Counting Sheep

When does the proverbial counting of sheep keep you wide awake instead putting you to sleep? When you've been working on a farm business plan before bed and can't stop going over the numbers in your head. (I did down a highly caffeinated chai latte around 11PM, which admittedly didn't help things.) In addition to the adorable little babydoll Southdown sheep, I've been dreaming of a larger fiber flock of Romneys and Merinos.

I'm a spreadsheet and numbers-oriented kind of gal, and I'm struggling with the figures for a hobby fiber farm. There's the costs for basic animal care (acquiring the sheep, food, fencing, shelter, and veterinary expenses), yearly shearing (to minimize nicks and cuts, this is a task best left to skilled professionals who shear regularly), fiber processing (sorting, washing, fiber cleaning/dehairing, carding, rovings, drafting, spinning, plying, steaming, conewinding, and skeining, not to mention dyeing), marketing (labels), and selling (expenses associated with selling online or at stores and markets). And I'm probably overlooking some major costs.

The numbers indicate that it's possible to eke out a meager profit, but only if I have a fairly large flock. I love the idea of, say, six sheep, but I'm not sure how I feel about 30. The good news is that the Wrangler recently told me, "You can get any animals you'd like." I knew he'd come around.