Question about SHEEP?

Question

1. What kind of sheep are good for their wool/fleece???? (please answer this one)

2. How much should i charge for sheep wool (not spun into yarn)

Answer 1

there are several breeds that are good wool producers. the breed that's best for you depends on your climate. you don't want a breed with loose skin folds in a hot climate (they get maggot infections and can die). typically in the US the top wool breeds (in no particular order) are:

1. rambouillet (ram-bul-lay)

2.dorset

3.suffolk

4. hampshire

most breeders are now using hybrid sheep (mixed breeds) to produce the amount and quality of wool they're most happy with. the big thing in my area (mountains of VA) is a 1/2 hampshire 1/4 dorset 1/4 rambouillet cross. wool is not a huge money maker anymore and the costs of raising and shearing the wool don't leave much room for profit. nobody can tell you how much to expect per pound without knowing the quality of your wool. average price in 2007 was 88 cents a pound, but low quality wool would be lucky to bring 50 cents per pound while high quality wool might bring a dollar or more per pound. there's a HUGE room for variance in quality. now, there's more money in mohair (from angora sheep). here's a good place to start in the wool industry

http://www.sheepusa.org/

and also check this site for current pricing and market trends

http://www.agmrc.org/agmrc/commodity/liv...