just wondering if anyone raises sheep for wool? what breed would be best for a hot climate like se texas? are there any special problems with these animals? i know about predator control, but what about regular everyday care? i need some help before i get into this so any and all comments are appreciated.
haybine,
I raise sheep for meat and not wool for a couple of reasons:
1. Since I have a couple of briar bushes on the proerty, the sheep are attracted to them and the fleece is now full of briars, stickers and other such foriegn matter.
2. The price we can get for wool here is so low that unless you have a whole lot of it, it doesn't pay. For example, I thnk last year they were paying $.50 per pound. You had to have it in a special wool sack which costs a couple of dollars. So, for each bag of wool you can fill, you would amke something like $5-$8 net.
Because I only have a few head right now, I could not even break even on the cost, plus the fact that the fleeces were worthless with all the briars, we just sent it to the dump. [img]/forums/images/icons/frown.gif[/img]
Hope this helps.
Frank
I agree with Frank haybine. The guys I know that have done it never could make a profit and went into cattle.
Chances are you would have to raise a breed of sheep that's wool is desirable to the craft market. This means it must be super clean. Another option is meat for ethnic groups.
Look around and see how many sheep farms there are and it may be an indication of what you should do.
Egon
No money in it up here either. My friend uses the wool from his sheep to insulate his barn - mice hate lanolin.
I think the only way would be if you knew a local spinner, but I bet that's unlikely.
the idea for raising sheep for wool came from my wife. she wanted to know the problems involved and that's why i posted. she likes to make sweaters and afghans and other things from wool yarn. i think this would be way too involved for a hobby project. thanks for all the input.
Haybine,
Let me restate my original reply. You could certainly raise some sheep for wool (and meat and fun, etc) for your personal use. The folks we got our ewes from do that. They take the best of their fleece and do whatever needs doing to make it spinnable and throw the rest away. For your own use I think this would be fun and worthwhile. I was just remarking that it doesn't make sense for profit unless you are a large operation with VERY clean land.
Frank
PS: The sheep and goat meat market is very good right now. I sell all I can get.
Has your wife ever had the pleasure of carding and spinning wool. It is a lot of work. Iv'e helped at it when a young fellow.
Egon
haybine,
Don't know where you are located. When we were in Upstate NY, there was a state organization devoted to encouraging the raising of sheep. One could even get a free "starter" flock of 7 lambs, I believe it was.They also had a lot of info on all aspects of raising sheep as a commercial crop, including for wool.
We raised lambs for meat for about 7 years. Lambs are pretty easy to care for, and a lot of fun for children, and much less dangerous than horses or cows.
As others have pointed out, the price for raw wool is really, really low. Most of the people who grow lambs commercially do it for th ethnic/organic meat market (Jewish kosher, Muslim halal, Orthodox Easter, etc.).
You could go to the feedstore or contact the ag extension, and ask for contacts. Get in touch with the local sheep group(s). Lots of people shear off enough for family clothing, sweaters, blankets, etc. In NY, they even had an annual "Wool Fair" where the people who knitted clothing sold their wares.
Also look in the local papers for any classifieds selling lambs. Call them and ask about who does wool locally. Since they are commercial growers and need to shear, they will know.
Finally, I am sure Amazon would turn up a book or two on spinning your own wool.
Although we never did it get into wool and spinning, I imagine it would be a really educational and fun thing to do, connecting with civilization's roots for thousands of years.
All the best,
Hakim Chishti
Staff/Moderator
I'll restate mine too.
If indeed you can find a local spinner or if you want to attempt it yourself, knitted goods can fetch a very good price, at least around here. A small farm nearby raises Kashmir goats and they make sweaters, socks, hats, and mittens right on site. To give you an idea, the sweaters go for around $300CDN.
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