Author Topic: carding sheep ! (Read 7877 times)

doss93 · « **on:** August 03, 2011, 08:44:44 pm »

can any one help me with explaining how to make a sheep/lamp presentable for showing e.g bathing would using a pressure washer be okay what shampoo to use, how to use the carding combs ? any other advice would be greatly appreciated

Anke · « **Reply #1 on:** August 03, 2011, 10:31:56 pm »

What breed? Each breed has its own standard rules for showing, and then maybe the breed society would give you specific advice?

And no I would NOT use a pressure washer in any of my animals!!!!

ellisr · « **Reply #2 on:** August 04, 2011, 02:05:29 pm »

OK I now have an image in my head of someone shampooing a sheep in the same way we wash our hair and all the wool felting. I suppose if you attach some handles you have an instance handbag

.

I'm so sorry my head works in strange ways sometimes.

doss93 · « **Reply #3 on:** August 04, 2011, 06:09:41 pm »

thank you for advice i say pressure washer because we use it on all the cows, they are zwabatles cross...

princesspiggy · « **Reply #4 on:** August 05, 2011, 04:20:20 pm »

i know someone that pressure washes their clydesdales and apparently they love it!

Fronhaul · « **Reply #5 on:** August 06, 2011, 03:15:49 pm »

Large plastic jugs are so useful. But I still usually end up as wet as the sheep.

As for shampoo I used emerald black for the first time the other day on Jacobs and although scarey to put on over the white bits the end result was great. Fairy liquid works though.

feldar · « **Reply #6 on:** August 07, 2011, 10:51:43 am »

Hi You can pressure wash them but be very careful and don't stand too close, also i would only do this if they were very dirty, we only use horse shampoo on bottoms, the rest of the body we use just cold water as you will strip all the natural oils from the fleece this can make the fleece even harder to card up. Do your washing at least a week before the show to allow the fleece time to recover. It also depends on what breed you have, our show hampshires are carded well then trimmed up to make them look bigger and tidy for the show ring....the more you card the bigger they can look but some judges can see through this so if your sheep looks good with just one carding ...i would leave it at that. good luck

To use the carder push the hooks into the fleece and pull in a upwards motion so the wool fluffs up, done quickly is better than pulling slowly which can annoy the sheep. Our sheep stand quite still for this so maybe they like the sensation!

shearling · « **Reply #7 on:** August 08, 2011, 09:45:27 am »

Quote from: Anke on August 03, 2011, 10:31:56 pm

What breed? Each breed has its own standard rules for showing, and then maybe the breed society would give you specific advice?

I totally agree with Anke and WG. For example if they were Portlands then they should/must be shown in 'their working clothes' and washing them would not be acceptable or appropriate.

VSS · « **Reply #8 on:** August 08, 2011, 09:54:44 am »

Quote from: feldar on August 07, 2011, 10:51:43 am

Our sheep stand quite still for this

Lucky you! Ours go ballistic!

Show preparation depends so much on the breed, but also on the time of year and the amount of wool they have on them. Impossible to give hard a fsat rules. The best thing is to talk to other exhibitors and then to just experiment and see what works for you. Everyone has a slightly different way of doing these things.