It's shearing time around here......when the weather holds, that is. Pictures above is Q-Tip (white) and below him is Tristan (gray). They were the last two that I sheared....before the rain hit. I do all my own shearing and the sheep do stand very well for me. They are comfortable on the shearing stand.....as you can see from the pictures. :.) Sometimes they get so comfortable that when it's time for them to come down, they don't. They just stand there and you have to coax them off the stand. It can be quite comical at times. :.)This year's fleeces are looking great!! They are larger than last year's both in size and length. I think it's due to the heavy snow we got this year. Even my single coated Shetland has a heavier fleece than normal. So far 3 sheep have been sheared. Haven't had a chance to skirt any yet.....or to see how they look as far as vegetation. During shearing they didn't look bad at all. Nothing that couldn't easily be picked out during skirting.....or before washing. Makes me very, very happy!!
It will probably be another week and a half before shearing is completely done around here.....depending on the weather, of course. Today it's raining. No shearing. Tomorrow.....we'll see. With 21 sheep it does take me a while to get everyone done.....but it's so worth it. The sheep are happy and I end up with some beautiful fleeces. Of course the hard part will be deciding which ones I keep and which ones will get sold. After all, I can't spin up all 21 fleeces by myself.....no matter how hard I try. :.)
What beautiful fleeces!! Such well behaved sheep!
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see what you do with them, and to see more of your sheep sheared :))
Thanks, Dori Ann, for the very kind comments. I was able to shear 4 more sheep yesterday before the rain hit. I have set 3 fleeces aside for myself so far. The rest will be put up for sale just as soon as they are skirted and gone over.
ReplyDeleteAs for more pictures of sheared sheep....probably won't happen. With the weather being so unpredictable and the sheep all starting to roo out.....well, it's basically get them on the stand, get them sheared, and move onto the next one.....weather permitting. Thankfully there are two barns the newly sheared sheep can go into when the weather turns.