Shear Delight

I am happy to say that sheep shearing day when off without a hitch.


The sheep had spent the previous night in a stall in the barn...
which was good...
as we had a bit of rain and their fleeces remained dry.


They were, however, covered in pine bedding...
which we had to brush off before shearing.

Amanda took a day off work and joined in the fun.


Gracie was the most difficult to shear.  
However, once she decided to stop fighting it,
she relaxed and the shearing began.


We got a lovely grey fleece from her.


Isn't Gracie sweet without her fleece?


Hope was next and was quite well behaved.


In no time, a lovely white fleece was lying on the aisle floor.


The most surprising of all was Faith.


Underneath all of that brown, was a luscious black fleece.


Each girl lost about 5 pounds in fleece...
all of which has gone to the mill to be cleaned and carded.


In about 6 weeks I will have lots of wool roving to begin spinning into yarn.

Shearing was great fun to watch and
the sheep were not bothered in the least by the whole procedure.

As for the girls...they are ready for warm weather.
And they can see again!!


Don't they look amazingly different now??
Now when you touch them your hands get covered in lanolin.
If only they would stay this clean!

Comments

Unknown said…
A couple of questions if I may. Are there two parts to their wool? The fleece undercoat and the curly topcoat? Or is it all the same? Can you use the whole wool? I had to look up the lanolin thing. Quite interesting! Can you harvest that? Sorry I don't know how else to put it. They sure look cute all naked! I never would have thought you could plop them around like that, but they're docile little things!
colleen said…
So exciting! Thanks for sharing.
Cindy said…
Wow, that's a lot of wool! You will have fun spinning that!
GeorgiaHoneyBee said…
I've been looking forward to seeing this! :-) They look so adorable - both with and without fleece! Now I cannot wait to see the fibers that come back spun into yarn!
Kathy said…
I feel lighter myself just looking at them!
Anonymous said…
Wow, the girls look so relieved to have all of that wool off of them! So great you get to use their wool for knitting and weaving. Your farm truly is the epitome of reduce, re-use, recycle!! Their bahh-bahhing was adorable, who could not love that sound??!! Thanks for sharing this with us. So glad the shear-er was slow and gentle. I've seen videos of some who make it look very unpleasant for the sheep. :(
Karla from Coal City, IL
jaz@octoberfarm said…
they look so cute and ready for summer! i can't wait to see the yarn! this is very exciting!
Must be a relief to have that big heavy fleece shorn off!
Lynne said…
Exciting sheering day . . .
Looking good!
littlemancat said…
Wow, that was so interesting! Thanks very much. The shearer was very good as were the girls.

Mary
Pier21cdn said…
I must admit I have never seen a breed of sheep before that had fleece that grew on their face. It is a disadvantage if you think about it, which is why bald faced sheep are more common. Hope the girls enjoy their new freedom! Perhaps you could knit them rompers to wear after next yrs shearing until the weath warms up?! But hoping this years cold Spring is a one off.
Unknown said…
WOW, That was impressive! Sherring Is definitely an ART FORM to get most of the wool off in one piece.
I have to tell you that one of my most favorite Movies is "The Sundowners" with ROBERT MITCHUM. Takes place in Australia and has a lot of sheep shearing scenes.
The Brown and black wool should make for a wonderful yarn if spun together.
This N That said…
I wonder if I could lose 5lbs by being sheared/shorn?? Glad all went well..Looks like you'll have a lot of spinning to do..Are you going to mix the colors? I'm sure they feel better even if they will be a little chilly for awhile..ENjoy this sunny day..
Laura Sudderth said…
Beautiful and truly amazing. You do this once a year? And do they start growing their wool back right away?
What a transformation...ahhh, how good they must feel! Although it's a bit chilly in our part of the Midwest now, as the days get warmer, they'll love their new "look!" -Mary
Candice said…
Great video. Many moons ago our girls were raising sheep for their 4H project. After the lambs were sheared they started butting each other as if they didn't recognize this newly shorn stranger. It was so funny to watch. Can't wait to see what you make from the girls' wool.
Country Gal said…
Great post . I remember our sheep being sheared on the farm some didn't mind it whilst other were quite the hand full lol !I bet the girls feel better now and they look great to , looks like you have lots of spinning and looming to do with all that wool . Glad all went well . Thanks for sharing , have a good day !
diane in wis said…
So fun to see. They look like they're pretty docile during the whole procedure. I loved the video. So Mama was the hardest one to do...although I guess not all that hard. You'll soon have all that lovely wool to work with. Can't wait to see what you make with it. Hope the girls stay warm until warmer weather arrives! Thanks Bev!
daisy g said…
They did quite well! Looking forward to seeing what you do with all of that glorious wool!