Sheep are so funny when they get shorn, as soon as the shearer has them on their backs they go totally limp. It is surprisingly mesmerizing to watch a good sheep shearer shear a sheep. There is a rythm and a pattern to it and within minutes the sheep is all pink and naked.
Sheep fleece grows continuously, so in order to keep your sheep healthy, you have to have them shorn at least once a year.
Here in Canada that always happens at the beginning of spring. There are quite a few larger sheep farms in our area so when they get their sheep done, the professional sheep shearer makes a quick stop at our place . We only have two pet sheep (Imogen and Tinkerbell) and I am so grateful to pay the $30 to have someone else do it. It takes me several hours of hard labour to shear my sheep by hand, it takes the professional only a few minutes.
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4/11/09: Once a year, professional sheep shearers gather at Shelburne Farms to teach shearer wannabes the tricks of the trade. With 40 sheep being shorn by novices and pros alike, it is an exciting day around the barnyard and a symphony of bleats ensues from the 80 gamboling lambs and their parents. The song in the end credits is an Australian folk song: Ryebuck Shearer Chorus If I dont shear a tally before I go My shears and stone in the river I’ll throw And I’ll never open Sawbees or take …
Example of professional standard shearing displayed at the Keith Show 2008