The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: Jon Feather on October 13, 2016, 09:31:39 am
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Our first year looking after shetland sheep (12 ewes and 3 lambs) has passed and there is one big job we haven't done. For one reason and another we didn't get round to shearing or rooing them. Most rooed themselves, either completely or partly but 2 still have a full fleece.
I'm back to full health now and wondering if I should roo those partly rooed and shear the others (I don't think they will roo).
What would you do now?
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Dag them perhaps or nothing. Can't see any value in shearing that late in Cumbria
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Have they shelter during bad weather over Winter?
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Not much shelter. We are right on the coast with their grazing going down to the sea. The winds here in winter can cut you in two.
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My sheep are being shorn for the second time this weekend, however they are a completely different breed and we are much further south.
I think I'd be very reluctant to shear Shetlands that live on the coast in Cumbria at this time of year....
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Thank you peeps. As I thought: leave well alone. Out of interest, will the new fleece just grow through the old one or as a continuation of the old one?
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We have some we haven't done. They look untidy but we are not doing it now and it won't do them any harm. We have shorn a few late on in the past and they struggled all winter to thrive. Not making that mistake again.
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Mostly the fleece just keeps growing.
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Thank you peeps. As I thought: leave well alone. Out of interest, will the new fleece just grow through the old one or as a continuation of the old one?
Merino not shorn for 6 years:
(http://cdn.modernfarmer.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Shrek1.jpg)
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It happens to us all sometimes, so I'm not having a go, at all. But just to mention, in case anyone reading this thread is not aware, that it is a requirement under animal welfare codes of practise, that all sheep in the UK have their fleeces removed each summer.
In your situation, Jon, I too would leave them now for the winter. But I'd want them shorn as soon as the weather warms up next year, or be worried about strike, overheating, getting stuck on their backs, and so on.
And would check them several times a day when they're heavily pregnant in case of getting stuck on their backs.
If you think on balance that it would be better to shear them, you can get them clipped with a winter cut, which leaves about an inch of fleece to give them a start on their winter coat. And then feed them to be sure they have the sustenance they need to keep warm, grow more winter coat, and at the same time come a-tupping and get pregnant.