Yesterday we finished our lambing, with the birth of Knit’s baby boy, a black 9 pound Romney/Moorit. Last night we put another pan of syrup onto boil, and started combing out our 4 cashmeres and 2 pygoras. Daphne the big silver cashmere was full of the fluffy stuff and fun to comb out. Apollo, the male pygora, was so matted we had to shear him and I doubt if the fleece can be used. Athena (the honey colored pygora) cried bloody murder, but we did manage to get a big can full of fine cashmere from her. Goats are so vocal and everything is a crisis to them. They are really drama queens.
We ended up with 2 ounces from Daphne and 1.5 ounces from Athena and a sheared fleece from Apollo that will have to go to the processor. For the combed stuff, we’ll start the tedious picking of the guard hairs with tweezers. Great for doing during a movie. The final useable amount should be just over an ounce, which when put into roving and spun will sell for about $18. That’s about 6 hours of work for $18. OK, I don’t wanna do the math on that one, but I’m sure glad Brandon has a REAL job!
Here are pics of Daphne the cashmere and Athena the pygora being combed out. Daphne enjoyed it so much she didn’t want to leave the stand. It feels good to them, plus they get handfuls of grain the whole time. Food & a massage - It’s a day at the spa!
March 29, 2007 at 9:35 am
Just goes to show you what I know: I thought if you sheared cashmere, you had to take out guard hairs, but if you combed it out, it was like dog hair: all you got was the soft stuff. Yet another reason I’ll never have a cashmere goat! Too much work! I’m glad you like to do this! If it brings you enjoyment, it’s cheaper than a shrink!
January 23, 2008 at 6:18 am
This is really interesting! I have goats of a rare old-fashioned Swedish country breed, and I’m wondering if I could see if they have any wool that’s useable. I had dreams of getting alpackas, but so far, they’re too expensive for me, so I might play around with what I’ve got, instead!
January 28, 2008 at 7:26 pm
How do you wash the wool before using? Do you ever use the wool from bucks? Or would that smell too much? Of my three goats, the buck looks like he has the most wool.