# What do you do with your sheep's wool?



## Laura_P (Jul 23, 2014)

We have 52 sheep with this year being our second lambing year. Our lambs are a East Freisian/Katahdin mix. The lambs from last year never lost their hair/wool (or is it fleece? I hope someone will _please_ help me with the proper word  ). We had them shorn (sheared?) and now we have a few piles of wool (fur? Just kidding...) sitting in the yard. I don't want to throw it away, but I have no idea what to do with it. It isn't a good quality for spinning. I have thought about using a small amount to insulate my bee hives this summer. I'm also wondering if it would make good mulch in the garden and around fruit trees. Other than that, I'm out of ideas.

I would appreciate suggestions.

Thanks, Laura


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## Ruus (Jul 23, 2014)

I've heard that it makes a fantastic mulch, but I don't know how people use it as such without making a huge mess. It seems like birds would scatter it everywhere trying to carry chunks of it off.


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## goatgurl (Jul 24, 2014)

i have katahdins and this spring when i was pulling their loose wool off i put some of it in suet cages and hung them in the trees for the birds as nesting material and put some in the bottom of flower pots to cover the drain holes and as nitrogen for the plants.  hope you find something to do with your piles of "stuff"


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## SheepGirl (Aug 2, 2014)

Fleeces from hair x wool crosses should be thrown out or at least not mixed with pure wool fleeces.


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## Laura_P (Aug 10, 2014)

SheepGirl said:


> Fleeces from hair x wool crosses should be thrown out or at least not mixed with pure wool fleeces.


Does that just apply for spinning? It wouldn't make a difference for mulching or insulating would it?


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## Ruus (Aug 11, 2014)

Laura_P said:


> Does that just apply for spinning? It wouldn't make a difference for mulching or insulating would it?


I'm pretty sure that just applies if you're selling the wool. hair fibers devalue your clip.


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## doxiemoxie (Aug 13, 2014)

I have dorper and dorper crosses that need a clip from time to time.  I've just thrown the fiber (How's that for a generic term!) in the compost pile but the birds and other wild critters steal a lot of it.  It is a good mulch for suppressing weeds and holding water.  Our local wool grower's association has a buyer who will take the hair sheep wool but I haven't looked into the details other than that they want hair sheep wool separate from the all wool fleeces.  I have heard that it can be used for felting if you do crafting.


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## Laura_P (Aug 14, 2014)

Thanks for your feedback. I think I'll compost it and use some for mulch and insulation some for the beehives.


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## Tea Chick (Sep 5, 2014)

doxiemoxie said:


> I have dorper and dorper crosses that need a clip from time to time.  I've just thrown the fiber (How's that for a generic term!) in the compost pile but the birds and other wild critters steal a lot of it.  It is a good mulch for suppressing weeds and holding water.  Our local wool grower's association has a buyer who will take the hair sheep wool but I haven't looked into the details other than that they want hair sheep wool separate from the all wool fleeces.  I have heard that it can be used for felting if you do crafting.



@doxiemoxie
How do you felt wool/hair?
A neighbor of mine has hair sheep and she said I could have the extra hair if I wanted.
I'm thinking about getting a sheep (maybe from her, maybe a wool sheep), so I would like to know what to do with the fiber.
Additionally, (if I'm getting too far off topic here, someone, please let me know) my dogs shed pretty much year round, but we have clumps of dog fur all over our yard all spring and into summer.  Could that be felted?  I read about a woman spinning her dog's fur, just to see if it would work; she said it did, but she didn't do it after that.


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## doxiemoxie (Sep 5, 2014)

http://www.howtofelt.com/how-to-felt-wool/
This is just a sample of what's out there on the internet... she also has an article about felting cat hair.  I suspect you could easily do the same for dog hair.  You'll have to let us know how it goes!


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## Tea Chick (Sep 5, 2014)

Thanks.  I'll have to try that in the spring.  Since it's going to start cooling off, they dogs aren't going to be shedding enough for me to do anything with, but I'll let you know!!! 

I checked out the link.  It was about how to felt, but she didn't actually tell you how to do it.  The link to the "article" about felting with cat hair was a book review.


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## misfitmorgan (Jun 23, 2016)

You can felt dog hair..i have done it...you can felt any type of fiber from any animal. When i felt i just use hot water, soap and a chunk of that clear plastic hallway runner you see in office's...has all the grooves on top anything with a lot of texture and waterproof is good to felt on. You just take the fiber and dip it in hoot water and felt then keep rubbing it back and forth on the mat and flipping/folding and adding more of the soapy hot water mix until it felts. It's actually pretty quick.


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