'm already busy. I have number child number four coming in March, I homeschool, I already have three milk goats, and a passle of chickens, and plan to keep my biggest garden ever this year. How involved of a process is the shearing, spinning and dying? Does it take For-ev-er?
> 
> What kind of sheep are best to get? Merino? Those are really expensive!
> 
> Thanks for your help. :hobbyhors


Someday I will have my own spinner's-knitter's flock.

I dearly love Merino (as y'all know) but they are BIG sheep and I am a little old lady and I will most probably be doing my own shearing. Ditto Rambouillet (my second favorite wool).

Because of the size issue, my guess is that I will be having Shetland and Babydoll Southdown. Shetland for fiber (and the occasional food) and the Babydolls because they are just so DANG CUTE! (And for some fiber too, although they are a down breed and their fiber is only a couple of inches long; and the occasional meal).

Come to think of it, I'd love to have some Border Leicester - *sigh* - but I think they are too big for me to handle too. I'm not as young as I used to be.

donsgal
reserving the right to change her mind...


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## organicfarmer (May 11, 2002)

DH and I have a flock of Romneys and I really like them. The fibre is quite variable and easy to spin. It doesn't felt quickly like Merino when processing and the grease factor is a fair bit less. I have shorn many sheep with good quality kitchen shears and actually have fewer second cuts than if a shearer does it. Although, with the numbers this year, we will have to get a shearer in. 

I really enjoy the washing and carding part of the process. My girls love to help when the weather is nice and we can wash in large tubs outside. We homeschool and do all that you do. If you are willing to forgo tv and other distractions, you will find time to do these things. Think about our ancestors and everything they accomplished in a day!


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## sheepish (Dec 9, 2006)

We used to have a flock of coloured and white corriedales. It was really nice to be able to select my own fleece from among them. Now we have Rideaus, which are very prolific lambers, but with widely varied fleece quality. I usually select only first shearing wool from them.

One problem with having a small flock is that the fleeces become courser as the animals age. If they are coloured sheep, the wool also gets lighter every year. It is also more difficult to get a shearer for a small flock.

Your sheep will also require a different diet from the goats. One big difference is that goats require copper in amounts that are toxic to sheep.

I would recommend first learning to spin, then getting a fleece and working it yourself, before jumping into the animal husbandry part of the process.

When I measured such things, I figured that for me, processing and spinning wool took about as long as knitting it up. So a sweater from fleece took twice as long as one from the yarn shop.

I do agree that there is a great deal of satisfaction derived from making something entirely from your own produce. Handling fleece and spinning are so much fun that I would do them in preference to knitting, if I wasn't too cheap to keep skeins just to look at.


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## longearsfarm (Oct 30, 2003)

Mostly lurker chiming in here ...

I'm into my second year of having sheep, added to our small farm because of my fiber addiction (knitter, felter, spinner, rug hooker). I have a rambouillet ewe and her two daughters, both crosses, one with cormo (wow the fleece) and one a babydoll southdown cross, she is too cute, but her fleece, ugh. The staple is SO short and because she's smaller than the other two, well, they eat over her, so she's nothing but vm (hay bits). 

I do have mixed feelings about having sheep. I like them, they're cute, but they're not goats...far more skittish and, ahem, a somewhat lower IQ. I love the by-products, but they are three more large mouths to feed. And if I do go the coat route next fall, well, that adds to the workload too. Now I haven't bred them -- I breed Nigerian Dwarf goats and it's a quite profitable little sideline -- cause I can't find a rambo ram and don't want to own one. I just now, 5 years into the goatie thing, bought a buck...I guess I move slowly.

So long story short I'd say...it's great fun to work with your own wool. But on a homestead, they do add to the workload, and it will take some work if you want them to add to your profits and not your losses . If that doesn't matter, do some research to find what's right for you. I picked the rambo. gals for the felting, and I have not been disappointed, well, 'cept for the southdown, but she makes up for it in overall cuteness. 

Good luck!
Valerie
longearsfarm (here, and in real life  )


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## AshleyB (Aug 6, 2005)

Can anyone suggest a good place to buy fleece from?

How much does it generally cost to have a shearer come?


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## Liese (Dec 12, 2005)

4 yrs ago when I bought the Dorset girls they were sheared by a fellow coming from Wintergreen, VA - he charged $5/each + $25 at each place . There were several shepherds going together to get him out - so he went from one place to the next in a local area. Last person I talked to that sheared charged $10 each. Several people have mentioned to me that geting the shearer out is tough - the schedule will change and sometimes the sheep are being sheared after it has gotten quite warm.


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

Ashley - There are a number of folks here on the board that have fleeces and prepared wool. There is a sticky with that information
http://homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=163067

If you want to try other, I highly recommend Carol Lee at the Sheep Shed studio. There is always etsy & ravelry also.


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## Shazza (Nov 20, 2004)

I think its a natural process that will happen in all due course...I learnt how to spin, and process the wool etc and knit with my own handspun wool. After a while though I thought why am I spending 20 dollars a fleece from someone else when I can have my own sheep.....and so the sheep thing begins.


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Shazza are you saying that, Sheep Happens?!!


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## Shazza (Nov 20, 2004)

LOL....yes...in the form of little round things that my Pugs think are lollies!!!!!!


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## ajaxlucy (Jul 18, 2004)

I got some Shetlands about 5 years ago knowing nothing about sheep and we've all survived the experience. They've adapted beautifully to my small property and we enjoy having them around; it was nice that we didn't need to mow the back yard last summer, too. 
Finding a shearer for a small flock isn't the easiest thing, so some years I've hand sheared, which took a long time but wasn't so terrible. These days, I send the wool out for processing and a friend spins it for me in exchange for free-range eggs. 
The extra ramlambs and yearlings with unimpressive wool end up in the freezer. There isn't a lot of meat on them, but we're a small family. I've even been able to find enough buyers to pay for my winter hay. 
A bonus to the small size is being able to manage them myself, bad back and all (though I do have an English Shepherd dog to help me move them around). Actually, once the fencing issues were solved, aside from occasional hoof-trimming, annual shearing and setting out salt and hay, they don't need much. Thank goodness lambing has only been exciting in a good, spectator-sport way.


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## redbudlane (Jul 5, 2006)

We have a small but growing flock of Shetlands. I usually keep one or two fleeces to process myself but take the rest to a small mill about an hour away where it is turned into lovely roving. I then sell the roving or use it myself and sell the products or give them as gifts. 

I have had good luck selling my breeding stock and also selling my wethers for fiber pets and for meat. We knew nothing about sheep when we started with them 4 years ago but have to agree with ajaxlucy, not much to keeping this breed!


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

If you already have goats it shouldn't be too much trouble to throw in a couple of sheep. Get small to medium sheep. Do some research, some breeds are better adapted to a small homestead where they are expected to be handled and gentle. I have Black Welsh Mountain crossed with Corriedale, which have nice, spinnable wool in true black. I'm in Michigan, but if you get this way, I'd be willing to part with a couple.

Look for sheep that are good mothers, easy lambers, and have good hooves. Some years we have ponds in the pasture in the spring, so that is one reason I got BWM, they are known to NEVER get hoof rot.

If you like the goats, you may find you enjoy the sheep, too. If you don't like them, then send them to freezer camp.


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