# shear before butchering?



## Maria (Apr 24, 2003)

This is my first year with sheep. We plan on butchering our Shetland ram lamb soon, and are wondering about the wool. He has a decent length fleece on him and I want the wool. Do most people shear before butchering? Or after? Or should we shear him a month before butchering and let it grow in a bit and then kill him? I'm kind of clueless here.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

I'd guess a dead sheep is easier to shear than a live one, but I dont know what most folks do.
I think I'd kill, shear, then butcher, and just try not to get any blood on the fleece


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## RiverPines (Dec 12, 2006)

Shear first.
I dont like shearing a dead and going stiff animal.
They actually are easier to do alive. No stiffness setting in, no flopping of heavy body parts getting in the way.

Also animals sometimes empty bladder and bowel upon death. Since they are dying the mess to often gets all over them as they are not standing when it happens. Now you have poo and pee freshly on the wool and have to tend with that mess.

I had to shear a dead angora goat once and a ewe. Both times its was difficult with a dead body and not pleasurable at all!


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## funnyfarmnatura (May 27, 2009)

I don't personally know anyone that would willingly shear a dead animal or try to shear a skinned pelt. Now if you wanted a tanned pelt, that is a different critter all together.
But just to harvest the wool for spinning, I would shear the lamb before shearing with out a doubt.
Best of luck!


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## Ronney (Nov 26, 2004)

Maria, don't try and shear a dead animal. Hard work and far from easy.

Work out when you want to kill your sheep and then allow a good two weeks from shearing to killing. This is let any bruising disappear before killing. Either that or you can kill straight off the shears before any bruising starts to appear.

Cheers,
Ronnie


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## LibertyWool (Oct 23, 2008)

To learn how to shear, I took a salted skin and washed out all the salt. Dried it and draped it over a trash can to get the feel of the clippers. Worked well, but a wet raw sheep hide weighs a ton. And washing it was an experience too....

I would shear before and forget about having the hide tanned. I find it costs more to ship and process the hides than I can buy them wholesale. Unless someone local does it, you will be shipping a heavy salted hide and I've had to pay as much as $20.00 to ship the hide plus another $50 to process it.


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