Shearing Day 2022 - Part 1

I sell sheep for market, but I’m really in the sheep business for the fiber. Yesterday was harvest day—the one day that the whole year leads up to. There is a lot riding on this day. Are the fleeces clean enough? Are the fleeces strong (no health issues with the ewes)? Is the shearing done properly? Yes, Yes, Yes!

I woke up before 4 with a lot on my mind. I finally go up at 4:30 and about an hour later caught the sunrise.

When I went to the barn I continued with the set up that I hadn’t finished the night before. I glanced into this pen of my friend’s sheep and was surprised to find twins. The ewes that she thought might lamb first were in a different area.

I set up a pen away from the other sheep so I knew that this ewe and her lambs would be safe and secure.

The ewe couldn’t miss her shearing date however. When John arrived this was the first sheep he sheared because she and her flock needed to go back home.

There were 17 sheep in all from my friend’s flock.

John breezed through those in the first hour.

Then he started on my sheep. This is the yearling ram, Rambler. He’s considered a yearling because he’s not quite 2 years old. Give him a month and he won’t be a yearling anymore.

This is the ram lamb (almost a yearliing), Axis.

I weighed Peyton, the BFL ram while we were waiting to shear. He is a heavy weight at 297 pounds!

Next it was time for the ewes. As usual, Farm Club members were here to help. I just didn’t get many photos of them all. I was too busy keeping track of everything else going on—thank goodness that the crew kept the sheep moving without a break. We’d bring a group into the area in the photo above and put 4-5 ewes in the pen next to where John was shearing. Two people in that pen position the next sheep at the gate for John. It takes him only about 2 minute to shear a sheep so things move quickly.

One thing that distracted me was the ewe with the new lambs. After shearing we moved her and the lambs into the trailer so they would be up front in an area separate from all the others. That was too much for her—she forgot that she had babies and she didn’t want them near her and became somewhat aggressive towards them. We set a pen up outside the trailer and away from all the other activity. Farm Club members kept an eye on the ewe and she seemed to get a little more motherly. The lambs had nursed earlier but at this point the ewe wouldn’t stand for them to nurse. I held her in place so that she couldn’t get away from the lambs and we encouraged the lambs to get up and nurse. Once the lambs warmed up in the sun and they were able to nurse without being kicked away, they became more vigorous and we didn’t need to worry about them anymore. After this flock was shorn, Dan drove them back to their farm in the trailer. We left the ewe and her lambs here until later in the day and then her owner came to get them.

Our shearing was underway. This is Jade expecting attention anytime she can get it.

This is Sweetgrass Eilwen, one of the ewes I got from Michigan last summer.

I look forward to putting her fleece out on the table so I can get a good look. I didn’t have time during shearing.

The sheep certainly look different when shorn. I’m going to have to learn who they are all over again.

Kathleen took her regular job of weighing and recording fleeces.

Other Farm Club members helped the few customers evaluate and skirt fleeces. There weren’t as many people as we have had in past years, Farm Club or otherwise, because Covid risks kept some away. We also didn’t invite many outside people. If you are still reading this and you and your spinning friends would like to come look at and buy fleeces, contact me. You can arrange for your group to visit the farm in February and March as long as I have fleeces left here. Right now we have almost 80 fleeces from which to choose. I’ll be getting them ready to list on the website starting tomorrow but it will take some time before I get a lot there.