All About Shearing...

I thought it was about time to do a page about how The Living Rug Flock is sheared. This will be something I can update regularly with new videos and pictures as I get them.

So, here we go. My shearer is called the Headless Shearer. Why? There's a number of reasons. The first is not everyone wants their picture all over the internet and social media which is something I can relate to. There are other reasons too. It’s best for him to stay anonymous and plus the Headless Shearer handle is pretty cool.

Here’s a very brief background on shearing sheep. They need to be sheared for a number of reasons. Can you imagine what’s like wearing something in a 30 degree heat which actually kept you warm and toasty when it was minus 5? By the time the summer comes around, these woolly protectors are actually starting to cause serious discomfort. Couple that with the potential for fly-strike, dirty bums/fleeces and even not being able to see because of fringes being too long and you can start to see why shearing is so essential. There’s plenty more information on the internet but anyone who lives with sheep knows that they’re ready for it by the time it comes around.

So, this is how I have my sheep sheared.

When I know the shearer is coming I bring the sheep in about half an hour before he arrives and give them time to settle down if any have got excited.

Between me and shearer we handle the sheep (some of my sheep are huge) and get them in the position for shearing which is on their bottoms. My shearer uses electric shears which I am all for and despite the noise (which the sheep are not keen on) it is, in my opinion, the quickest way to shear the sheep. A sheep's natural position is not on its bum but it is a position in which sheep don’t tend to move much in which makes the process of shearing safer and faster. The sooner the shearer is finished the sooner the sheep can go and enjoy being free of their fleece.

I am not going to lie now and say that sheep do not get their skin nicked when shearing. You can occasionally, despite very best efforts get the odd scratch but it is rare. Where it has happened the nicks are small and require just a squirt of antibiotic spray. To put this into perspective this can also happen when you are clipping horse and dogs and in fact I have nicked my horse by accident when clipping because he jumped. My husband manages to nick himself shaving all the time…so would the Headless Shearer if of course he had a head to shave. Also, when cleaning up dirty bums on the sheep I have accidentally scraped them but these wounds are small and few and far between. Normally both I and the shearer feel worse than the sheep do about it. 

Even though the sheep don’t always like the process of shearing because of the noise and the position they’re in, I do my best to keep stress levels down and make the process as quick as possible. Shearing each sheep doesn't take long. It is just me and the shearer and the sheep feel happier with my presence. And it’s a very different story after shearing. You can really see how pleased they are to lose that big fleece so they can have a good old itch...

Wool is a brilliant natural product that is environmentally friendly and can be animal friendly too it’s just the small minority of cruel people that’s spoil it for others. As I said above this is a page I will be working to update regularly with videos etc. I had a really good video this year of shearing (the actual process) but had the setting wrong on my camera which resulted in poor quality so I'll get one to replace it as soon as I can. I must also say it's very difficult to get decent video of shearing when you don’t want a head in the shot!

The Living Rug Company believes in being open and transparent about how we deal with our sheep. We are a sustainable high welfare company where the sheep come first and rugs very much come second…