Bowmont fleece...???

I don't spin, but both your messages arrived here. The net being weird again.

=Tamar

thanx yes I went into google in the end to see if it was there, I should have looked there first.....oh well...lol

cheers.......Cher

Cher I have not hear of Bowmont fleece, or of a Marino, Shedland cross breed either. veryinteresting, I have to pass this on to a Guild member who breeds Shetland sheep. She may have more info on this topic for me. I am sure that it will be a lovely fleece. Both are fine haired fleeces and the Marino will give it that extra crimp. Send me a little bit in an envelope Cher, would love to see it

Els

OMG wish I'd seen this before I'd washed it and dyed it for spinning...the other lot I had I have already spun, but no worries I'll send you some from another lot. the fleece was a little short, and I quieried this of the breeder and apparently she sheared them again in January, but there are some lambs due and soon as they are ready I'm gonna have some so I'll send you some...OK?

It feels exactly like merino to handles and doubles it's size when washed, I can send you some of the pre washed if you like the first lot I had I combed or flicked the tips then put it to the hand carders as I wanted a woollen spin not a worsted or semi, which is what I normally spin for singles for weaving. there are no colours yet only the whites but I am having more so will remember you and hide it in a pack for you. by the way did you get my email to you saying thanx for the pics and postcard? also the url for my Frome Workshop??

Hugz cher

Cher do not worry about it, I am going to ask Treenway if they have that fleece in stock. Keep us posted on how things go.Yes I did and I did answer it here as well as from my Eudora software.

I have to try again.

Great that you liked the article. I should also look for some brochures I have sitting around for a little weaving frame. Loved the pictures on our website, and next time you have to turn around so we can see you all the way in the picture. I also said that I think that you are doing very interesting weaving projects, from what I could see in all the pictures. I was impressed. Looked like a fun time was had by all.

Els

MMMnnnn it came in finally Els, typical have an isp called blue yonder and the whole lot gets lost there. LOL.

I've ordered some more, there is only one place offering it for sale, and that is in the UK, the only gripe I've got with it is that because the lady sheared hers twice this year the staple is quite short from an inch to an inch and a half, so what I did was to flick the ends with a dog comb and then card it to give me the rounded woolen rolags for spinning. but they are lovely and soft, feels like cotton wool...lol. so I am ordering some more and will send you some...no probs. This is a new breed no colours yet just the white. Here is the url for where mine come from, although I got mine from a friend who had some..

is a writ from another site all about BOWMONT sheep>>>>>>>>>>>snip>>>>>>>>>>>>The Bowmont's origins lie in a study of the potential to increase income from wool on hill and upland sheep flocks in the UK (Saul, Russel and Sibbald, 1992; 1993). This work suggested that a cross between the finest-woolled British breed, the Shetland, and the world's finest-woolled breed, the Saxon Merino, could theoretically produce a sufficient quantity of high quality wool to make it economically attractive to UK hill sheep farmers.This theory was tested by mating Shetland ewes to Saxon Merino rams to establish the Bowmont breed, which has subsequently been subjected to selection for wool quality and the ability to survive under relatively harsh climatic and topographic conditions. Unlike the Lomond, the Bowmont is used principally as a pure breed and not as a source of sires for crossing with traditional hill breeds. It is a small sheep, ewes weighing not much more than 40 kg. Ewe fleece weights are between 2.5 and 3.0 kg and the current average fibre diameter of the flock at the Institute's Sourhope research station is just under 20 mm. Mature wethers have produced 5 kg fleeces and a few individuals in the flock have fibre diameters in the 16 - 17 mm range. With further rigorous selection there is every reason to believe that mean fibre diameter can be reduced by at least 2 mm within a few generations. It is difficult at this stage to put a value on Bowmont wool; there are no classes in the current British Wool Marketing Board price schedule which cater for wool of such high quality. At world prices, however, individual ram and ewe hogg (yearling) fleeces have been valued at more than £35 (over

50 ECU). This compares with an average value of about £2 (3 ECU) for a typical hill ewe fleece.

Two major roles are envisaged for the Bowmont breed. The first is in regular-aged wether flocks managed extensively in low-input systems on the poorest hill land resources. These areas currently support flocks of breeding ewes which achieve only very low physical outputs (often between 55 and 75 lambs weaned per 100 ewes mated). These flocks would not be economically sustainable if the current high levels of EU and UK government support were reduced or withdrawn. Under the prevailing legislation wether sheep do not qualify for support. If in future the regulations are changed and subsidies are paid, for example, on an area or labour unit basis, as opposed to a per ewe basis, the farming - or perhaps the ranching - of wether sheep, which require little or no supplementary feeding and incur only minimal veterinary costs, could be economically viable and indeed financially attractive, provided that their wool is of a high quality and can be marketed at ruling world prices.

The second role for Bowmont sheep is on the less severe farms where breeding flocks could be maintained to supply wether sheep for the extensive, low-input system of management referred to above. Substantial benefits in terms of income from wool could again be expected without penalty to other sources of income. Experience with the Bowmont is still limited, but the indications are that lambing performance is of the order of 1.25 lambs per ewe, i.e. comparable to other hill breeds. Prices for wether lambs sold for slaughter have been very satisfactory. It is anticipated that prices of ewe lambs or yearlings sold for breeding, and of male lambs to replenish the wether flocks on the poorer land resources, would be similar to or greater than those of the traditional hill breeds.

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