Jan 23 2009
Shearing Sheep Without Injury
After some recent comments on my last blog, Using and Abusing Sheep for Wool , I thought I’d share some information on how sheep are actually sheared. Again, I must state that yes, I’m aware that there are people who abuse their animals out there (just read some of the comments in my previous blog post). However, there are many sheep farmers that would cringe at the thought of hurting one of their animals, no matter how many hundreds of sheep that they own. One lost animal represents lost profits- not a great way to run a business.
Sheep can be shorn using a variety of methods:
- Robots (yep, sheep shearing gone high-tech)
- Bio-clip (causes the hair to fall out by the follicles- doesn’t hurt the sheep- it is like Nair)
- Electric scissors
- Hand blades
Each sheep farmer uses what works best for him or her, and what they can afford. In many instances, larger sheep farms use manual labor crews that are proficient in shearing large quantities of sheep. These shearers are often record holders, and many are from New Zealand. It is a rare occurrence to find any sheep injured during these shearing sessions, that is how talented these shearers are. A professional shearer can completely shear a sheep in less than two minutes- and the wool remains in one piece.
Sheep need to be shorn at least once a year. If they aren’t, their wool becomes matted and it becomes uncomfortable for the sheep, especially in warm weather. Some breeds of sheep need to be shorn twice a year to keep the wool clean and free of matts.
