shearing

we finally finished shearing the sheep.  we saved the easiest for last - becky (the tiniest), and skittle (the friendliest ewe).  james and i sheared the first four alone, but had the help of a couple of friends for the final two.  they thought it would be "fun", but i think the novelty wore off when becky peed on one of them (thanks for being good sports, craig and vickey!).

we started raising babydoll southdown sheep about three years ago.  they're little lawnmowers who will eat nearly anything that's green.  we used to spend hours weeding, trimming and mowing, but no more.  the sheep do it all for us.  babydolls are a small breed, known for their gentle temperament.  they follow us around like dogs and love attention.  we currently have 6 adults - 3 ewes and 3 rams.  each year we have a few baby lambs.

no one really taught us how to shear.  the first year, i hired a couple of 4-H kids who were on their way north from riverside to pick up some hogs (yes, really).  i couldn't find any professional shearers who were willing to travel here for a few sheep, and the kids had raised and sheared their own, so it seemed like a good idea.  plus, they knew the breeder who sold skittle to us.  i was eager to see how it was done, and wondered what kind of equipment they would bring with them.  they brought clippers with one blade and a halter.  that was it.  we used the halter to lead the sheep to the tarp i had laid out, then two of us held the sheep still as one of the girls sheared the animals where they stood.   it looked very easy. unfortunately the blade didn't stay sharp enough to shear all four sheep, so i had to use scissors to finish trimming the last ewe.  i decided that it wasn't very scientific after all, and james and i could do it ourselves the following year.

last year, i ordered a shearing machine and a couple of blades from an online sheep supply.  i borrowed a stanchion from my friend, put down the tailgate of my old chevy pickup to use as a shearing table, and invited a couple of neighbors to help us with our maiden shearing.  since sheep don't come willingly to be shorn, much of the work involved either luring or carrying the animals (or both) onto the stanchion.  the shearing machine was heavier than i thought.  it was tricky to anticipate the contour of the sheep's body before running the incredibly sharp blade across it.  the fleece completely obscures the skin beneath.  one wrong move and the skin would be cut.  our vet told me a horror story about a 4-H kid who cut the jugular of a sheep at a shearing demonstration.  images of that disaster ran through my mind as we took turns cautiously clipping the fleece.  the sheep were very patient with us and fortunately, there were no major injuries.  we did discover that becky had a hernia, but that was nothing serious.

this year was easier.  i bought a stanchion with a ramp, which seemed like a good idea until we realized the sheep would only put their front legs on it, but wouldn't walk up it.  we had to slide each sheep up the ramp, onto the platform (and clearly, our rams have gained weight since last year!).  the goal when shearing is to run the blade through just once, rather than going back for a second pass.  second cuts decrease the value and useability of the fleece for spinning yarn. james wielded the clippers with confidence and i used scissors to trim the more delicate and unreachable areas.  the sheep were fairly well-behaved, with the exception of isaac who jumped off the stanchion when he was half-sheared and led us on a wild goose chase worthy of the three stooges.  i ended up on the ground, flat on my stomach, listening to the patter of little hooves around me (sheep roadkill?).

the world record for shearing a sheep is 45 seconds.  most professional shearers can finish a sheep in less than 2 minutes, and shear 200 head per day.  how do they do it?  it took us about an hour to shear each sheep and we needed a lemonade break between them.  after finishing two, we needed a nap.