The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: waterbuffalofarmer on May 04, 2016, 11:53:14 am
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My ewes have all finished lambing now and the weather is supposed to be getting a bit warmer, would it be too early to shear them? I have seen a couple of green bottles around, I think, would the weather be too cold for the sheep if I sheared them now?
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I was thinking that ... one of mine has half shed already!
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yea some of mine have too, and the ram. I think the rise is just right on them and the weather is dry so you never know :)
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I think mine would lose condition if I did it now. Grass not great yet, lambs still a significant burden and nights still cold, plus no field shelter. Just got to watch out for the fly menace! We're aiming for late June.
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Still a bit early here in mid Devon I think.... I reckon it wont be till June for us.... frost this morning at 5am (bottle feeding!!!!), and still not plentiful grass here either...
But I can't wait to see them all in their goaty reincarnation!
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Yeah, not much grass growth here yet and still cold nights. Will be waiting for a week or two, but certainly before end of May.
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I was told that nursing ewes take longer for the sap to rise. We tend to shear beginning of July x
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We usually go for the end of May. It's not exactly :sunshine: here today, or warm. And there's not a lot of grass.
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Highly unlikely to have 'risen' fleeces with the current weather conditions. .... as one swallow doesn't make a summer, one green bottle doesn't cause Fly strike ... End of May is soon enough for a lot of UK especially the cooler damper hillier west.
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Highly unlikely to have 'risen' fleeces with the current weather conditions. .... as one swallow doesn't make a summer, one green bottle doesn't cause Fly strike ... End of May is soon enough for a lot of UK especially the cooler damper hillier west.
Yep think I will go with end of may, although because we hadn't finished lambing until mid- end of may last year it was June for the fleeces.
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We're in MidWales. I watch for when the experienced farmers start shearing their flocks .... Then think about doing our Soay. Seems a bit early yet. Frost here this morning and not much grass up here .
Buy, yes, our sheep are beginning to drop their fleece naturally.... They must think that warm weather is on the way! ;D
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We normally clip our hoggs third week of June, and ewes 2nd week of July. Our hoggs all have really good rise on their fleece now this year, and certainly would be good clipping now. It's quite odd as they've been at 1400ft for the past few months and we've still got snow. But I presume it is to do with the mild conditions through the majority of the winter. We are keeping an eye on them but are potentially prepared for clipping them earlier if need be.
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Remember the phrase "Ne'er cast a clout till May is out"? Surely that must apply to sheep as well as people?
(Although see this link (http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/till-may-is-out.html) - what's your hawthorn looking like this year?)
Besides, we had half an inch of snow less than a week ago! :-\
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Ours will be done before the end of the month and again in September/October time. They are panting heavily at the slightest show of sun already!
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Ours will be done before the end of the month and again in September/October time. They are panting heavily at the slightest show of sun already!
What breed do you keep [member=25947]Sbom[/member]?
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An old saying was "shear them in May, you'll shear them away"
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Ours will be done before the end of the month and again in September/October time. They are panting heavily at the slightest show of sun already!
What breed do you keep [member=25947]Sbom[/member]?
New Zealand Romneys
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Mine have usually been done end of May except one year I lambed in May and they were shorn in June....end of.????????????????
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It depends on how far north you are and what altitude you are, and on your breed etc, as to when you need to shear them. There is no fixed rule that covers everyone :).
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An experienced shearer once told me that if you shear within a few weeks of lambing, and it turns cold overnight, the ewes' milk supply will cut right down, and not recover that season.
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Except for my silly shetland ewe who sheds her fleece each year after lambing and is mostly bare. Happily feeding twins well.
A few of the hoggs are shedding and have a good new growth so I'll be rooing them in the next few days before it all gets lost on the fields.
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It's my 1st year with shedders this year and a couple of them are almost completely naked already. They don't seem to be catching any harm and their lambs all look well. :)
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I would say to leave it until the end of may beginning of June, unless you're in a hurry to do so? I don't shear mine until the very end of may beginning of June, as the fleeces have a very good rise by then. Do keep an eye out for fly strike, I have a feeling that it may be rather rampant this year! :(