# first shearing



## lambs.are.cute (Aug 15, 2010)

Today I went way out of my comfort zone and shore my first sheep ever! I had to admit that there are no shearers in the area and that I finally needed to learn. So it's not the prettiest job but both her and me are safe and the fleece is good :thumb:. 

This is the ewe that just had her baby before I left for the sheep show so we let him hang out with us. I was sure there was sheep under all that wool...... 


hey there's a belly!


hi mommy


shearing is such hard work


half done


second side


all done and dinner time


the rewards of all that work


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## Shoestringer (Oct 18, 2013)

Wow, she was very patient for you. I hope mine are as good. We have five to shear, though I am lucky to have a friend with experience.
After that I am looking forward to learning to spin.


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## raccoon breath (Aug 5, 2010)

You did an excellent job! And with hand shears..extra points for that.


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## Kasota (Nov 25, 2013)

Whooo hoooo! Good job! Mama has such a funny look on her face. "What just happened to me?"


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Oh well done LAC!!!! That is quite a feat to accomplish especially since Romney are such large sheep. I love the picture of the lamb laying next to his mamas fleece. I'm sure he appreciative of the shearing. Mom looks a bit relieved too to have all that wool off.


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## Taylor R. (Apr 3, 2013)

I think she looks just fine! In a couple weeks any minor unevenness will have grown out and blended in. And with hand shears!! You got skills


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## lambs.are.cute (Aug 15, 2010)

I'll clean her up a bit in a couple of days because she's going to the local fair in august and I do need to do a bit around the neck and hip on the right side (I'm a lefty so the right side was really hard). 

I learned a couple of things. First off the smallest (ie the shortest) is not the lightest sheep. I am sure she weights the most of all my romneys. Second I really hate heavy wool on the legs. That is going on my list of things that I am selecting against in my breeding program. Some wool I don't mind but major wool is terrible to get off. Third bandaids are my favorite things in the world. If you stick one on when you start getting blisters you can finish the job and the blisters don't get worse! And finially when they kick you it can be worse than a horse. I have a bruise/cut just above my knee which is 3 inches wide and 6-7 inches long. That was through 2 layers of denim.

So one down 8 more to go including 1 300 lb Suffolk, 1 ram, and 1 flighty fighter of a weather.


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## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

Great job! You're hired to come and do mine... Loved the little lamb that helped.


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## MDKatie (Dec 13, 2010)

Well done!! :thumb:


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## Miz Mary (Feb 15, 2003)

IMPRESSIVE !!!!!! How long did that take , using hand shears ?!? Thoes are really cool pictures !!!


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## Moboiku (Mar 7, 2014)

Well done! And with hand shears too - I'm very impressed!

I didn't dare, having worked on a sheep station in Australia in my youth. And my sheep are not that easily handled either - trimming hooves is a major ordeal with them. So I am getting a guy to come in and do mine. Its not easy finding them these days but I was lucky to get a referral from a friend who also keeps sheep. He was going to come today but it turned cold so he just called to see if next week will work for me instead.


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## DragonFlyFarm (Oct 12, 2012)

Way to go LAC! And you got the fleece off in one piece! Your hands must be aching after all that clipping. What are you going to do with the wool?


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

Great Job!

I have hand shears but I&#8217;m just not flexible enough to do the job.


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## raccoon breath (Aug 5, 2010)

Congrats on your first shearing bruise/cut. Its a badge of honor! You are officially part of the shearer's club. Wear it with pride! :clap: 

Once you learn their body shape and where the nooks and crannies are, you got it. Last year, I sheared a ewe I just bought and that has skin around the lower neck that was much looser and wrinklier than the others. I cut a big hole in the skin. That was the first time I injured an animal bad enough to require wound care for about a week. I squirted Vetericyn on in and did a couple stitches. Uggg...it happens. She's sheared twice a year so there's been 2 shearing since that happened. I double, triple, quadruple checked her as I worked that area and I think she trusts me again.

I have 2 angora goats, 1 1/2 sheep, and 5 alpacas to go and I'm done.


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

JMHO, but the shears look over sized for your hands. Can you find a slightly smaller set? Might make it more comfortable, faster and easier. Several years ago, my friend's mom sheared her thumb off with a pair of sheep shears, so awkwardness is to be avoided. (They did reattach it, though, and she's as good as new. Medical science is amazing these days.)

Here's an article in Sheep! magazine about hand shears. 
http://www.sheepmagazine.com/31-4/rigged_shears_two-pack_for_two_jobs/ I think the smaller size shown there might fit your hands better. But, that's just me and I'm just looking at a picture, you did great with the ones you have.


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## InHisName (Jan 26, 2006)

wow! what a great job!


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## lambs.are.cute (Aug 15, 2010)

It took me about 1 hour to do her. I was going really slow and being careful because she had such a huge wool coat on her. She had about 6 inches of fleece pretty much everywhere (including arm pits) so it was a job to find important bits of her. I hope that the shorter fleeced animals will go quicker. 

hotcatz that is scary about your mom. I was very careful to keep all of my hand out of the way because I have been known to cut myself with scissors, so I was extra careful. I am ordering a smaller set for around the neck/head area and i'll have to try them for the rest of her. I actually have 2 sets of blades and the set you can see clearly are the longer ones which are uncomfortable for me to use, but I was using them because the rubber bumpers on my shorter set had slid off and it was being repaired. I just didn't feel like it was fair to make the ewe wait for that so I kept going. 

I am bummed that it is raining today. I was going to do the next ewe but they are all soggy. Now I have to wait until at least Sat...........


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## MamaRed (Dec 18, 2013)

That looks like hard work! One of the local alpaca breeders has a shearing weekend over Memorial Day weekend. I plan on going to help, so I can have some idea what I'm getting into.


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

Alpacas are a lot more work to shear than sheep.


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## lambs.are.cute (Aug 15, 2010)

That's one of the reasons that I won't get an alpaca or a llama. 

It has been raining off and on since I shore last so today is the first day I could shear again.


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## lambs.are.cute (Aug 15, 2010)

Her baby was checking her out to make sure that really is her. For some reason she has ground in dirt on her hips.... Don't know why.


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## raccoon breath (Aug 5, 2010)

I've been saving shearing the alpacas for last. :runforhills:


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## Shoestringer (Oct 18, 2013)

Finally sheared our four ewes and ram. We used blades and the few nicks they got already look better. I was vastly slower than my experienced friend and the parts I did are a bit uneven, but I am glad to have done it instead of just having it done.
Next I teach myself to card and spin. The fun never ends!


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

Good job, Shoestringer. What type of sheep are they?

Next time you'll be faster and the time after that faster yet! Although, while you're getting faster, the ewes are probably out there making more sheep so I don't know if you'll get ahead or not.

Carding and spinning is fun. Are you going to wash the wool or spin it "in the grease"? Myself, I'm fond of just spinning it totally raw, but that's mostly since I'm too lazy to process it beforehand. 

There's a zillion different ways to process wool, too. It seems everyone has their own way which works well. Maggie Casey did do a DVD called "three bags full" which had some interesting pointers on fleeces, prepping and spinning. Although the "How I Spin" by Rita Buchanan was a DVD on spinning that I liked better for the spinning parts.


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## bergere (May 11, 2002)

You did an excellent Job! And that lamb was adorable.

Wish you lived closer, would have you come shear mine.


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## Shoestringer (Oct 18, 2013)

Hotzcatz, I think I will try spinning it raw if it looks good enough once carded. I am a little too lazy to process it, and have a lot going on that I am already procrastinating about. Also, I love a sweater to smell like sheep. Of course, my wife is the knitter, so she will have some say too!
Our ewes are Romney on Northland Cheviot crosses. The ram is a Suffolk, so the lambs coming from him will head to the freezer. We had, but lost a little Romanov ram lamb who was supposed to make some wool lambs. Next time!


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Congratulations Shoestringer! I bet it feels good to you and the sheep to have that over with.

I would warn you against carding wool in the grease unless you have cards dedicated just for grease fleeces. The grease will potentially gum up your cards. If you can just flick open the tips and then spin. Please let us know how it goes.


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## lambs.are.cute (Aug 15, 2010)

Congratulations! Shearing yourself sure gives you a feeling of accomplishing something wonderful doesn't it? (And it is wonderful not just because it is a lot of work but the wonderful wool to play with too).


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