Not all farmers harvest in July and August with a combine and on Monday, we here started our own particular version. Raymond came to shear the Bowmonts.
Fortunately the weather is mild at the moment so its easier on all of us. We know the sheep are going to be comfortable without their woolly coats for a week or two until some grows back. Nonetheless we had prepared well by strawing up two fresh pens with a huge bed of barley straw for them to go into after they were shorn.
Raymond is a man of tradition and when I suggested to him that he might like to try a new comb this year, specially designed for shearing Merinos, he was sceptical in a way that only Devon farmers can be! But, he was happy to try it so good for him! For those of you whose life experience has not taken them into the mysteries of shearing equipment I should explain that a sheep shearing comb and a cutter are the two small but crucial bits of metal that sit at the front of the hand piece and do the job. Think about the hair dresser using electric clippers on human hair and you will know what I mean. Sheep kit is far bigger and more robust as you can imagine. These pictures show you a standard comb and cutter as used on most British sheep and then the Heiniger Wicked comb . The Wicked has a convcave bevel and much longer, narrower teeth that throw the fleece outwards as the shear enters it.
-
- Heiniger WICKED comb
-
- Cutter
Raymond started by shearing one sheep using the conventional comb, shown here in the middle. Then he switched to the new Wicked. The difference was unbelievable. He was astonished and so was I! My Australian friends who advised me on the choice were absolutely right. It just flows through the wool as if it was butter! No more effort to actually break into that incredibly dense, fine wool. Raymond was completely converted and it’s the Heiniger Wicked for now on for him! I was mightily relieved as it took some nerve for me to offer it to him. He has shorn THOUSANDS of sheep in his lifetime and I’ve kept these amazing beasts for only 7 years. Grandmothers and sucking eggs come to mind!
Whatever equipment we use here the welfare of our sheep at shearing is paramount. Speed is secondary to care. As you can imagine, with equipment like this, unless you take GREAT care you can lose ears, teats, and more male “bits” than I care to think about. Raymond always locates relevant anatomical features and places a finger carefully over each little delicate piece before shearing round it. Not a particularly pleasant business even for a tough sheep farmer but it does ensure the sheep’s safety which has to be our priority.
I was dismayed today to see in the Western Daily Press the New Zealanders are considering pushing for sheep shearing to be made an Olympic Sport. 700 sheep to be shorn in 8 hours. Of course shearers cannot hang about and the quicker they work the better, but this sort of event would almost certainly lead to unnecessary mutilating injuries which all the Rules and Regulations in the world would not prevent. Animals are shorn partly for their own welfare, partly for our economic benefit. I don’t see what right we have to push that balance further in our favour. What do you all think?
I really think that if you involve animals in any kind of sporting event, you have to be sure they enjoy it. Show jumpers are one example – if the horses don’t like it, they won’t perform well. I have yet to meet a sheep that races enthusiastically up to shearer, saying: “Please, me first, me first, please..” I know sheep don’t speak Human but they can communicate all right!
And I for one will be hiding from the Olympics anyway….maybe amongst a beautiful flock of sheep….
By: Jane on January 25, 2012
at 5:36 pm
One could only hope they meant it as a joke! If not that would probably send me into boycott mode!!!
By: the Yarnwitch on January 26, 2012
at 1:06 pm
This sounds more like a rodeo event than an Olympic one. And (here in Canada at least) there is quite a strong movement against those where animals are likely to be hurt or traumatized. I too hope it’s only a joke!
By: Louisa on January 29, 2012
at 6:02 pm
When we first moved here to NZ we went to a few ‘speed shearing’ events. This was partly on the encouragement of our shearer clients. My husband treats their back injuries. I initially felt it would be cruel on the animals. However the shearers who get to the level of performing at these events are extremely skilled and deft. I saw very few nicks from the blades (points are lost for cuts, bad handling and poor shearing). A stressed, wriggling animal also stresses the bodies of the shearers. The atmosphere was calm with sheep moved around by a skilled team of handlers and once shorn and checked they were quickly out of the shed and back to the paddock. Mostly in our area, these were merinos and the clip is the main product so regardless of the competition the sheep stations that hosted the event expected a good outcome for their stock. I think the ‘olympic sport’ quote is an exaggeration, nevertheless the competing shearers do train hard and put in a lot of hours honing their skills.
By: Doe on February 2, 2012
at 5:00 am
Thank you very much for putting this balanced view and based on actually seeing such competitions. I suspect Speed Shearing wd never make it outside the Agricultural world for many reasons – not all to do with sheep welfare. One is boredom – once you’ve seen your first 100 sheep shorn the rest is like watching paint dry! Another is breed of sheep. Consistency of performance between countries/events wd rely on everyone using the same type of sheep at the same stage in growth etc. On an international level this wd be pretty much impossible. Lastly, if the Games were held in the EU the bureaucracy around moving 100′s of sheep to events wd be an event in itself! When I moved 30 sheep to Savile Row for an out of the ordinary event, there was one lorry for the sheep and almost another for the paperwork!!
By: devonfinefibres on February 2, 2012
at 5:32 am