You can't run away on shearing day

Today was a big day for the sheep at the farm--time for their annual shearing.  You would think that given the recent heat spell, the sheep would be excited about get summer haircuts, but this was not the case.  We literally had to drag them kicking and screaming to the shearer.

The sheep crowded at the back gate to the shearing area, trying to avoid their haircuts

Preparation for shearing began yesterday, when I cleared out an animal pen we were using for storage to create a shearing area.  Last night, the sheep were brought in from the pasture a bit early, placed in the shearing area instead of their usual pen, and fasted overnight until the appointed shearing time of 1:30 this afternoon.  There are a couple of good reasons to fast the sheep prior to shearing: 1) they weigh less, making them easier to handle, and 2) shearing involves placing the sheep into odd positions in order to reach all of the wool, and a sheep with an empty stomach is less likely to vomit.


A lamb peering out from the shearing area

We have 9 ewes and their lambs, but only the ewes were sheared today.  Before you can shear a sheep, you must first catch it.  We used a shepherd's crook for this (up until today, I thought those were just for looking cool in a nativity scene), grabbing a sheep by its hindquarters and pulling the sheep where you want it to go.  I was not very good at this, or else our sheep are just extra stubborn, because every time I hooked a ewe, she laid down instead of letting me guide her. 

One at a time, we brought each ewe over to the shearer, Gary, for her haircut.  Gary has been shearing sheep for about seventeen years, and he makes it look easy.  It is not.  After watching Gary shave several of the sheep, I made a feeble attempt at sheering the flank of a ewe.  Standing over her with my legs strategically placed to hold her down, I held the clippers in my right hand and used my left hand to hold the skin taut to make shearing easier. 



My attempt at shearing

You have to hold the clippers much closer to the skin than feels comfortable in order to get a close shave.  Combine the closeness of the blade with the squirming of a 200+ pound sheep and nicks and cuts are inevitable.  I was assured that these cuts all heal without event, but part of me wonders if these nicks are part of why the sheep were not thrilled about shearing day.

After shearing, the sheep were pretty stirred up, I imagine partly from hunger, partly from thirst, partly from not being in their usual environment, and partly from having just been twisted into all sorts of crazy positions. 

We did what we could for the first 3 issues, giving the sheep hay to eat, water to drink, and leading them back to their usual pen, but the sheep were still pretty agitated, suggesting that they just needed some time to recover from the stress of the day.

Shorn sheep breaking their overnight fast

The sheep look so much skinnier now that they have been shorn.  We will take the fleeces to a local wool processor for cleaning and then sell most of the wool, keeping a bit for our own use.  Several of the farm staff plan to spin some wool and knit or weave with it.  I've never done either, but this year is all about learning new things, so look out--you might just get a knit hat for Christmas!