I usually have all the sheep sheared in June and have done so since I got them 6+ years ago. This year, under the advisement of my wonderful shearer John Sanchez, I had them sheared in April. This has given me a 10 month growth coat instead of the regular 12 month growth. I have lost a considerable amount of length in my locks because of this. In some cases up to 3″ less.
I am concerned that hand spinners won’t be as drawn to these locks now because they are shorter staple. Even though I have to say they are the cleanest fleeces I have ever gotten from my flock. I will be selling the washed and picked locks as I have before online at my Etsy store. I am interested to see how these shorter locks do compared to the long ones of last year.
If they are as well received I might like to move even to two shearings a year to get cleaner wool and more of it from my fiber sheep. But I also definitely want to keep my hand-spinning and fiber enthusiast customers happy. I will post the responses I get. Fingers crossed.