The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: NewLifeOnTheFarm on May 21, 2018, 03:22:00 pm
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Hi all, got someone coming to shear my ewes on 2nd June. Just looking for some advice and helpful pointers from you all.
We had 3 ewes until Thainstone, now have 11 ????, so my initial plan which was to just bring them into stable and grab one in turn might now be a little more chaotic.
Don't have a race yet as just getting started. I have 8 hurdles, 2 stables, and a large barn. All the sheep are easy to handle.
Will keep an eye on weather and bring them in if it looks to rain.
How do others with no race do it?
Thanks
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You don't need a race, you just need one person being the "catcher", and arrange the hurdles so that you can easily swing one open and pass the caught sheep to the shearer. Make one pen using the hurdles, next to where the shearer will set up, pen them fairly tight, and make the pen smaller as the number of sheep in the pen gets smaller - it will make it easier for you to catch them. Have a second person dealing with the fleece collection (and shooing away the shorn sheep - assuming you will let them loose once shorn).
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Thank you, I was hoping that would be adequate!
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---and get them into the stable 12 hrs before the shearer turns up so they can empty out . It'll make like much easier for him/her
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Being quite new to this I never known which is best, leave them out bringing them in a couple of hours before shearing or bring them in the night before If in stables overnight don’t their fleeces just get covered in straw / poo.
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If on a clean bed, they should be OK. Our shearer likes them in 12 hours before to empty. If the rumen is full, it can press on the heart / lungs when the sheep is being shorn. We almost lost a ewe due to this.
And they must be dry.
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I've never had mine empty, and my shearers have never asked for it - I think with the more slender sheep breeds it helps a bit if they aren't empty (less boney!). Just make sure they haven't just gorged on a big load of fresh grass and you should be fine.
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We bring ours in to a small hurdle pen and leave over night. Have done bedding before but this year did none. They did have some hay and water but they don't eat much of it. We also give them a last check for dagging the night before as well.
We set up a 'done' pen with hurdles. One sheep is taken out, shorn, then moved to the done pen. The wool is collected up and the next one done. When they are all done they all get sent out together.
Dans
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Be sure to separate any lambs off- you didn't say if your sheep have lambs at foot but it's easier to have the lambs in a separate pen to the ewes. I split mine off by putting the lambs through the weigh crate before the shearer came, then into a hurdle pen all together where they then had Clik before returning to their newly shorn mothers.
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If you do have lambs, and it sounds like you've not done this before, be aware that the lambs will FREAK OUT. It takes a while for them to recognise newly-bald mum :roflanim: