With the introduction of wool onto our farm, people might wonder about the intricacies of shearing sheep. As have most people, I have seen the inflammatory ads produced by organizations such as PETA about the “horrors” of sheep shearing. Of course, PETA isn’t the most reliable source on farming operations. It’s questionable whether or not the people of PETA have even been to a farm, but that’s besides the point.
The first thing that should be addressed is what is always important: there seems to be a misconception that farmers abuse their animals in order to make profit. Any farmer worth their hay can tell you that this isn’t true. In order to profit from the production of animals, farmers take very good care of their animals.
PETA produced an article about the pain of sheep shearing. Some of the things mentioned are that the sheep are cut by shears, beaten into submission, and made to suffer from heatstroke. First of all, it should be mentioned that wool cannot be sold if it is contaminated by anything, from the hair of katahdin sheep to blood. When wool is sent to be processed, any sort of contamination means more money that will be spent by the farmer for labor. MaQuarie Textiles, a wool producer in Australia, quoted that the contamination of 10,000 kg of wool cost the company an additional $52,500 to pay for the contaminate fiber to be hand-picked from the fleece.
Shearing takes practice, and in the beginning there may be a few nicks and cuts. We keep cornstarch on hand while shearing to stop the bleeding, and use antibiotic creams to heal any wounds. Cuts are rare though, and the sheep, having been raised and shear for all their lives, are generally calm while being sheared. We are in the process of building a platform on which the sheep will stand. The stand has rails on either side to keep the sheep from moving too much and have a head strap to keep them in place.
Shrek before shearing
Another concern was that sheep don’t need to be sheared. A Merino sheep named Shrek would beg to differ. Shrek managed to avoid being sheared for 6 whole years. Shrek ended up having around 60 pounds of fleece, 6 times the average amount of an Merino sheep. Shrek could not see through the fleece. Shrek was luckier than most, as sheep who are not sheared can suffer from heat exhaustion and even starvation. Sometimes, the weight of their wool is enough to keep them from standing!
Shrek after shearing
Luckily, we shear ours once a year in the spring, and boy are they happy!
Want to know more about sheep shearing? Here is a video of sheep shearing contest!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0KHhdYVcIo
Questions or comments? Let us know below….
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