It's important to ensure that your cutters are still sharp before you begin shearing. The first involves gently tipping the sheep over onto her back, then propping her shoulders between your knees for support. This will give them time to get over the stress of shearing. Shear the wool from the right foreleg (from the shoulder to the toe), once the neck and shoulder are sheared and cleared of wool. Never avoid shearing because of a shy sheep; lure the sheep with food and feed the sheep after the shearing too. Electric cutters are most widely used today. It's important to know what you're doing while shearing, otherwise you could stress or injure the sheep, or destroy the wool. The wet, dirty wool attracts flies especially the blow flies (bright green or blue in color). Shearing How long should a comb and cutter last when shearing, … Make a series of diagonal blows once you are done with shearing the neck and the shoulder. You also need to clean the fleece, and this also a part of sheep shearing. Long Blow - Delete blow 2 on small lambs. You can consider doing the process yourself. Remember to use your left hand to hold the wrinkly skin around the shoulder taut. Sheep shearing is the process by which the woollen fleece of a sheep is cut off. Try not to second guess yourself or fumble with the shears, this will only increase your chances of making a mistake. You can keep the lambs, ewes, rams and the yearlings separated from each other. That’s sheep shearing in a nutshell. Second cuts are undesirable as they cannot be included in the rolled fleece. You need to do this so you can reach and place your left hand on the right flank of the sheep, applying firm pressure. Belly of the sheep should be exposed and it’s four legs should be in the air. You need to change the sheep shearing position again for shearing along the right side of the sheep. In addition, an unskillfully sheared sheep can cause damage to the wool, thereby making it less valuable for selling. Shift your right leg a few inches backwards to gain better access to the sheep's tail. It's advisable to cover the teats with your left (or non-dominant) hand to prevent yourself from accidentally shaving them off. To create this article, 36 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. Shear the Inside of the Hind Legs and Crotch. Try not to second guess yourself or fumble with the shears, this will only increase your chances of making a mistake. The belly gets sheared first in this original position. The rams can be shorn at any time, but the ewes are generally shorn prior to lambing. Now run the shears down the inside of the right leg. We are lucky to have an excellent on island sheep shearer Eric Shoemaker. And then bring the shears across for removing the wool along the crotch (you should repeat this blow to ensure all the wool is removed). By using our site, you agree to our. Once the neck and shoulder are cleared of wool, shear the wool from her right foreleg, from the shoulder to the toe. The only time shearing will hurt the sheep is if the operator is rough, careless, or very inexperienced, and if the sheep is not restrained properly, allowing it to struggle through the process. You have successfully sheared your sheep. Lean further forward (still holding the sheep firmly between the knees) and bring the shears up along the inside of the right leg. Otherwise, shearing is very good for the sheep because it gets that heavy coat of wool off and makes the animal more comfortable in the summer heat. A lot of people think shearing a sheep is a difficult thing to do, but with the proper tutorial and some help you can really do it yourself. Another reason shearing before lambing season is a good idea is that sheared ewes will often eat more grass in order to produce more body heat. I’m a hard worker and very reliable. So, the belly of the sheep is the best place to start. This is the last step, and in this step you will shear the wool from the right leg of the sheep and it’s hindquarters. First shear the wool from the sheep's left hind leg, starting at the toe and working your way up towards the hind quarters, finishing on the near side of the backbone. Skirting means removing any dirty or "incidental" wool which is not valuable and therefore not used for selling. Thanks Eric!! Since you have easy access to the sheep's head in this position, you can take this opportunity to shear the topknot of fleece from the sheep's head, if necessary. Make a long straight blow after positioning the shears at the tail of the sheep. Experienced shearers are really good at quickly shearing sheep without hurting the animal at all. Advert added to NSA website on 31/05/2020. Then first shear the wool from the sheep’s left hind leg (starting at the toe and working your way up towards the hind quarters, finishing on the near side of the backbone). The more experience you have, the less likely you are to produce second cuts. It is not advisable to let anyone younger than 16 shear a sheep and definitely don’t let anyone below 14 try to shear. Happy … Last Updated: July 3, 2019 Any off-colored wool, tags or matted wool should be removed. What do we do with the fleeces? If you're adamant about shearing the sheep yourself, you can learn the proper skills by attending a sheep shearing school. Make a blow from the top of the tail upwards along the backbone and repeat the process once or twice until you clear all the wool from this area. You need to do this so that your right knee is in front of the brisket and the sheep’s right foreleg is in between your legs and it’s left side is exposed. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/5\/50\/Shear-a-Sheep-Step-1-Version-5.jpg\/v4-460px-Shear-a-Sheep-Step-1-Version-5.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/5\/50\/Shear-a-Sheep-Step-1-Version-5.jpg\/aid175432-v4-728px-Shear-a-Sheep-Step-1-Version-5.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"