# Blade shearing on a table?



## RedTartan (May 2, 2006)

I'm going to be shearing my new sheep soon. I only have 14 sheep so it should be doable by myself. I'm willing to do a couple a day until everyone is done. I don't want to try to hold the sheep like they do on youtube. I want to lay them on the picnic table and shear them there. Does anyone have advice or a link to blade shearing on a table specifically? 

Google is failing me today 

Thanks.


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## Fowler (Jul 8, 2008)

I scissor cut and blade shear on a homemade sheep stand.
The best I can tell you, is blades take practice, practice, practice.
Which is something I have not mastered.

try this link: I cant see it from work.
http://www.livestockshearing.com/


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## RedTartan (May 2, 2006)

The link is, unfortunately, just a junk link. No information.

I was going to ask my husband to build a stand, but I thought a table might be easier. How do you trim their bellies on a stand?

I know it's going to take a lot of practice to get good/fast with shearing. I keep hoping I'll be a natural. Electric clippers scare me to death. Is there a guard on electric clippers to keep you from getting too close to the skin? They look vicious.

Thanks


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## Fowler (Jul 8, 2008)

LMAO, dont laugh, okay you can laugh...LOL I use a regular hair clippers really, really slowly. But the BEST and QUICKEST way is ......wait for it........wait for it.......







I hire a professional shearer......LMAO!!!


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## LibertyWool (Oct 23, 2008)

With 14 sheep, I would hire a shearer. I used shear my own sheep until I had 9 of them to shear, at that point it made sense to hire a shearer. I'm all for you knowing how to shear, but you will be amazed at how much better a good shearer can do (less stress on the sheep, less pain in your back, better looking fleeces that you can actually sell, etc). Now with that said, there are some bad shearers out there, so get references from someone that you know that has actually used the shearer. And make sure they tell you how much it is going to be for each sheep and for the farm call.


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## RedTartan (May 2, 2006)

I may wind up hiring a shearer. I'm afraid of snipping off a teat. Ouch!


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## LibertyWool (Oct 23, 2008)

First time I used electric shears, I took a chunk about the size of my pinkey out of a ewe's neck. The ewe was fine, I was a wreck. I left her 3/4 shorn until the next day after spraying her (and myself) with blu kote. Fun times.... In all seriousness, there are spots on a sheep that you can easily cut that are a problem (leg pits, arm pits, neck, teats, and ram's parts come to mind).


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## wendle (Feb 22, 2006)

I would not recommend shearing sheep laying on their side on a picnic table. If you do decide to do it that way, please video and share. First you would be at a disadvantage if you are working from the ground as you can't use your legs to help hold the sheep. You will be clumsy as a beginner, and trying to restrain a sheep while learning to shear, which takes longer. Instead you might try haltering and tying the sheep to a solid object. Use an old carpet if you can get one under the sheep so the wool won't get dirty. If you can get a shearing stand that's good too, but if they aren't used to it, they tend to jump off and on it, which makes things difficult.


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## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

We used electric shears but we did it with them standing. I wasn't too pleased with the results. It took 6 hours to do 4 sheep.....but we did get it done. If I were doing it myself, I wouldn't worry about getting them all done on the same day. We had one person hold their head and one shearing, the other one ( me) stood around trying to look busy and useful. I think it would have been much faster to do them like the pros do it.


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## nobrabbit (May 10, 2002)

Even with a stand it took us forever to shear our small flock and still caused alot of back pain for my husband. At the university I work at, there are some AG students that shear in the summer; they can do in 1/2 hour what it took us hours to do. Well, worth the money!


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## goodhors (Sep 6, 2011)

Are you saving the wool or just getting the sheep naked? We do the market lambs on the sheep stand, with heads tied to the head rest. They are Hamp/Suffolk so the wool is very coarse, not used for spinning. What we learned in 4-H is to wash the lambs with soap so they are clean, blow off the water with a shopvac or leaf blower (keep away from face), then shear them while still damp. We have big shearmaster type clippers and to use the average horse or cow blades, not sheep or goat blades. For the Osters this would be a set of 83 and 84AU blades. Have to say this works VERY WELL for wool removal and has almost eliminated cuts and snags that tear thin sheep skin. However if sheep are not damp wool, those blades didn't cut at all for us. 

None of the market lamb folks shear with sheep blades at all!! We were quite surprised to find this out after attending some shows and having sheared our lambs with the sharp, sheep blades and getting holes in the lambs. Those regular blades did a lot smoother clip job on the lambs.

You could probably also shear sheep with the smaller Oster A5 clipper, it is a real workhorse clipper I have for clipping the dog. Just has a narrower blade, so you need more passes to get all the wool off.

That clipping sheep while leaning over is VERY hard on your back, and some sheep do NOT stay quiet, no matter what the book said! Using the sheep stand is MUCH easier on your body, sheep can't really go anywhere. If you are trying to save the fleece, you may want to experiment with clipping the sheep damp, because it made things a lot easier for us. We haven't used the sheep head on clippers for 4 years now, and no sliced sheep. I felt awful when we cut one with those long finger blades and then I had to sew him back up!! He healed fine, stood quiet to sew, but it was not a fun time for me!!


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## LibertyWool (Oct 23, 2008)

wendle said:


> I would not recommend shearing sheep laying on their side on a picnic table.


I had assumed RedTartan was talking about building a shearing table like this from her second post (but now I see I read that wrong, she was going to have a stand made):

http://www.lsuagcenter.com/en/our_offices/departments/Biological_Ag_Engineering/Features/Extension/Building_Plans/sheep/equipment/Shearing+Table.htm

I've never used one, but have seen several plans for them. The sheep is restrained to the table, otherwise like wendle said it would be difficult to control the sheep and shear.


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## RedTartan (May 2, 2006)

Actually I hadn't decided yet between a table and a stand. I'm getting stressed about the whole thing  I think I need a shearer... I dreamed of shearing last night. Again. It's not good waking up worried.

Perhaps I should simplify and hire it out...


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## RedTartan (May 2, 2006)

Well crap. Now I can't find a shearer.


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## bergere (May 11, 2002)

Have you tried asking the folks at your local 4-H or FFA? They usually know folks in the area that shear. 

Honestly never heard of shearing a sheep on a table. 
Either people do them standing,,, trained a few sheep to do that.... or the traditional method. 

However, once the fleece is off the sheep, I removed tags and shook out the raw fleece on a table. 

For shearing... I use these with the medium for low lanolin sheep and course blades for the high lanolin sheep. Much less likely to hurt them. 
Another tip, never pull up on the fleece, it raises the skin and you will cut them. If you need to tighten the area you are shear, push down. That way you will not cut the sheep.
I have had these going on 13 years... for both sheep and horses. 
















Mediums..








Course/Wizard set


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## LibertyWool (Oct 23, 2008)

RedTartan said:


> Well crap. Now I can't find a shearer.


When I first started, I wanted a local shearer, but found that there really were not any. Shearers will come from surrounding states, so you may have to widen your search and be flexible about when to sheer. If they can get enough appointments, they might divide the travel expense making it more reasonable. I've used shearers from Vermont and New Hampshire and have never ended up paying more than a $20 farm call, because we lined up several farms to shear. Although there was one guy that I had ask to shear from Maine that wanted to charge $35 for a farm call and was $2-3 more per sheep. After re-scheduling 3 times and not showing up when he said he would, I gave up on him.


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## Fowler (Jul 8, 2008)

This may get you started, it took me 3 years to find a shearer. Until then I had to butcher them myself....LOL

http://www.sheepusa.org/Shearer_Directory/state/OH

http://www.nebraskasheep.com/directory/Sheep_Shearers/

http://www.ramshornstudio.com/shearing.htm


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## RedTartan (May 2, 2006)

I found a shearer  Weather permitting they will be at my place on Oct 11th. It's costing $25 set up fee + $6 per head. 

These are really good shearers too as they usually do alpaca. They traveled the whole country this summer and did over 17000 animals! I found out about them from my homeschooling network. The business is run by a homeschooled "boy" who's 25 now. He's been shearing since he was 12 

www.shearingalpaca.com


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## Fowler (Jul 8, 2008)

RedTartan said:


> I found a shearer  Weather permitting they will be at my place on Oct 11th. It's costing $25 set up fee + $6 per head.
> 
> These are really good shearers too as they usually do alpaca. They traveled the whole country this summer and did over 17000 animals! I found out about them from my homeschooling network. The business is run by a homeschooled "boy" who's 25 now. He's been shearing since he was 12
> 
> www.shearingalpaca.com



:nanner::nanner::nanner:

Yeah!!! I am so glad for you. Trust me they are worth their weight in GOLD!!!....LOL


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## derekv (Jan 31, 2007)

wendle said:


> I would not recommend shearing sheep laying on their side on a picnic table. If you do decide to do it that way, please video and share. First you would be at a disadvantage if you are working from the ground as you can't use your legs to help hold the sheep. You will be clumsy as a beginner, and trying to restrain a sheep while learning to shear, which takes longer. Instead you might try haltering and tying the sheep to a solid object. *Use an old carpet if you can get one under the sheep so the wool won't get dirty*. If you can get a shearing stand that's good too, but if they aren't used to it, they tend to jump off and on it, which makes things difficult.


a sheet of plywood works much better as the animal cant get a foothold on it to try and fight back and its easier to sweep off.


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## RedTartan (May 2, 2006)

http://s54.photobucket.com/albums/g89/RedTartan/Icelandic Sheep/

My sheep were sheared yesterday... by a shearer  See above link for pics!


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## LibertyWool (Oct 23, 2008)

I bet you are so happy to have that done... They look like they did a good job. I keep a can of bluekot handy for the little nicks that happen. I end up with more of it on me than the sheep....


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## Fowler (Jul 8, 2008)

I am so happy for you!! Now see, wasnt that easier then doing it yourself?...LOL
And they did a good job too!!! Isnt it amazing how they twist and turn them and no harm done? If it were me I would have hurt them, or they would have just plain fought me...LOL


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## tomjones (Dec 22, 2007)

I must be the fool in the crowd because after watching the pronshear our last year and having the wool be worht less than the shearing bill our crossbred ewes are being shorn by us this year. I had a sterile ewe that went to market last week and it took me probably ten minutes to shear her, and it was not the end of the world. I mayconsider going to a shearing school next winter, but I would not be scared to shear our thrity head over a couple of evenings. 
Not saying I dont have second cuts in it, but so did he and outr wool buyer never even looked at it. Just paid nothing for it. 

That all being said, our 20 cvm sheep will all be shorn by a pro. the wool is worth way to much for me to mess it up!!!


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