Sheering questions.

[BlueMoonFarms]

1. whats best, hand sheering or electric sheering?
I was told that electric sheers can cut and slice open the sheep easier then hand sheers?

and 2. When is the best time to sheer a sheep?
I was told April?

and last 3. Do you know of any good books, or sites that could be helpful for a first time sheerer?

 

[SheepGirl]

1. It really depends. They will both cut sheep if you are not careful. I had my ewes sheared at the fair for a sheep shearing demo, my 2006 ewe was sheared with hand shears and my 2009 ewe was sheared with electric clippers. My 2006 ewe had gotten cut and had a flap of skin just kind of hanging there. My 2009 ewe got nicked, but they were more like little scratches that bled a little. And these nicks/cuts came from a highly respected shearer who even competed in NZ for her hand shearing skills. And personally I like the look of a clipper shearing better than the hand shears. Shearing with hand shears leaves the fleece uneven and about 1/4 to 3/4 of an inch. Electric clippers tend to go right to the skin.

2. You can shear a sheep when ever it is convenient for you. My sheep will be getting sheared in April this year, because that is when she is doing her Maryland clients. I don't know when in April, though. We've had sheep shorn as early as mid March and as late as early June. I like shearing them earlier because the later you do it, the more they pant in the hot May weather. If you have adequate shelter a Feb or March shearing would be okay, too.

3. http://www.premier1supplies.com/img/instruction/41.pdf should give you a basic idea. You can even contact your state sheep association to see if they are holding any shearing clinics. I know the DelMarVa region is holding a sheep shearing school. I may sign up for it, but I'm afraid I wouldn't have the strength to tip half the sheep there! I can tip my lambs, who are about 80 lbs each, and I can tip sheep that are up to about 120ish, but once they hit the 150 lb mark, uhhh no way lol. They're too big and strong to manipulate onto their butts!

 

[Southern by choice]

Thanks sheepgirl!

 

[BlueMoonFarms]

1. It really depends. They will both cut sheep if you are not careful. I had my ewes sheared at the fair for a sheep shearing demo, my 2006 ewe was sheared with hand shears and my 2009 ewe was sheared with electric clippers. My 2006 ewe had gotten cut and had a flap of skin just kind of hanging there. My 2009 ewe got nicked, but they were more like little scratches that bled a little. And these nicks/cuts came from a highly respected shearer who even competed in NZ for her hand shearing skills. And personally I like the look of a clipper shearing better than the hand shears. Shearing with hand shears leaves the fleece uneven and about 1/4 to 3/4 of an inch. Electric clippers tend to go right to the skin.

2. You can shear a sheep when ever it is convenient for you. My sheep will be getting sheared in April this year, because that is when she is doing her Maryland clients. I don't know when in April, though. We've had sheep shorn as early as mid March and as late as early June. I like shearing them earlier because the later you do it, the more they pant in the hot May weather. If you have adequate shelter a Feb or March shearing would be okay, too.

3. http://www.premier1supplies.com/img/instruction/41.pdf should give you a basic idea. You can even contact your state sheep association to see if they are holding any shearing clinics. I know the DelMarVa region is holding a sheep shearing school. I may sign up for it, but I'm afraid I wouldn't have the strength to tip half the sheep there! I can tip my lambs, who are about 80 lbs each, and I can tip sheep that are up to about 120ish, but once they hit the 150 lb mark, uhhh no way lol. They're too big and strong to manipulate onto their butts!

Oh wow that was very helpful! Thank you very much

 

[Roving Jacobs]

I know the DelMarVa region is holding a sheep shearing school. I may sign up for it, but I'm afraid I wouldn't have the strength to tip half the sheep there! I can tip my lambs, who are about 80 lbs each, and I can tip sheep that are up to about 120ish, but once they hit the 150 lb mark, uhhh no way lol. They're too big and strong to manipulate onto their butts!

You should give it a try! I'm only 5'2" and I was able to handle all the sheep in the shearing school I took part in. Sometimes the big ones are easier to get down than the little scrappy ones!

I've found that I'm too short and my sheep have too many horns to use the NZ method effectively so I use a stand and shear them that way now. My sheep are less stressed, my back hurts less, and I'm able to getter better fleeces for spinning that way.

I've only ever used electric clippers but no matter what you use you risk cutting your sheep. My shearing teacher said that newbies are less likely to really cut a sheep than experienced people because we go so slow He said if he wanted to he could butcher a sheep with a set of shears so you really have to be careful about how you're waving them around.

Shearing time is whenever you want to do it. I like to shear in March, a month before lambing, so that everything is all neat and clean when the babies come. It's a little chilly but the temps are usually warming up then and the sheep adapt quickly to being naked. I know people who are shearing now though and others that won't get around to it until summer. It really depends on you, your sheep, and where you live.

Sheepgirl's premier1 link is awesome! That's how I learned. Finding a class through your local sheep improvement association or extension is a good idea too. Having someone else help you through it a couple times makes it fall together a lot more and they teach you about shearing machine maintenance. You don't want to ruin your machine after spending all that money on one!

 

[purplequeenvt]

#1 - Really a matter of preference and needs. When I shear a sheep I have them on a stand and use hand shears, but that is mostly because I can't run electrics without hurting my right shoulder and I'm not coordinated enough to shear left-handed.

#2 - Like the others said, whenever you want to. We like to have our girls sheared before they lamb and they are due anytime now so we had them done last weekend.

 

[BrownSheep]

I prefer electric unless you are shear particularly greasy or matted wool. You can give nicks with both but I haven't had major issues.

Tipping sheep can also be affected by height. Physically I can move quite a bit of weight but with my taller sheep I have a hard time leveraging due to my height ( 5'4). Where my sister can leverage the taller sheep ( 5'10 ).

 

[Southern by choice]

I've found that I'm too short and my sheep have too many horns to use the NZ method effectively so I use a stand and shear them that way now. My sheep are less stressed, my back hurts less, and I'm able to getter better fleeces for spinning that way.

I've only ever used electric clippers but no matter what you use you risk cutting your sheep. My shearing teacher said that newbies are less likely to really cut a sheep than experienced people because we go so slow He said if he wanted to he could butcher a sheep with a set of shears so you really have to be careful about how you're waving them around.

Shearing time is whenever you want to do it. I like to shear in March, a month before lambing, so that everything is all neat and clean when the babies come. It's a little chilly but the temps are usually warming up then and the sheep adapt quickly to being naked. I know people who are shearing now though and others that won't get around to it until summer. It really depends on you, your sheep, and where you live.

Glad you said that! I did show grooming and then pet grooming for years, and this is how I plan on shearing my little guys. In a stand. I am glad you mentioned the clippers, as I was wondering about whether they would work well for the Jacobs. The wether has a lot of lanolin. With just two sheep I don't have to be fast. They will come out smooth with no cuts if I table them. The NZ method is cool just so unlike anything I've ever done while using clippers!

 

[Four Winds Ranch]

On weather electric or hand shears are the best, I would think it would largely depend on how many sheep you have to shear!!! We have about 60 head and I could not imagine trying to do that many with the hand shears!!! I am not super experienced with the hand shears, but I found them to be more work and they took quite abit longer to do one sheep! Just my personal opinion though, I am sure there are some people that are very talented with the hand shears!
As for cutting the sheep, They can be easilly cut with the electric shears, ya just have to use caution, don't try to hurry, and don't pull the skin tight when you are shearing! I have seen more sheep sliced up from electric, but most of the sheep I am around are sheared with electric.
We usually shear in March just before they lamb!

 

[Roving Jacobs]

Glad you said that! I did show grooming and then pet grooming for years, and this is how I plan on shearing my little guys. In a stand. I am glad you mentioned the clippers, as I was wondering about whether they would work well for the Jacobs. The wether has a lot of lanolin. With just two sheep I don't have to be fast. They will come out smooth with no cuts if I table them. The NZ method is cool just so unlike anything I've ever done while using clippers!

Just be aware that young Jacobs can be jumping beans and might try to leap out of the stand! Its mostly just the really wild ones that do that though and they give up once they realize they're stuck. I like the stand though. It makes it so much easier for me keep the different sections separate. The poo-y bits get tossed, the greasy seconds and short cuts get sent off to someone who felts pet toys out of them and the nice blanket stays here to get processed into yarn and stuff.

The NZ method feels like trying to dance with a sack of potatoes to me. I am so impressed with people who do it well. They make it look so easy.