I think sheep are usually coated to keep the fleece clean, I don’t think a coat will stop them felting. In fact I suspect it would make things worse, as it would interfere with the natural breathability of the fleece.
The ingredients for felting are temperature change, agitation and lubrication. A hot sheep in humid conditions will sweat, the sheep moving about (coated or not) will cause the agitation. Sheep sweat - called suint - combines with lanolin to form soap, which gives the lubrication - and voila, the ingredients for felting.
I did gently hint that coating sheep in humid conditions is not only counter-productive, it’s unkind, because the coat will interfere with the sheep’s ability to regulate its own internal environment.
If you absolutely must, I’d suggest doing an experiment with just one sheep, because as I’ve said above, I’d predict the fleece would felt worse under a coat than not. Most of the moisture will come from within, sweat, and it’s going to sweat more, and be able to lose moisture less, if you cover its wool with any other fabric. If you do try, use a fabric that’s breathable - a natural fibre like cotton, I’d think. For pities sake don’t use nylon. And keep a veterinary thermometer handy and monitor the sheep’s temperature and other signs of health.
A better approach to reduce the felting and wasting of fleece would be some or all of the following :
- ensure the sheep have a spacious, well-strawed, airy, dry, clean bedding area
- feed any hay loosely strewn on the ground, not in a heck (rubbing against the feeder can cause felting around the neck, and hay seeds working their way into the fleece increase the agitation and propensity to felt)
- keep sheep away from vegetation they can use to scratch on - brambles, thorn and horse bushes etc - as they will achieve more scratching and thereby more felting if they have things to scratch against
- eradicate all plants which produce burrs of any kind - sticky buds, cleavers, burdock, etc - as these work their way into the fleece and increase the likelihood of felting. If you see burrs or cleavers on the sheep, get the clippers out and remove them immediately, before they get well and truly buried into the fleece (which takes days not months)
- ensure ectoparasites are well-controlled, as these also cause itching and scratching. Bedding needs clearing out and replacing regularly, old hay needs removing frequently, as mites love these environments
- consider a pre-winter clip (leave an inch or so, and do it a month before the weather really turns) to reduce the amount of fleece carried over into the following year’s fleece, and hence matting and sweltering
- ensure the sheep are clipped as soon as they are ready; the fleece will start to felt very quickly once the sheep are getting hot and the lanolin starts to rise. Partly the heat, sweat and lanolin as described above, and partly the sheep will also become itchy with the weight of hot wet fleece, and start to rub and roll to scratch, thus increasing the agitation and hence felting. (And again, I don’t think coating will help; they’ll still roll, possibly more so as they’ll likely be even hotter and sweatier under the coat.)
- I’m not familiar with the Finn breed, but some of our native / primitive breeds start to have fleece be ready to come off in patches, not the whole fleece in one. So you might find that clipping what parts are ready, rather than waiting until you can get the whole fleece off, gets you more of a quality fibre - although not always in one piece, of course.
Topic: Question for those whom coat/jacket their sheep for clean fleece (Read 2068 times)
