[smallflockshearing]

No, the collective noun is a 'rivalry' of shearers...   

[Slimjim]

Fed up withwaiting for my shearer to turn up, I wondered about doing my few myself. But terrified of cutting the skin with my ace Jakoti shears, I thought I might try to halter them up and use a plasterer's scarifying comb to push into the fleece parallel to the skin and then cut above it. The tines of the comb would protect the skin beneath. I have no idea if this would work or what the result would look like, but I am tempted!

[Bionic]

That sounds a bit like hairdressers do, well not with a plasterers comb you understand, but they often comb the hair and cut above the comb.
Sounds like it will work to me.

[mab]

it is because shearing is such a trial I opted for a shedding breed but I still have one shetland left: Elfie, who's very tame and seems to object to being flipped worse than any other sheep I've had so usually gets done on her feet.


The only advice I can give for diy shearing it to pull slightly on the skin of the sheep to keep the skin slightly taut where you are shearing so it doesn't wrinkle into the shears - seems to help the shears cut through the wool too. If you watch youtube vids of sheepshearing, they seem to 'bend' the sheep in such a way as to keep the skin taut where they are shearing - but this requires more skill in handling sheep than I have.

[waterbuffalofarmer]

Before we got the shearers out, we used to shear all of our 60 or 80 sheep by hand, it took a long time. By the way why not buy a shearing belt, if you are hand shearing, it is supposed to protect your back. Also when you hand shear a sheep it is good to keep with the rise of the wool. Here is a video showing you how to hand shear a sheep. how to blade shear a sheep
Hope this helps

[smallflockshearing]

Slimjim, pm me if you give up on your shearer and get desperate.  I'm in Devon. Oops, I don't mean to suggest that you would have to be desperate to call me of all people...

[Pixie]

Hello

I have also been thinking of shearing myself, thought about it last year and totally chickened out, luckily got a really good shearer who i can use again.However i still quite fancy having a go, especially as i only have two sheep it seems crazy not doing them myself!They are halter trained and i can't tip so i always do everything with them standing but i'm a bit worried about how i'm going to manage to do their bellies like this?Also i'll only be using hand shears, are some better than others?

Thanks

[Me]

Jakoti are good

[SallyintNorth]

BH recently bought some Jakoti self-sharpening shears and says they are lethal.  Far far too sharp, way too easy to cut the sheep.  He's just been clipping sheep for 50 years...

Think we'll be sticking with the traditional Burgen and Ball

[Fleecewife]

As long as the fleece comes off, who cares how its done; as long as the sheep is not distressed and you don't kill yourself!

P.S What does everyone do with their fleeces?

There are three different reasons behind removing fleece.  One is to get it off as quickly as possible, not caring how either the sheep or the fleece looks as long as the job's done.
The second is for showing the sheep, when it doesn't matter what the removed fleece looks like, as long as the animal is smart.
The third is if the fleece is the prime objective, and it doesn't matter what the sheep looks like, or how quick you are.

Each one of these reasons behind shearing is as valid as the next.  We get our fleeces off to use them for hand spinning, but we also occasionally show the sheep, so in fact Mr Fleecewife takes extra care when shearing to watch both the sheep and the fleece.  We have only been shearing a small flock for 18 years, but Mr F doesn't take much longer then someone who shears many.

We use Burgon and Ball too, like Mr Sallyintnorth, the one with the single bend for a spring so it's light on the hand.  Mine are slightly shorter in the blade than Mr F's but not as small as daggers.

For those of you scared of cutting your sheep, it really isn't likely to happen if you take your time, and feel your way through the fleece, cutting through the rise -this means you're well above the skin.
If you possibly can, learn to tip your sheep, and teach yourself from YouTube clips the order of shearing and turning your sheep.  It makes the whole process so much easier, as you always have your sheep in the best position for stopping it from jumping up and running away, and the skin is always kept taught so you don't cut it.  Shearing with the sheep standing is the way which terrifies me as you must sometimes cut on the inside of a curve that way, which increases your chance of cutting the sheep.  I appreciate it's difficult for some to tip a sheep, and I couldn't do a big one.  Teensy ones I can get on their bums by lifting them in a very unconventional manner and dumping them unceremoniously on their bums.

[waterbuffalofarmer]

We send ours to the British wool something or other, I can't remember. Anyway they sell them onto factories who make stuff with them. Hope this helps.
I think it could be called the British wool association. However to get a better price pack the black wool separate from the white.

[Meh!]

Thank you so much for all of your responses. I managed to find a local friendly farmer who offered to do them for me.   Very kind and wouldn't take payment so a bottle of whiskey winging its way to him as I type.     he was great and explained the clippers to me. he was director at a local agricultural college so must have got his patience from teaching there, He was too cheery and sociable for your typical farmer!
I liked the idea  of using the wool for insulation. I need some for a small loft and had actually though of that!!
it would be nice if there was a wee gathering now and then in local area of forum members...

[Backinwellies]

it would be nice if there was a wee gathering now and then in local area of forum members...

Do what we did in Carmathenshire put out an invite on here ... just takes one person to get it started ..