Sheep Shearer/Quick guide (2024)

FAQs

How to shear sheep for beginners? ›

Shearers start by sitting the sheep on its rump and shearing the breastbone and belly, inside and between the legs, and around the teats. Next, the shearer moves the sheep so it's sitting back on its right hip, which allows for them to shear the left rear leg, from the hip to the tail and all the way up to the spine.

Many states hold annual sheep shearing schools. A professional shearer can shear a sheep in less than 2 minutes. The world record is 37.9 seconds.

One of the most important aspects of becoming a good shearer is to be confident with your blows. Try not to second guess yourself or fumble with the shears, this will only increase your chances of making a mistake. Try to develop a rhythm as you shear, this will help you to move easily from one section to another.

Holding a full-grown sheep still, while calmly running a handpiece over their bodies giving them their annual haircut. The goal is to get the thick fleece off in one piece, using 36, or fewer, ''blows'', which is a single sweeping cut.

The process:

The shearer starts with the belly by flipping the sheep onto its back. This keeps the sheep calm and easily managed. A skilled shearer can shear a sheep in around two minutes. While not the most stylish haircut, the wool will steadily grow back for winter.

Although it may not seem like it, shearing a sheep is very hard work. It requires confidence, skill, and strength. Therefore, it might be a good idea to call in a professional shearer to perform (or at least help out with) the shearing. An inexperienced shearer can cause injury to the sheep or himself.

The sheep are herded quietly into a holding pen and the shearers will come over and pull one out. This is then led (or dragged!) to the shearing station and it is then sat upright on its bottom. This has a calming effect on the sheep and as long as they are leaning backwards they go limp.

Woollen singlets allowed shearers to keep warm while moving their arms freely.

A shearer wields a sharp mechanised clipper and works hurriedly with unwilling, terrified, large animals in close quarters. Shearing is one of the most dangerous jobs in the country, with Safe Work Australia data showing that shearers are at least six times more likely to be seriously injured than the average worker.

Shearers wear moccasins to protect their feet, grip wooden floors well, and absorb sweat. The shearer begins by removing the belly wool, which is separated from the main fleece by a rouseabout, while the sheep is still being shorn.

What happens to sheep if you don't shear? ›

Over time, unshorn wool could eventually impede movement.” Sheep can overheat and die in the summer months if not shorn, and become the target for parasitic species such as ticks, lice, mites, and the maggots that cause fly strike, a gruesome and even deadly condition.

Even a very fit farmer can push themselves too hard and over exert themselves when shearing their own sheep. The key to shearing sheep is to take your time. It's surprising how fast you will shear a sheep if you just take your time and go slow and follow the shearing pattern.

In the first two years of a sheep's life, it is best practice is to shear them twice a year. As a lamb they are usually shorn at 5-6 months old onwards in summer or early autumn. Then again as a hogget later that same year in the spring.

In part, that's because the work is, indeed, so physically grueling: shearers are fond of saying that theirs is considered “the hardest job in the world,” and that they burn five thousand calories daily. Marathon runners, by comparison, burn a piddling twenty-six hundred.