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Thursday, May 19, 2011

Shearing vs Shedding

I have decided that Gardenia is my favorite ewe. She was walking by me today and I reached out to pet her and I came away with a handful of wool. Notice the bare spot on her right side?


One of the reasons we got Cascade Sheep was because they shed their wool every Spring, no shearing required. Look at how short the natural break in her wool is!


The natural hand picking/combing of a shedding sheeps wool is called "Rooing". This is how Gardenia looked after less than 3 minutes of rooing. Amazing.


She was getting a bit nervous so we stopped for the night, but look how much we rooed off from her. I think the kind of wool that Gardenia has is called "banana peel" wool, as it peels right off.

Not bad for a few minutes work. Gardenia's wool is very, very soft, I love it! I have never felt fresh wool like this before, I am surprised at how much lanolin is in it.
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11 comments:

  1. BarbMay 20, 2011 at 4:20 AM

    Now you just need to hook up with my friend Kristen, (cozymadethings.blogspot.com), my bff from high school. Either that or start putting it around some soap! :) XOXOX!

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  2. Lana at Farm Life LessonsMay 20, 2011 at 4:28 AM

    This very interesting, I've never seen such a sheep that can have its wool removed like this. And, it looks so beautiful!

    Lana C.
    www.FarmLifeLessons.blogspot.com

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  3. TeresaMay 20, 2011 at 5:18 AM

    That is amazing! I've never seen them with wool like that before, but then again, I've never done much with sheep.

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  4. farmerMay 20, 2011 at 4:18 PM

    jealous!
    my sheep need shearing bad, but Mo is so close to lambing I'm scared to get the guy in,being flipped around would not be good for her,hoping she lambs tomorrow...wish I could pull hers off!

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  5. Chai ChaiMay 20, 2011 at 5:12 PM

    Barb - I actually have a recipe for making the wooly soap, I may have to try it. Di you like the soap I sent you?

    Lana - The wool is very soft and with all the lanolin in the wool my hands have been really soft even after washing them!

    Teresa - I like the shedding, shearing costs money and the wool is just a bonus to me.

    KK - Thank you for the award, I will stop by and pick up the code. Thanks for the compliment, I appreciate your comments and interest. I have learned so much from other blogs that if I can share even the smallest bit for payback it would be worth it.

    Farmer - I have one to go (I think) and would hate to have her sheared at this point. Good luck with your girl!

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  6. Debbie @ Swampbilly RanchMay 20, 2011 at 6:26 PM

    I have never seen these kind of sheep. Very cool!!

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  7. frugalmomMay 20, 2011 at 7:40 PM

    Oh wow. Too bad my llamas dont do that :-)

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  8. Razzberry CornerMay 21, 2011 at 4:59 AM

    Now that is pretty cool! the wool just roos right off! I bet it would make the sheep nervous, though. She probably doesn't understand.

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  9. Chai ChaiMay 21, 2011 at 9:18 AM

    Frualmom - Nice to see you back! Shedding has its good and bad points so shearing may be best for fiber only animals.

    Debbie - Click the Cascade Sheep link to learn more about them, they are great.

    Lynn - I think she likes being cooler than everyone else having literally shed her heavy winter coat.

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  10. Greener Pastures FarmMay 21, 2011 at 4:10 PM

    Very cool! I'm so thrilled that Gardenia turned out as wonderful as her sisters! You can see Gardenia's half sister here; and the picture on the bottom shows Lavender all rooed off. This particular line of sheep are pretty wonderful; the other breeders who have Gardenia sisters agree.

    http://www.greenerpasturesfarm.com/CascadeFarmsteadSheepALife.html

    ~ Ronda

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  11. Chai ChaiMay 21, 2011 at 4:34 PM

    Ronda - Gardenia is wonderful, I'll check out sister's picture now.

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