Raising Animals for Fiber: Producing Wool from Sheep, Goats, Alpacas, and Rabbits in Your Backyard (CompanionHouse Books) Livestock Health, Grooming, Housing, Breeding, & Shearing, from Angora to Suri

The essential guide for aspiring fiber farmers! How to raise livestock for fiber, from Angora rabbits and cashmere goats to huacaya alpacas Comprehensive guide with extensive details on breeds, housing, feeding, breeding, health care, shearing, and more Biosecurity practices to protect your animals, preventing spreading pests and infectious disease DIY ideas for your bounty, from fiber crafts and felted soap to marketing and selling the fiber you harvest Author Chris McLaughlin is a Californian fiber farmer and secretary of The Colored Angora Goat Breeders Association If you've been considering raising your own animals for fiber, then Raising Animals for Fiber is your go-to reference! As more of us seek traditional textiles for yarn-focused crafts like knitting, crocheting, and weaving—as well as spinning, embroidery, needlepoint, needle felting, wet felting, and fiber dying—raising backyard or hobby farm fiber animals continues to rise in popularity. Inside this book, author and fiber farmer Chris McLaughlin provides a comprehensive introduction to raising livestock for wool. The perfect starting point, this handbook focuses on four different fiber animal species to tackle all your questions and curiosities. With practical information for the aspiring beginner, Chris helps you to decide which species will best serve your own lifestyle criteria and needs. Inside Raising Animals for Fiber, you'll find a comprehensive guide to raising wool-producing sheep, goats, Angora rabbits, and alpacas. Explore expert tips on housing, fencing, feed, grooming, shearing, plucking, basic health care, breeding, birthing, and other special considerations; a comparison of popular breeds and how their fiber differs from breed to breed; a frank discussion of the energy and commitment that it takes to raise livestock, and how much room and land each animal species will need; advice on hand spinning and crafts to utilize your homegrown fiber; and a bonus fiber farming resources guide you to further research, such as national clubs, books, magazines, websites, and more. Author Chris McLaughlin is an experienced gardening and homesteading writer who owns a working fiber farm in California. Chris's fiber farm began from a simple curiosity that converged with her existing hobby of raising and showing rabbits. The same can go for you, too! Get a feel for fiber farming, with Raising Animals for Fiber! "While food makes urban agriculture headlines, fiber is another commodity city farmers can produce. Rabbits, goats, sheep, and alpacas can be sheared and their wool used for felting, making yarn, and even [making] doll hair. Most of us are aware of the Slow Food Movement; author Chris McLaughlin leads the Slow Wool Movement." —Michael Levenston, Executive Director, City Farmer Society