October 8, 2021
I am officially a Fall shearing convert!
Not because of all the fiber related reasons we were originally thinking of, but way more importantly- it’s a great way to evaluate each ewe’s condition before heading into breeding season.
Without shearing, there are clues about how each ewe is doing. We can tell a lot by how content, anxious, or lethargic they seem.
Do they hop up to great us when we walk through the gate?
Are they constantly bellowing for more food, even with plenty of lush pasture in front of them?
Do they react when the Border Collie invades their territory, or are they just too tired to care?
We can also tell a lot by how healthy their coats look. A healthy sheep will have a healthy coat. A sheep that is struggling will have a thin or matted coat. These observations are all helpful tools, and we make good use of them, but there is nothing quite as telling as looking at a naked sheep!
Just as shearing early in the spring enables us to see the sheep’s body condition before lambing, shearing in the fall will enable us to evaluate whether they should even be bred at all.
There are five ewes that after last week’s shearing, we changed our minds about and have decided not to breed this year. One has a hernia, one has mastitis, one is too fat (I’m not sure how you get too fat eating just grass) and two are too thin. All of these conditions would likely result in problematic lambing, or unthrifty lambs, and none of it was obvious until they were shorn.
So, this weekend we’ll hitch up the trailer, round up those five and bring them back to the “Ewe’s Only - Sorority” on Mountain Spring. I’m sure as we drive away, they will all complain loudly as they say their drawn-out goodbyes (“good baas”).
I’m not really into fond farewells, but it’ll be fine, just as long as nobody gives the ram a forwarding address.