In Need of a Trim

The sheep are always sheared in June. This year it is a little later than usual having had to wait for the shearers to be free. Brian and the girls were up at 5 to get the ewes in ready for an 8am start. The ewes were gathered ready and waiting.

Shearing the fleece off obviously helps to keep the sheep cooler for the summer. They are more likely to suffer with fly strike if they have a long coat. Equally it is important that they are not sheared too early as they are more difficult to shear if they have not recovered condition after lambing.

There were two shearers today. One local man who travels all over the world shearing sheep.

Then a shearer who comes from Uruguay who speaks very little English. It is not uncommon to have shearers from other countries. They are frequently from Australia and New Zealand.

Both shearers were very experienced and the ewes seemed relaxed and comfortable while being handled.

The shearers sometimes bring someone to roll the fleeces. A lot of girls do this as a job whilst travelling. This year the job was left to Kate and Brian.

A great Fathers Day job!

The fleeces are rolled and stored in large bags ready to be sent to the wool marketing board for processing. We are paid for the fleeces but it is not a large amount.

The sheep look rather bare to begin with especially next to their growing lambs.