Sheeps Wool Insulation

[Schoolmarm]

I suppose it is the same reason as to why we try to lime plaster, turn our hand to plumbing etc, it's a challenge we want to try to master

That's fair enough, except houses don't get upset while we learn on them and there is no shortage of shearers. There is however a shortage of traditional builders who we trust on our houses.

 

[Gervase]

We're a bit short of shearers here in our bit of West Wales. Plenty of folk do their own, but travelling shearers tend to go for the contract work on the more upland holdings where sheep are numbered in the hundreds rather than the tens.
Anyway, all the ewes are now shorn, and a darned sight cooler now without the weight of fleece. Good fleeces, too - which means we might even get some money from the WMB for them. Enough, maybe, for a pint or two.
Just the wethers and the ram to go now...

 

[Moo]

Townie question :-

What's a wether?

 

[biffvernon]

To Back, To Cast. To get on its back and be unable to rise.
To Belt, To Dag. To clean out with shears
Blindquarters. Non-functional udder
Brokenmouthed. Some teeth missing
Cade. Hand-reared lamb
Cast Ewes. Old breeding ewes which are sold off hill farms to lower ground farmers who take one more crop of lambs off
them.
Chines. Part of the sheep’s body.
Clarts. Dung attached to fleece, clags, daggings.
Clees. Claws
Couples. Ewes and lambs.
To Draw Lambs To assist in delivery
To Draw Ewes To select for making up groups.
Drove, Droving, Drover. Flock, driving, driver.
Flyblown Fleece laden with maggot-fly eggs.
Gimmer. A female sheep from weaning to shearing.
Heft. Part or section of Hirsel (about five Hefts in each Hirsel)
Hirsel Piece of ground and flock looked after generally by one shepherd.
Hog, Hogg, Hoggerel, Hogget. A male or female sheep between being weaned and shorn for the first time.
Hoggerel, Tup-hog. Hogget
Inbye. Land fenced between fields and open hill.
Intake. Improved pasture taken in and fenced from hill.
Kemps. Coarse hairs.
Lugmark. Ear mark.
Maid. A ewe teg that has been to the ram but has proved barren.
Mule. Cross bred sheep, sired by Bluefaced Leicester.
Pug. Teg
Rounds. Circular walls built to protect sheep from snow drifts.
Shearling. A young sheep between its first and second shearing.
Tup. Ram.
Twinter. Two year old ewe.
Wether, Wedder. A castrated adult male sheep.

http://natter-jack.info/

 

[Moo]

WOW!
Thanks, Biff.

 

[Gervase]

Hmm - just got the cheque from the Wool Marketing Board. Thirty odd fleeces brought us in just under twelve quid! :shock: To hire a shearer to do that lot would have cost about forty-five. And to think that the wealth of mediaeval England was built on wool. *sigh*

 

[worms]

If you want to make known your views on the Wool Board/Monopoly buyer situation, DEFRA & SEERAD have just gone out to consultation on the subject. http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/britishwoolboard/index.htm

 

[biffvernon]

£12...think what it would be worth if it was converted into Thermafleece.

 

[Penners]

Anybody want to buy some worn once wool?

My wife's old mum was brilliant at pulling out old woollies and re-knitting the yarn into a new garment. If she was still with us I'm sure she'd have done you a nice cardy.

 

[skier-hughes]

Ours went off to the board, not sure how much it made, but we had a shearer in the end. Cost us £20 for 14 sheep. Well 13 and a halfish

 

[Schoolmarm]

I didn't even take my fleeces in to the depot, saving eight pounds on diesel approx. The shearer is taking them away for me as a favour. :roll:

 

[worms]

Biff said:

think what it would be worth if it was converted into Thermafleece.

By my back of the beer-box calculation, you need ten average UK sheep per square metre at 100mm (4 inch) thick for wool insulation. So thirty-odd sheep would be about three 1.2m rolls of Thermafleece.

I've still not managed to order any Thermafleece since the cost looks like it will double to get it delivered and the nearest supplier is about 200 miles away!

I wonder what would happen if you made up a slurry of the recycled newspaper stuff and lime mortar and plastered it on the wall?

 

[Mark]

By my back of the beer-box calculation, you need ten average UK sheep per square metre at 100mm (4 inch) thick for wool insulation.

:shock:
Isnt it difficult squeezing sheep in like that - and I would have thought they would be a bit noisy, not to say smelly

the rspca should be told!

 

[worms]

You know, I thought about changing the wording but reckoned it would give someone the chance to make a smart comment!

You know what I mean...you need the fleeces from ten average sheep to make one square meter of insulation 400mm deep.

 

[Penners]

Ours went off to the board, not sure how much it made, but we had a shearer in the end. Cost us £20 for 14 sheep. Well 13 and a halfish

I didn't know you could shear a whole fish... let alone a halfish

 

[skier-hughes]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Old-Steiff-wool-Coral-Fish-with-ID-button_W0QQitemZ200008020346QQihZ010QQcategoryZ393QQcmdZViewItem

 

[Penners]