debp Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 Finally got 4 woolies this year. Got electric shears 2 months ago $$$. Read everything I could about shearing - but have been too chicken so far to actually do it. (I heard stories about how easy it is to nick them and had visions of gouged, bleeding sheep everywhere). With the heat index going over 100 today, I finally got out there to at least clip the yearling who had MUCH wool on her. The plan was for hubby to get her down and hold her while I sheared. After looking at the illustrations in the Sheep book - he attempted to get her on her side. Problem. He ended up on his ass, and she was in his lap. After crawling out from under her, we proceeded. It actually went fast. At the very end, I nicked her twice on her belly. It looked awful, but we put some pink stuff (to prevent flystrike) on her, and then sprayed the yellow stuff (antibacterial). She's now a very colorful, happy sheep. And Andre and I are very proud of ourselves. We can't call ourselves sheep experts, but we're on our way to calling ourselves shepherds of our little flock. (The other 3 lambs will get sheared this week now that I've got the hang of it!) My next venture - washing the wool, hand carding it and then spinning. All new to me and I can't wait to wear Jazzy's, Maisie's, Bella's and Bitty's wool this winter around my neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pipedream Farm Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 Mark sheared a romney sheep we had earlier this spring with hand shears. When he finished she looked so awful I literally couldn't stop laughing for about 10 minutes or so. The other thing that was funny was that the other sheep didn't accept her back as part of the flock right away. They decided she was some sort of freak and was not welcome. They got over it in a couple of days. Renee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 He ended up on his ass, and she was in his lap.DebP - I sure hope you had the camera ready and are going to share a picture of this with us. If not, have the camera present and ready next time! I had a child get an an "awkward" position once and horrified him by yelling, "Hold it there while I get the camera"! I didn't and he didn't, but we laugh about it to this day. Seeing your story in my mind has given me my laugh for the day! the other sheep didn't accept her back as part of the flock right away.Renee - When I used to clip my dairy goats for summer, the rest of the "unclipped" would act precisely this way. There would be a great deal of sniffing and posturing, and jockeying for rank. We would wind up with the clipped and the unclipped "cliques" for some days until they became used to the short coats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debp Posted July 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 I wish I had captured the moment - but I'll always see it in my mind and laugh. Andre was a wrestler in college and I doubt he ever thought a sheep would pin him! We also discovered afterward that Andre is allergic to wool (or lanolin). I have a feeling I'll have to learn how to do this myself, or find some other unwitting fool...I mean person to help me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Fosher Posted July 19, 2006 Report Share Posted July 19, 2006 Hi Deb, Keep an eye out for shearing schools. I don't know if your land grant college runs them, but they are pretty common up here in New England in the winter and spring. Once you learn the pattern and holds and can start shearing with a little speed, it's much easier. I'm learning to shear with hand blades, and after three years of watching, studying, trying, asking questions, studying some more, I've gotten my time down from half an hour to under 10 minutes for a "normal" sheep. If I run into problems it can, and does, take longer. It's a trade worth knowing, and it's worth knowing how to do well. And don't worry, one shearer I know who does 120 plus per day tells me that it's only the first 10,000 sheep that are hard. After that you get used to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debp Posted July 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2006 Thanks Bill - I'll look for that in my area - I think VA Tech offers it. Right now I think I can handle my 4 sheep, but from what I've observed, these small flocks turn into larger flocks. Also, I'd like to be more efficient at it - the wool didn't fall off in one piece like they say it should Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trailrider Posted July 19, 2006 Report Share Posted July 19, 2006 We sheared the late lambers today and I was worried about how easily the flies will get them. Is this usually a problem? 50 bald sheep could attract a heck of a lot of flies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca, Irena Farm Posted July 19, 2006 Report Share Posted July 19, 2006 I actually worry more about flystrike in big fleeces. There's a couple of topical products that you can use on sheep - I'm using something called Cylence that my Southern States guy recommended. Most toplines don't work on sheep very well but it's been pretty good. It has to be reapplied after every little rainstorm (like we just got, erk). I had someone else recommend peremethrin dust (my old livestock vet, I think) but a) it doesn't really seem to do the trick on the kind of flies we have here and my cats are all over the sheep areas, and I don't want to kill THEM because they keep rodents out of the barns! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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