Hi Barb, There are still some sheep lists. Sheep-L is still going strong, and there's also a Yahoo group called SheepOntheNet.
In answer to your question, I think you should shear them. A couple of years ago, I was asked to bring some karakul yearlings to the MD sheep and wool festival. I hadn't shorn them that fall as they were still lambs and not doing them saved me time and effort, and their fleeces were awful (embarrassingly so). Of the old-time karakul raisers I talked to, all sheared lambs in the fall and all had gorgeous fleeces in time for the festival the first weekend in May. Last year I didn't do a fall shearing at all, and aside from the fact that my shearer (an old-time "gun" shearer) found them more difficult to shear (and said so), the fleeces were pretty much useless. Julie Poudrier Willow's Rest Liberty, NC ----- Original Message ----- From: karakulweaver To: [email protected] Sent: Friday, September 18, 2009 11:49 AM Subject: [fibernet] shearing question Any sheep people on the list? what happened to all the sheep lists [or are there still some ?] is it allowable to post sheep questions on here? if not could you steer me in the right direction. need some opinions. i am debating what to do about some lambs - do i shear them, or let the wool grow till spring [ they are starting to felt] i dont want it to get worse and ruin the fleece, so should i shear them so i at least have a useable fiber? but i prefer loooooooooong staple. i could use it for felting if i shear it now, borderline of being too short to spin [but for me ,if it's not 3'' it's borderline] any suggestions ? - normally i shear two times a year, but i lambed later this spring instead of late winter, so the lambs fleeces are not as long. thanks for any advice ! Barb www.barnettsheepandwool.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
