Hi Ellen,
When I was trying to decide which breed to add to my flock, I talked to
shepherds and narrowed it down to a few breeds. Then I bought a fleece
from each breed and played with it. After all, this is what you'll be
spinning so best to make sure that you like the wool. Then I decided on
the breed.
You should take into consideration the needs of the individual breeds.
For instance, merinos do very well where it is dry but their fleeces can
rot in the wet. Romneys do very well where it is wet but can have a
hard time with extreme heat. If you can find anyone who is raising wool
breeds in your area, talk to them and ask why they selected their
breed(s). I selected and raise three breeds for very specific reasons.
I wanted to spin their fleeces and they will do well in my environment.
I wanted a medium quality white wooled breed and started with
researching the needs of specific breeds and then talked to shepherds
and tried to spend time observing the animals. Once I got it down to
three breeds, I bought the fleeces. I found I disliked one breed's
personalities, disliked the wool on another and ended up with Romneys.
I haven't regretted my choice.
Robin Snyder, spinner,weaver, shepherd
San Diego County, CA
To stop mail temporarily mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
with the message: set nomail To restore send: set mail
