Have you any wool?
Ask a shepherd of fiber animals what the most important day of the year is, and you will likely hear “Shearing Day!”
As sheep have been bred over generations for improved fiber quality, many have lost the ability to shed their wool themselves, like their ancestors were once able to. Consequently, shearing is necessary at least once annually to ensure their coats do not become too heavy, leading to health issues, such as overheating or damaged skin.
Primitive, European short tail sheep breeds, like our Shetlands, retain their ability to shed their coats through a process known as wool break. In the Spring, the fibers rise up and break free from the body, allowing the sheep to shed its coat. If left to their own devices, the sheep will find a fence post, tree trunk, or barn corner on which to rub off its wool, leaving the shepherd without access to that beautiful fiber. To combat this loss of wool, there are a couple options, the first is “rooing,” which is the process of hand-pulling the wool from the sheep’s body, just as it begins to rise and break off. The other option is to shear the animals.
We have found that timing the “rooing” can be challenging, as not all animals will be ready to release their coats at the same time, and some never quite “let go.” Consequently, we have found a scheduled shearing day to be the most efficient method of removing their fleeces.
When we first brought the sheep home, I naively thought that years of clipping horses would make me a natural when it came to shearing sheep. As should have been obvious, hair and wool are entirely different, and being bent over with a sheep between your knees, far more challenging than standing upright next to a horse. That is when I knew it was time to find a professional shearer, which as it turns out, is no easy task either.
As with many trades, the number of competent practitioners of shearing is rapidly dwindling. Asking for recommendations is often like asking a friend to share their favorite babysitter’s phone number. There is a hesitancy, with the fear that you could potentially displace them as a client. You might even get their second or third choice of shearer for just this reason. We learned this the hard way, when we excitedly dropped our first wool harvest at the fiber mill and were told that it was almost unusable as a result of all of the second cuts the shearer had made. Luckily for us, the mill gave us the name of an amazing shearing duo, who have provided us with beautiful fleeces in the years since.
Regardless of the quality of shearer you hire, there are rules you must follow lest you be fired as a client.
Rule 1: Accept the appointment you are offered. There is no such thing as scheduling an appointment. You call, indicate your interest in services and get placed on a list. These folks often work the entire eastern seaboard, and group their appointments by location. Your kid will need to find a ride home with a friend, you will have to reschedule that appointment with the doctor you’ve been trying to see for three months, and your brother might need to find a new best man for his wedding. Truly though, when the shearer is in your area, you will be ready for them, otherwise it may be months before they are able to return.
Rule 2: Make sure the sheep are dry. Shearing typically happens in the spring, when it rains every other day, if we are lucky, or every other hour, if we are not. Sheep do not dry off quickly, and they cannot be sheared when damp. Sheep also hate being locked in the barn. In the days before your appointment, you will rely heavily on your weather app, consulting it to see if it is safe to turn the sheep out. Once you have determined there is a zero percent chance of rain, you will let the sheep out, head to the grocery store, and panic when you walk out of the store and notice the sky has filled with clouds. Plan for 48 hours of weather induced anxiety.
Rule 3: The shearer does not want to work in a dirty, smelly barn, so clean it. Most of us do the bare minimum in barn care throughout the winter, but the impending visit from the shearer should provide just the motivation necessary to get the barn in order. Treat the shearer like your mother coming for dinner and do what is necessary to at least give the appearance that you do not live like a slob.
Rule 4: Provide a clean, solid, even surface, good lighting, and plenty of electricity. For many of us, none of these things is standard in our barn. Make sure you have gathered a sheet of plywood, and run extension cords before the shearer arrives. My barn does not yet have power…Why is it so hard to find an electrician?…I am embarrassed to admit it, but I am so used to functioning without electricity that one year, I completely forgot the shearers would require it. I was mortified that they had to wait while I scrounged for extension cords. Fortunately, they took pity on me and returned the following spring.
Rule 5: Take away the food and water and listen to the wailing cries. Twelve hours before the shearer arrives, you need to remove all food and water from the sheep so their bellies are empty during shearing. Being the brave soul that I am, I avoid the barn all day, until the shearer arrives, and stay in the house listening to music or running the vacuum, to avoid hearing their pitiful cries.
Rule 6: Move everyone into a small holding pen. This makes it easier to catch each sheep as they are needed. Once sheared, they will be returned to the pen, where they will promptly be identified as a complete stranger, who none of the other sheep has ever seen before. Having them together in close quarters helps them to become reacquainted without harming one another. Generally, I think of Shetland sheep as fairly intelligent animals. The fact that they cannot recognize their own children or mothers once they have been sheared does raise eyebrows.
Rule 7: Look alive. Your job as a shepherd is to make things run as smoothly as possible for the shearer. Help hold gates to prevent escapees. Keep their work area tidy. Avoid being underfoot or trying to do other activities which impede the work-flow of the shearer. Bag the wool. You can skirt it another day. Shearers work quickly and efficiently. You need to be on your toes. Do not plan on sitting down or taking a break until they have driven off the property. Only then, can you collapse from the exhaustion of the last 48 hours.
We have just finished our Shearing Day, here at Sweet Williams Farm. I am so grateful for our talented shearers who come all the way from North Carolina to tend to our flock. They not only take exceptional care of the sheep, but are so skilled, that my job of skirting fleeces goes exceptionally quickly. Once I have done my portion of the work, the fleeces will head to the fiber mill, where they will be converted into roving and yarn. I never cease to be amazed at the products borne from these lovely souls that give us such joy each day.
