Tomorrow is shearing day and a year's worth of effort on my part (and, of course, the sheep have done their part) will be revealed. Since I just last week got the last of the previous year's fleeces processed, you'd think I wouldn't be that excited about getting another whole bunch to skirt and wash. What can I say? I'm a fiber addict and the fiber from my own flock is so special to me.It never fails that the weather turns rainy just before the scheduled date and this week has been no exception. There's been a threat of rain every day since Tuesday. I don't like keeping the sheep inside because there's always the chance of them getting more vegetable matter (hay or straw) embedded in their fleeces. Wet fleeces mean no shearing, so, into the barn they go. In fact, they have been in and out of the barn several times a day all week long!
The pregnant ewes are looking like they need a "wide load" sign attached to their backsides and several of them have big milk bags, so very soon I should be able to put some sweet lamb pictures on here. 
These two bad boys are in time-out right now. I'm not sure why, but Mr. Lucky and Ollie have been head-butting and jousting with each other all week and when I brought them into the barn, things got even rougher. If they are out of sight from one another, they bawl and carry on, but if they are in together, they fight. So, this is the solution we came up with yesterday. They can barely see each other and the solid panels keep them from climbing up or trying to fight each other. I'm thinking we are back to the squeezed up pen after they get sheared. Nothing like extra testosterone in the barn to keep things lively!
Ok this is a dumb question but I am asking anyway... do the pregnant ewes get sheared?
ReplyDeletekim
Those boys... Love your hay feeder!
ReplyDeleteYes, Kim, the pregnant ewes get shorn. In fact, I'm more anxious to get their fleeces off than I am the yearling ewes. It makes lambing so much easier. The fleeces stay cleaner, without all that wool I can actually see when the lambs drop down into the birth canal and the ewe is getting ready to go into labor, and it's easier for the lambs to find the milk bag. By the way--there are no dumb questions!
ReplyDeleteDianne- thanks! That makes sense. I was wondering if the stress of the shearing process was too much for the pregnant moms. I am one of those people who tend to assign human thoughts and emotions to animals and sometimes I have to stop and remind myself that they are what they are. I know you work hard caring for the flock, but I envy you all that home grown fiber! I can't wait to see pictures of the lambs!
ReplyDeletekim