The 2022 Wool Hat Awards

The annual Saint Beans wool hat competition is well underway!

Once a year the woollies shed their winter coats and they like wearing wool hats. The competition winner is the woolly who wears the most hats, the most stylish hats and the largest hats. Winner 🥇 gets treats! This year Lily lamb took the lead yet again because she's an early shedder but Daisy lamb has come from behind and is now in front. The rules are simple:

1. The wool must be from the wearer.
2. The wool must have just been plucked off.
3. A woolly must wear the hat for at least 10 seconds (which is actually quite a long time if you’re woolly).
4. There are no other rules.
5. Ok there’s one more rule. Everyone must be fully shed before the winner is announced.

Wiltshire's

If you didn’t know. The woollies are Wiltshire’s which is a breed who have retained their natural shedding behaviour. They grow a thick coat for winter and shed it in summer as nature intended.

Other sheep have been bred to grow excess wool and not to shed it so humans can harvest it. This is why many breeds have to be sheared at least once a year and if they don't this happens.