Shearing Day, January 29, 2023 - Part 1

We had a great Shearing Day thanks to the dedicated Farm Club and our fabulous shearer, John.

A group of Jacob sheep in the barn with a 4-horned ram in the middle.

The afternoon before shearing we picked up a friend’s Jacob sheep so they could be shorn while the shearer was here. She has 16 ewes and a ram.

Jacob ewe with lambs nursing.

Two of her ewes had lambed within the week and they went into their own pens in our barn. Another ewe was lambing when we picked up the sheep, so we left her behind and planned to get her the next day.

Robin with 5 name tags clipped to her plaid barn jacket.

A couple of Farm Club members came Saturday afternoon so they could spend the night here before shearing day. We spent time in the barn that evening to get it cleaned up and ready for shearing in the morning. In organizing the name tag box, they found that I had five name tags!

Jacob ewe with new lamb.

The next morning when I went to the barn I found a new lamb in with the friend’s sheep. I put the ewe and lamb in another pen and while we were getting organized the ewe had a second.

Shearer in blue jacket bending over sheep being shorn.

John started with the ewes with lambs.

Woman holding a small lamb while another woman pets it.

Farm Club members had the chance to cuddle lambs, even though my flock isn’t due for a month.

Two people holding spotted lambs while the mother sheep is being shorn.

They kept the lambs out of the way while the ewes were being shorn.

About a dozen spotted Jacob sheep in the alleyway between green panels while two women look on.

After shearing those few ewes, we brought the rest of this flock to the shearing area.

Man in  blue jacket shearing a 4-horn Jacob ram while the other sheep wait  behind him.

John sheared the ram first so we could move him away from where we were going to be handling the ewes.

Spotted Jacob sheep in a holding pen while the shearer shears one of them.

There is only one sheep left to shear in this photo. After shearing the group we moved them into the trailer and, after helping with my rams, Dan drove them home.

Shearer shearing a 4-horned Jacob ram.

We started my flock with Patchwork Townes, a 4-horn lilac ram. (Lilac is that color pattern that is not black and white, but gray and white.)

Group of spotted Jacob sheep in a holding pen after women in warm sweaters corralled them.

Farm Club members have done this before, and they knew that it is important to keep the sheep moving into the shearing area so the shearer doesn’t have to stop. We have several new members now, but there were enough experienced members to know what to do and guide the new people. We use the green panels to crowd the sheep toward the gate.

Spotted Jacob sheep in a holding pen while waiting for shearing.

This is the view from the other direction looking at the gate into the alley near where John was shearing.

Man wearing blue overalls with spotted sweater underneath.

Farm Club member, Ryan wearing his sweater, finished just the day before, that he knitted from Columbine’s fleece that he spun last year. I am in awe of this!

This is Columbine, the sheep who provided the wool for Ryan’s sweater in a photo last year.

More shearing and Farm Club photos to follow in the next post.