[Meh!]

Hi, I'm now four years down the line of having pat sheep (now 4) and intend to always have the wooly friends. I stress every year about getting the sheared and have been lucky that the farmer on who's land I keep them has volunteered to shear them for me. However I HATE not being able to do things myself ( and he has just had a heart attack) I bought a cheap pair of clippers last year for £100 isn and he laughed at my attemptsattempts and ended up doing them for me again. I've just had the decades sharpened (Shear Ease - brilliant postal service) and really want to have a go again this year. Farmer told me last year I had blunted them right away because the blade was up against the guard. I had followed the instructions, fit blade, tighten, tensioner back 1/4 turn.. What can I be doing wrong? How hard can it be to use clippers. First year I tried to use a pair of the red hand blades and they didn't cut at all even although new. I ended up spending hours with a pair of scissors. Luckily they are so tame they just stood there but ended up looking like balls of popcorn!!!!


Doesn't help that I can't tip them, does it really matter how they are done as long as they get their coats of and are cool??

[Me]

Nope. Try to cut more wool than skin and just halter them up, do them standing if its easier for you, chances are the wool is worth very little so - just chew it off somehow!

[Ina]

If you get the chance, do one of the shearing courses the wool board run.

[kanisha]

Cut along the back and then you can shear / scissor off each side with the sheep standing it makes it much easier to see what you are cutting and follow the outline of the sheeps body. The fleece doesn't come off in one piece but it comes off

[smallflockshearing]

Excuse basic suggestions:
Are the pins on the claws in the uppermost cutter holes, nearer the tips?
Have you used oil, and of the right viscosity?
Are the cutter tips set back a few mm from the flat tip of the comb?
Is the comb the right way round - side with groove against cutter?
Have comb and cutter been properly ground, recently?
Do you expect to shear more than one sheep in an hour?
If the sheep does not like being tied up, leave it for a few hours and it may get over itself.
Go easy on yourself -don't expect too much!

[smallflockshearing]

... No, it doesn't matter how it is done, as long as it comes off, they don't bleed too much and you don't end up in hospital, district or psychiatric...

[Bionic]

Meh,
There was a picture on here very recently, sorry can't remember who posted, but she was shearing her sheep standing and was 'peeling' the fleece off with the shears, like a banana skin.
It was a bit unconventional but seemed to be working well.

[Tim W]

Get some shedding sheep---end of problems---no shearing, no dagging & vastly reduced flystrike risk

[GeorgieB82]

We used to get a shearer to come and shear our sheep but when he gave up we couldn't find anyone to do our few for a decent price so I have started shearing myself.  I have ME which is very painful and tiring but this year still managed to shear a couple of ewes in one 'sitting' by shearing them standing up.

I start with the neck then once that is out of the way I stand with the head between my knees and shear along the spine and then down either side. On the larder sheep I get my dad to take my place at the head end and I can sit on the floor and reach the backside and underbelly.

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?

[Me]

I have ME which is very painful and tiring

[Treud na Mara]

We used to get a shearer to come and shear our sheep but when he gave up we couldn't find anyone to do our few for a decent price so I have started shearing myself.  I have ME which is very painful and tiring but this year still managed to shear a couple of ewes in one 'sitting' by shearing them standing up.

I start with the neck then once that is out of the way I stand with the head between my knees and shear along the spine and then down either side. On the larder sheep I get my dad to take my place at the head end and I can sit on the floor and reach the backside and underbelly.

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!


Unless you have something special fleece-wise, get rid of all the mucky bits, put in an old pillowcase and freeze for a week or so to kill off any creepy crawlers, then you can use it for loft or other insulation.   

P.S What does everyone do with their fleeces?

[nimbusllama]

I had two to do this year and used similar clippers to yours I think.... As they are halter trained, I too did them mostly standing up, apart from their tummies.  When I had got the majority of the wool off,  I went over them again later in the day to tidy them up and they looked really quite good.  It is really useful with small numbers of sheep to have them halter trained.

[waterbuffalofarmer]

I use a big business of shearers which shear all over the Uk and , I think, Europe too. The problem is there is three of them and they are used to shearing lots of sheep.

[Me]

Is the collective noun for shearers a "business" the same as for ferrets??

[waterbuffalofarmer]

I don't know, maybe. I would definately say for their business, yes. Its a big business for them.