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What to do with fleeces


Wayne
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You can compost it - we've had good luck with that. It's good for mulch, too.

 

Crafty types can use it for felting if you price it right - especially if you have any interesting colors. If you know anyone who goes to the conventions, you can have them bring some fleeces and advertise them. I know someone who's into basket weaving and she sold several of my fleeces for me for about $5 each.

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Its great to throw in a ditch that is washing.Also workds real well for bedding if you don't clean out very often(needs time to break down so you aren't trying to take it out in one huge glop)

 

Also had a neighbor that has a dog with skin allergies-- she put it in the dog house and swears it cured the dog.

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Also had a neighbor that has a dog with skin allergies-- she put it in the dog house and swears it cured the dog.
Now that's interesting. I could see that. But don't try that with a Chinese crested around! They are sensitive to lanolin. I'm probably going to need to shave down my Crested, Zhi, when the weather turns reliably hot - it's getting to be a real bother washing her body hair frequently enough to keep it free of lanolin (she looooooves going out with me to the sheep pastures - she can even do a rather decent outrun).
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I don't know where Cuddebackville is located but two wool pools are coming up in NY state -- the first is the Finger Lakes Wool Pool:

 

The Finger Lakes Sheep Producers Coop has announced the dates for our 2006 wool pool. The site will again be at the Empire Farm Days site, Rt 414, just south of Seneca Falls, N.Y. We will be open to receive wool on Friday, May 5th from 8;30 am to 4:00 p.m. and Saturday, May 6th from 8:30 am to 3;30 p.m. All are welcome to participate. If you plan to bring over 1,000 pounds, please call for scheduling, otherwise come when you can. For more information please call Mark Harth, secretary-treasurer, at 607-546-2341 (before 9pm please) or email bearfarm14818@hotmail.com

 

There's another, Southern Tier Wool Pool, at the Otsego County Fair Grounds, Morris, NY. in September. (Sorry, don't have more information about this at this time.)

 

They accept different grades of wool and you can recoup some of your shearing costs.

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Hi Wayne,

 

Hair sheep cross wool probably shouldn't be taken to the pool unless you speak to someone in advance and they specifically approve or tell you to bring it. You may end up wasting everyone's time.

 

Sometimes the best use for hairy, matted, or otherwise unsalable wool is for the bottom layer of a bedded pack in your barn, or as a mulch around perennial plants -- I've used mine around blueberries.

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Oops . . . missed the Katahdin part! (Thanks for catching that, Bill.) They will reject "hairy" wool (i.e., wool with hairs in it).

 

For those who have wool sheep, the wool pool can be fun and educational. You are usually asked to lend a hand with the unpacking and packing of the wool, so people should not just expect to come and leave. "Sheep people" are a varied and interesting bunch and I enjoy catching up on sheep care and husbandry matters and gossip every year at the pool.

 

Kim

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I donate most of my hair x wool fleeces to one of those old-timey demo farms, where families can go on an outing to see what farming was like in the olden days. The fleece doesn't have to be high quality -- just good enough to work for the cleaning, combing, spinning and weaving demos, which require constant feeding. Maybe there's a place like that near you?

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