East End: Spring on a farm is sheep-shearing time

Spring on a farm means it's also sheep-shearing time.

News 12 Staff

Jun 1, 2020, 12:22 PM

Updated 1,592 days ago

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Spring on a farm means it's also sheep-shearing time.
"They have to get the wool off. They don't shed. So as much as there's a lot of discussion about it, to me it's completely unhealthy to leave their coat on," says sheep shearer Tabbethia Haubbold.
Twice a year, Mattituck farm Browder's Birds gets their sheep sheared. It takes about two days to shear 21 sheep.
"Then as the wool is coming off the sheep, we get our whole crew here and we skirt the wool, which means we remove all the debris, vegetable matter, hay - everything that the sheep have been carrying around in their wool all winter," says Holly Browder, of Browder's Birds.
After it's cleaned, it's sent to a mill for more cleaning and processing.
All of that is to prepare it for its ultimate use.
Textile designer Stephanie Pinerio, of Southold, has her own line of pillows and blankets that she creates. She also does scarves from sheep's wool gathered from Browder's.
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