Can a Farmer Shear Their Own Sheep?
I come from a family of farmer shearers. My Dad shore his own sheep and my uncles on both sides of my family shore their own sheep. They were able to save thousands of dollars a year because they learnt how to shear their own sheep. My Dad taught me to shear my very first sheep as a young 16 year old boy.
A farmer can learn to shear their own sheep. The farmer needs to be trained by an experienced sheep shearer to be able to successfully shear sheep. Although it looks easy, sheep shearing is a job that needs to be taught. You need your own sheep shearing equipment to shear them successfully. This includes an electric sheep clipper or a mechanical handpiece and comb and cutter blades.
Farmer Shearing Their Own Sheep
Is it Hard to Learn to Shear Your Own Sheep?
It always amazes me when I teach somebody, how to shear their own sheep, how tentave they are. I have to remind myself, that I was like that once. I was so afraid of cutting the sheep and hurting it. Cutting sheep is the Number one issue most people starting out on their sheep shearing journey are worried about. They might not have the confidence to shear their sheep because they are so worried about cutting them.
Sheep shearing is a job that has to be taught. It looks easy in real life and on all the youtube channels, but until you pick a handpiece up and start shearing yourself you won’t realise how challenging shearing can be.
Many farmers don’t bother to learn how to shear their own sheep, until they find themselves unable to find a shearer. There are so few professional shearers left. As a career, sheep shearing is rated to be one of the hardest jobs physically in the world and there are less people wanting a physically demanding career then ever. We like our air conditioning and comfortable office spaces. But, it doesn’t have to be that way for you.
Professional sheep shearers make their money through piece rates. (Getting paid for how many sheep you shear.) So they are pushing themselves physically to shear as many sheep as possible. This makes a physical job more arduous then ever. As a newbie to sheep shearing, you shouldn’t be looking to break any world records shearing sheep. Take your time and shear slow and methodical and you will shear all your sheep successfully.
Justin shears crossbred ewes near Cargo NSW in late winter. The Australian crossbred ewe is a cross between a Border Leicester ram and Merino ewe. This is the breed that is being shorn in this video.
5 Ways to Learn to Shear Sheep.
Sheep Shearing School. A farmer needs to learn to shear sheep. They can do this by attending an organised shearing school. These shearing schools usually go for about 1 week and most people attending these shearing schools want to make sheep shearing their career. They are generally held at a shearing shed, away from where most people would be able to travel to easily from home each day. The person attending would usually have to pay for fuel, accomodation and meals on top of the cost of the shearing school.
Ask a Local Shearer to Teach You. A farmer can ask a local sheep shearer to show them how to shear a sheep. If you are lucky enough to find a shearer willing to do this then you have struck gold. Usually a shearer is too busy trying to make a living by shearing as many sheep as he possibly can in a day to worry about teaching someone how to shear a sheep.
Online Digital Course or DVD. A farmer can learn via an online sheep shearing course. This way of learning how to shear a sheep is the most practical and time efficient for busy farmers or hobby farmers who own a few sheep and need to shear their sheep on the weekend. They can follow along online at their own pace and go over the shearing pattern until they feel comfortable in getting it right for themselves.
Youtube. A farmer can watch youtube videos of sheep shearing. As a professional shearer I really appreciate some of the sheep shearers shearing on youtube. As of writing this blog, I have not seen any youtube videos showing a farmer how to shear sheep step by step and making it easy to follow along.
Do It Yourself. Sheep Shearing looks easy when someone else is doing it but beleive me, you need some help to start to learn how to shear sheep. There are many aspects to shearing from gear selection to knowing the right steps to shear the sheep, to sharpening your blades, to name just a few. Your learning time will be so much quicker if you get the right coaching to begin with.
Do You Need Help on the Day to Shear Your Own Sheep?
Always Have a Roustabout to Help With The Shearing
You will defineately need somebody to help you shear your sheep. In the sheep shearing industry, your sidekick for helping you on the day is called a Roustabout (Rousie). There are a number of jobs that a rousie can do to help you out on the day of shearing.
1. The Rousie will help with the penning up of the sheep.
2. You might ask them to help you catch the sheep if they are hard to handle.
3. If your sheep is struggling they can help you to hold the sheep or get the sheep back into a better position to shear it.
4. They will also sort the wool out for you while you are busy shearing the next sheep.
5. They are also there to keep you safe. Sheep can be unpredictable and accidentally run the wrong way and hurt you or themselves. If you have a rousie they can direct the shorn sheep back out into the paddock away from the working area.
Take Your Time to Shear Your Sheep.
Sheep shearing is hard work. There is no getting out of the hard work part. You can make it easier on yourself by planning your shearing day before it even starts. As farmers you will have a certain level of fitness depending on how much you do on the farm. 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. By taking your time you won’t exhaust yourself and run out of puff before your sheep are shorn.
Plenty of water breaks to keep fully hydrated. As a professional shearer, I always drink enough water to pee every 2 hours. Take regular breaks. If you think you need a break, take a few minutes to re-gather your strength and then start shearing again. Eat regularly throughout the day. Your body needs fuel to keep giving you sustained energy. This will also help you to recover more quickly from aches and pains at the end of the day.
Choose the Right Shearing Gear.
The Right Shearing Gear Will Make Shearing So Much Easier.
There are a few considerations on shearing gear a farmer should have in mind when they want to start shearing their own sheep. Shearing equipment can cost a lot of money so choosing the right gear when you decide to learn how to shear your own sheep is very important.
If you only have a small number of sheep to shear, up to about 20 or 30 sheep I would suggest buying an electric clipper. These clippers cost less then a mechanical handpiece. They come in various price ranges. There will be an electric clipper to suit your price needs on the market.
Alternatively, if you have more then 30 sheep, you may consider a mechanical handpiece. The shearing handpieces are generally more expensive and you also need an overhead electric motor and downtube for these clippers to work. This adds a significant price to your shearing equipment.
Depending on your sheep breed you may need to purchase the right type of shearing comb to shear your sheep. British Long Wool Breeds use a short bevel comb. British Downs Wool Breeds use a medium bevel comb and for Merino Breeds use a Long Bevel comb.
