Hello, and good morning. First a Romney lamb update. Single and twins last night; twins this a.m. All healthy. I believe the one being born while I was checking the barn at 6:30 came into the world yelling. One sick lamb at my feet, a former diarrhea lamb, very bloaty, I suspect gut damage or a sphincter that won't open. We may have to put this one down. Romney wool has a large variation in coarseness to fineness. I've seen some that, as a lamb, probaby give the appearance of being as fine as 54s spinning count (a little finer than the breed standard). Some Romney can probably be used for projects that will be next to the skin. Other fleeces may be more suited to weaving rugs. This variation is something I like about the Romney. Most important the variation is built into our breed standard, which allows for spinning counts of 44s to 50s. (I don't have the micron conversion chart in front of me.) I know some Romney fleeces have tested out as coarser than 44s. Romney breeders have selected for various spinning counts, probably depending on what they like, or what their fleece market prefers. There have been many imports from NZ over the years, so some of our fleeces will reflect what NZ has been selecting for. This has tended to be wool for carpets, tho I've read or heard that some breeders have started to select for a somewhat finer fleece. The American Romney Breeders Association now has a web site, that includes our 12 pp booklet, "American Romney." Go 'read all about it' on http://www.americanromney.org Mary To stop mail temporarily mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: set nomail To restore send: set mail
