At 07:31 -0400 Earth time on 050426 bclorite sent:
So Ron, ... tell me again..., what's the best kind of sheep, and why? Can you extol their virtues?
I will answer than impossible-to-answer question in a framework of wool qualities (not quality) and economic qualities. In other words a sheep that produces a beautiful fleece that is desired in the handspinner's marketplace and also produces lambs that are desired in normal commercial marketing channels. I will further put that in the context of Sammen Sheep Farm where Fibernet started. The farm was in the boonies with little or no local markets for either wool or lambs. Thus the wool had to sold by mail order, and the live lambs had to be sold thorough commercial channels which meant usually trucking them about 150 miles to a market center.
We chose a Finn x Lincoln cross for a couple of reasons. The wool of both purebreds is highly lustrous as well as having a smooth, silky feel. Lincoln wool is coarse and Finn wool is much finer. The cross gave a soft, lustrous medium wool in both brilliantly white whites and a variety of silver, gray, and black colors. It also was relatively rare in the marketplace when we started selling it, so we had the advantage of being almost a sole supplier.
The cross also produced market lambs that fit the preconceived traditional mindset appearance of the meat packing industry. The lambs were not quite as feed efficient as some standard meat breeds, but they looked like meat lambs to buyers and that is what mattered in terms of making a living from sheep. The the unusual cross also opened up a market for breeding stock that helped pay the bills too.
So, there you have it Barbara - one of many possible answers, but one within a framework of wool beauty and marketing and making a living.
Ron Ron Parker - FiberNet list mom [EMAIL PROTECTED] For information http://hem.bredband.net/ronpar/fninfo.html
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