This Saturday we’ll have our Annual Shearing Party – an event which now promises to be quite messy! Shearing time always comes at an awkward spot in the year – warm enough to allow the sheep to be comfortable without their fleece afterward, cool enough that we’re not all exhausted from wrestling animals in the heat. That spot is is almost always wet and muddy. Want in? Come on by!
We’ll be shearing from about 9 to 11am and then eating a potluck lunch afterward. Of course, by we, I mean our terrific shearers, Bryan and Buck Jones. The rest of us will catch sheep, clip hooves, administer vaccines, sort fleeces, bag wool, take pictures and write lots of notes on the condition of each animal.
Shearing is a great time to take a close look at the flock and make sure any health issues that have been missed out in the field get addressed. We spend some time looking at the sheep daily, but when you flip them upside down, trim each hoof and paw through their wool, you definitely get a better sense of their well being. Wool is a good indicator of health in general.
21 of our 25 sheep are ewes, and all should be quite pregnant. It’s hard to tell though, with their huge fleeces. This is the first time in years we’ve sheared before lambs arrive – generally the weather is too cold in February, and I like my sheep to keep their wool coats on for as long as possible. But this year is so exceptionally warm, I decided to get the shearing out of the way before the rush of lambing season and the start of the garden season in April. Plus, we have to separate the lambs from the ewes while they get sheared, and they set up such a distressing racket!
Before.
Another reason to shear early is that my fleeces look fabulous this year – very clean and curly, with none of the felting that indicates the animals had external parasites or a challenging nutritional period at some point. I want to get the wool off before they throw more of the winter’s hay feed up onto their backs!
After.
