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unicorndukeShearing on Friday went better than last week's. We hit three farms about an hour away. J stopped by two farms first thing that only had one sheep each and ended up not being able to shear those sheep. One was not friendly like the owners said and he couldn't catch it and the other stop he didn't have power, but it turns out his first pair of clippers were broken and he didn't realize it until he left. So we were a little late getting started.
First stop had 12 sheep and they were all middle and small size sheep. Not too bad to handle. We were in their stall and they were well behaved and easy to catch. I did three sheep and I probably could have done a fourth except I grabbed a yearling and she was so sticky and hard to get the clippers through the fleece. Finally I asked the owner if she'd been sick and he said, yeah she was coughing about a month ago and he treated her. So it took twice or three times as long to actually get through the fleece because it was so difficult. The clippers would get gummed up with the lanolin from the fleece break and it hadn't grown out enough to have clean fleece under it. But she was well behaved and just sat and didn't freak out, she kept breathing slow and easy, so I worked through it and it was fine in the end.
Second stop was five almost pet sheep and an alpaca. Three ewes and two rams. The owner put them in two separate stalls and we just sheared right there. I snagged the yearling ewe and she was a bit of a shit but she was tiny and easy to hold onto. They were mostly Finn sheep so fairly small. J had grabbed a ewe and she was a big shit, so I'm glad I didn't get her. J finished up the irritating ewe and moved onto the third ewe who had just lambed two days before. So we were hanging out with two itty bitty lambs as well. They were SO TINY. Maybe five or six pounds and so cute! I got to snuggle them while J finished up their mom. Then we moved to the other stall, I took the yearling lamb and J took the big ram.
Then J and the owner did the alpaca who was surprisingly well behaved.
Third stop was four pet sheep and they were HUGE. I did two of them and I felt I did better than last year on them. I was rolling one around and J was like, you know this sheep is easily 300 pounds right. yeah I knew that. I managed to get them both done although J had to step in once to help me get the second one rolled back into place. By the time we wrapped up it was snowing, since we were shearing outside, I was getting snowed on so that was kinda hilarious.
Good things: I took a good long break between sheep 1 and 2, did a little arm swinging and some deep breathing. I didn't have any nausea, although that also could have been the length of time between breakfast and start of shearing, something to think about. I stayed warm the whole time mostly, brought my coat with me, took it off only for shearing and put it right back on after. I did wear long johns and thick winter socks, plus a t shirt, long sleeve shirt and hoodie. So I sheared with hoodie for outer layer and then put coat back on. Hat the whole time. Much better on temperatures and my body condition! My back wasn't going to hold up much longer but I ended on a high note at least.
First stop had 12 sheep and they were all middle and small size sheep. Not too bad to handle. We were in their stall and they were well behaved and easy to catch. I did three sheep and I probably could have done a fourth except I grabbed a yearling and she was so sticky and hard to get the clippers through the fleece. Finally I asked the owner if she'd been sick and he said, yeah she was coughing about a month ago and he treated her. So it took twice or three times as long to actually get through the fleece because it was so difficult. The clippers would get gummed up with the lanolin from the fleece break and it hadn't grown out enough to have clean fleece under it. But she was well behaved and just sat and didn't freak out, she kept breathing slow and easy, so I worked through it and it was fine in the end.
Second stop was five almost pet sheep and an alpaca. Three ewes and two rams. The owner put them in two separate stalls and we just sheared right there. I snagged the yearling ewe and she was a bit of a shit but she was tiny and easy to hold onto. They were mostly Finn sheep so fairly small. J had grabbed a ewe and she was a big shit, so I'm glad I didn't get her. J finished up the irritating ewe and moved onto the third ewe who had just lambed two days before. So we were hanging out with two itty bitty lambs as well. They were SO TINY. Maybe five or six pounds and so cute! I got to snuggle them while J finished up their mom. Then we moved to the other stall, I took the yearling lamb and J took the big ram.
Then J and the owner did the alpaca who was surprisingly well behaved.
Third stop was four pet sheep and they were HUGE. I did two of them and I felt I did better than last year on them. I was rolling one around and J was like, you know this sheep is easily 300 pounds right. yeah I knew that. I managed to get them both done although J had to step in once to help me get the second one rolled back into place. By the time we wrapped up it was snowing, since we were shearing outside, I was getting snowed on so that was kinda hilarious.
Good things: I took a good long break between sheep 1 and 2, did a little arm swinging and some deep breathing. I didn't have any nausea, although that also could have been the length of time between breakfast and start of shearing, something to think about. I stayed warm the whole time mostly, brought my coat with me, took it off only for shearing and put it right back on after. I did wear long johns and thick winter socks, plus a t shirt, long sleeve shirt and hoodie. So I sheared with hoodie for outer layer and then put coat back on. Hat the whole time. Much better on temperatures and my body condition! My back wasn't going to hold up much longer but I ended on a high note at least.
