More Carding and a Surprise.
My friend Mary came over to get some mohair carded. We mixed it with some merino to make it easer for her to spin later. I have never done mohair before. It was very fluffy. It added a lot of volume to the batts.
This is the batt. It is not as compact as a straight merino batt. If you wanted it more blended you would split the batt into layers and put it through it again.
She also had some left over bits from other projects that we carded together.
Now for the surprise. My son came in from feeding the bottle lambs there lunch with a very noisy bucket.
We have a rogue chicken and she hatched 11 chicks in a hidden nest in the barn. They are now in a box with water that they splashed everywhere and some food that tastes best if you stand in it.
It will be interesting to see how they turn out. They will get a pen next to the older chicks today. They can’t be left with mom or they will not survive. Between the barn cats and the wild predators they all disappear when we have let them try to raise them.
18 thoughts on “More Carding and a Surprise.”
Lovely batts, Ann! I hear it’s easier to card shorter staples if you put them in the freezer for a couple of hours first (it helps with static electricity).
The chicks are lovely! Will mother chicken move in with them to the new pen? What a determined mother, to have them in secret (probably so you wouldn’t take her eggs, haha!) 🙂
Thanks Leonor. I will have to try the freezing trick this winter. This time it wasn’t static
it was just fluffy.
She is an escaped chicken on the run. No, mom won’t be with them, she wouldn’t be happy. She will probably try again. Colin only found them because they were all peeping at the top of their lungs.
The Mohair and Merino batt looks gorgeous! Ask Mary to take some photos when she’s spun it. So, from boxes of chicks to a bucket of chicks! Cute 🙂
I will ask her to take a picture Zed. Bay chicks really are cute.
Oh, the mohair looks so soft and fluffy, just like your new chics.
It was soft in a batt. I am not fussy about it spun it gets all prickly
Good thing the chicks don’t need bottles too…. 😉
Yes it is. LOL
The mohair batts and leftover merino batts turned out nice. I have some mohair locks I should try to card. Cute chicks. It’s a good thing you saved them.
Give it a try Marilyn. The bats are about half the weight or wool bats just because they fluff up so much. you may be able to pack more on if you use the burnishing brush.
Looks like you’re trying to card snow – very pretty!
Good luck with the chicks.
Thanks, It was really nice.
You have some lovely batts there. What a fantastic surprise for your son. i hope they do well 🙂
Thanks, I am sure they will be fine. I just want to know if any will have crazy feathers on their heads like 2 of the roosters do.
The addition of mohair certainly made a big difference. It looks like clouds to me. And doesn’t food always taste better if you stand in it?? 😉
It was crazy how much fluff was flying around. You can try standing in your dinner and tell me if it tastes better. LOL
Lovely batts and chicks! Will you try to locate the mother hen’s owners?
Thanks Luvswool. she is our chicken, she just seems to know when you have the time to catch her and goes into hiding. You only see her when you don’t have time to stop and get her.