Sheep Wool from Shearing to Sale

Those raising sheep for the purpose of premium sheep wool can do well creating their own area niche market and selling directly to the end user. Connecting with a wool mill can often help with putting the wool into the hands of the end user.

Those producers who take care to raise a premium wool product and keep the flock clean and tidy can even do well selling raw wool or can rely on some basic processing at the mill prior to selling.

For the rest of us who raise dual purpose sheep on the range and for who it is not feasible to keep sheep in coats to maintain clean fleeces, there are a few tricks of the trade that can net a few more dollars for your product.

Due to the variations in the properties of sheep wool and the various end uses, it is beneficial to have the material sorted according to similar type.

The sorting according to wool type can begin at the ranch and it is generally considered good practice to sort sheep prior to shearing them.

On the large stations in Australia sorting animals by age and sex will still result in numerous fleeces from these groups. In Canada, due to our small flock sizes, the sorting seems to be less intensive. If two or more groups of sheep with very different wool are run on the same ranch then these groups would be sorted out prior to shearing. Then the groups are sorted into ewes, lambs and rams.

Prior to shearing

• Separate the flock according to sheep wool type and animal
  

• Shear mature ewes of similar fleece type together
  

• Shear lambs together, not mixed in with the ewes (the fleece of a lamb will not hold together well and will also be of a different quality than an adults fleece, so it should be kept separate).
  

• Shear rams and wethers together
  

• Keep different types of sheep wool seperated in the wool bags.

You can place rolls of different wool types into the same bag, the purpose is not to have them intermingled. Place newspaper in between and on the outside of the wool bag mark where the one type of wool ends and the next begins, thus indicating the changes in the type of fleece.

This pre-sorting allows an opportunity for you to receive the better price for the lots of same type premium wool. This is similar to how animals are sorted at auctions in order to prevent a fewer lower quality ones from bringing the overall price down.

During Shearing

• Skirt your fleeces
  

• Roll your fleeces
  

• Mark your bags

If the shearer is doing his job the crutch area and belly wool will be removed first allowing you to collect these bits and keep the separate from the main fleeces.

Skirting a fleece is removing all the faulty portions. The faulty portions would be any stained wool or wool with heavy debris. Pieces commonly skirted are the neck and jaw pieces, back of the neck where vegetable matter may have collected, any stained and discolored pieces along the fringe.

Rolling the fleece on a table is done on the lengthwise direction by folding the fleece in thirds (the two sides into the center) and then rolling front to back.

Rolling off of the shearing floor (this is what we do) is done by tucking the edges of the fleece under and simultaneously lifting and rolling the clip toward yourself. The goal is to have a loose ball of wool ready to go into the packer. Rolling is done to keep each fleece distinctive in the wool bag.

Bag your skirtings separate from your main fleeces.

Mark your bags. This will help keep your sheep wool sorted when the wool is graded at the end of the line.

When your wool is graded it will be docked for various defects such as not being skirted, heavily contaminated with vegetable matter, dirt or manure.

A better price can be fetched if you take the steps to prepare and tidy your fleeces as they are sheared.

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