We have new fleeces available for purchase
three times each year: early February, mid-summer, and mid-October.
Each
shearing focuses on a different group of sheep and results in different types of fleeces:
February fleeces are from our breeding ewes and are longer in staple,
having had a full year of growth. They are therefore heavier in weight, averaging six pounds for the Romneys and
about five pounds for the Romeldale/CVM.
Summer fleeces come from our breeding rams, and are similar in staple length to the Feb. fleeces.
They do not, however, have a strong "rammy" smell. Because rams are quite a bit bigger than ewes, these
fleeces are a bit heavier in weight than the Feb. fleeces. There are very few summer fleeces in comparison to the
other shearings, as we keep a limited number of rams.
October
fleeces are shorter in staple length and therefore a bit lighter in weight, sometimes as small as 1.5 pounds.
This shearing includes our cull ewes and market lambs before they leave the farm, so the fleeces only reflect six to nine
months of growth.
HOW DO I BUY A FLEECE?
After the fleeces from each shearing are skirted, we compile descriptions of each of the fleeces
for sale into a text document. All of those people who are on our e-mail notification list will receive a copy
of this document once the fleeces are skirted and available for sale. If pictures of particular fleeces are desired,
you may reply to the initial e-mail with a request for those photos. Sales will be handled based on the time and date
stamp of received e-mails wanting to purchase particular fleeces.
Once fleeces
are available for sale, they sell very quickly. If you contact us for a particular fleece and don't hear back from us
right away, please know that we are answering e-mails in the order they were received - both time and date - you will hear
from us!
You may also e-mail us via the Contact Us page if you are looking for
a particular fleece that we may have in our next shearing, and we will "keep an eye out" for it as we skirt.
You will be notified about your request the day before the entire text document is made public to allow you to make your purchase.
We have changed our system for selling fleeces based on our fleece sales from our
Jan.'09 shearing, which sold out before we could get any posted on these pages. In order to give all customers
equal opportunity to purchase our fleeces, we feel that this new arrangement will come closest to that goal. Thank
you for your patience!
