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Diary of a Sheep - the Wexford Felting Blog
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hughdonoghue106
Nov 14, 20221 min read
Why don’t sheep have top front teeth?
Sheep are selective grazers, and prefer to eat vegetation close to the soil surface. They have a hard upper palate divided by a distinct...
hughdonoghue106
Nov 14, 20221 min read
Heat, Wrinkles and Pain
Sheep didn't always need to be sheared. People breed sheep to produce excess wool. Merinos are bred to have wrinkly skin, which means...
hughdonoghue106
Sep 29, 20221 min read
Shearing
Just like a haircut, shearing doesn't hurt a sheep. But it requires skill so that the sheep is shorn efficiently and quickly without...
hughdonoghue106
Sep 29, 20221 min read
Cool and Dry and Free to Roam
Merino sheep are a mountain breed and their natural habitat is dry, open, mountainous range. It is in their nature to roam free. They...
hughdonoghue106
Sep 29, 20221 min read
Square Eyes
But WHY do sheep have them? Rectangular pupils allow for a wide field of vision, around 270 to 320 degrees. This means that sheep can see...
hughdonoghue106
Sep 29, 20221 min read
Can't Stand Up
We have bred sheep to have larger and heavier fleeces, giving us more wool per animal. The weight of these fleeces can cause them to tip...
hughdonoghue106
Sep 29, 20221 min read
Brief Lives
In Australia, up to 15 million lambs die of starvation, neglect and exposure within the first 48 hours of their lives. Farmers practice...
hughdonoghue106
Sep 29, 20221 min read
3 Ways To Make Felt
Wet felting uses water, soap and agitation to interlock and compact wool fibers together. Needle felting uses barbed needles to stab and...
hughdonoghue106
Sep 29, 20221 min read
The life and times of Benjamin Bussey
Benjamin Bussey (1757—1842) was a horticulturalist and prosperous merchant farmer. At the age of 49, he retired as one of the richest men...
hughdonoghue106
Sep 1, 20221 min read
Colourful Cruelty - a new painted phase
Is colouring sheep a good idea? Some say it's harmless, some believe otherwise.
hughdonoghue106
Sep 1, 20221 min read
Mongolia - the Land of Felt
A brief description of Genghis Khan's rule over Mongolia and its felt-using people.
hughdonoghue106
Mar 29, 20221 min read
Everything was fine until the humans arrived
We sheep have a long and noble ancestry, going back to the Bovid family of nearly 4 million years ago. Our nearest relatives are goats,...
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