Shearing Day 101
Early last year I was a finalist for a job I didn’t get. I was crushed from not getting the job, and seriously questioned my many years of experience as a librarian. I spiraled downward a bit for about a week.
Then I went to Elena’s (Cactus Hill Farm) for shearing. It was my first time helping with shearing and I was so happy from the moment I stepped onto Elena’s farm that day until the moment I left. Not only did the physical labor get me out of my head, but I loved the joy that poured out of the barn that day. Joy in response to the beautiful fleeces that came out of the shearing shed, joy from having our hands in wool all day, joy from being in community with all of the wool lovers.
I didn’t think about the job I didn’t get all day long. Not once.
Some Very Cute Sheep
And after getting my level I certification in wool classing last fall, I was just super excited for this year’s shearing. I felt a little like a kid asking Elena - “Is it scheduled yet? Is it scheduled yet?”
To be clear, I do not do any actual shearing, that is left to the professionals. Shearing is an art and takes a number of years to perfect. New shearers continue to go back to “shearing school” annually for up to 4 or 5 years. A professional shearer can get the fleece off a sheep in as little as 60 seconds– check out this video and see! Take notice of how calm the sheep is and how gentle the shearer is.
Once the shearers begin their magic, things start moving fast!
Tagging: This person hangs out in the shearing shed all day and keeps track of the sheep to make tags for the pickers. The tag stays with the wool so the quality of that particular sheep can be tracked. The quality of the fleece can also track the sheep’s health.
Picking: The pickers pick up the fleeces (the wool that is sheared off the sheep) to take to the skirters. The wool has to be picked up in a specific way so that it doesn’t get twisted and lays out easily on the skirting table. When it’s twisted, it takes time to sort out which slows down the process. This is a great video of the picking and throwing process.
Skirting: A skirting table that is about 7’- 8’ x 4’ with slats that have about 2” gaps. They can be round or rectangular. The fleece is laid out with the cut side down so that any second cuts (when shearers go over an area twice) can be easily shaken out and the topside or “sunnyside” of the fleece can be evaluated for quality. Much of the edges of the fleece get pulled off and tossed because of VM (vegetable matter such as plants and dirt) and some areas are just full of poop!
Pushing sheep: Also important to keeping things moving is making sure the sheep are moving up the shoot into the shearing shed and this is everyone’s responsibility. If you walk by and see a gap in the sheep, you push them along. Sheep will not move forward if they don’t see another sheep in front of them. At the start of shearing a lead sheep will be placed at the end of the shoot and she will stay there until shearing is over and be the last sheep sheared.
Classing or grading: After fleeces are skirted Elena will evaluate and “class” each fleece into one of 3 “lines”. P for processing: these will go to the mill to be made into yarn; S for show: these fleeces are on the cleaner side and are very pretty (official term!), hand spinners ooh and ahh over them; C for competition: these are the best of the best, prettiest of the pretty and they win ribbons at the fiber shows.
There is a more “official” classing system that is used for clips that go out on the national or international market.
Bagging and weighing wool: After skirting the fleece is rolled up nice and tidy with the cut side out, put into a bag, weighed, and tossed into the trailer!
Whenever I tell people about shearing their immediate question and concern is about the welfare of the sheep. “Does it hurt them,” “Are they scared?” “What happens if they get cut?” “It seems really brutal, do they really need to be sheared?”
First and foremost: when shearers are trained they are first taught about animal welfare, how to handle sheep properly without hurting them, and how to recognize a sheep in distress. When I was in wool classing school, shearing school was happening alongside us and we all met as a group first to hear about the importance of animal welfare. “Your handpiece (shearing tool) is a tool, not a weapon. If you use it as a weapon you will be kicked out of this class.” Further, the pattern of shearing is for the comfort of the sheep, not the shearer.
Sheep HAVE to be sheared. Humans have been working with sheep for over 11,000 years and sheep have been sheared for almost as long. What this means is if they aren’t sheared, their wool will keep growing, to the detriment of the sheep. The Guardian published a great article about a merino ram named Baarack who got lost from his flock and missed shearing for several years. His own wool almost killed him. While there are a few breeds that shed their fleece, a majority need to be sheared.
What happens when they are cut? Most of the time, not much. Sheep heal pretty quickly from nicks and small cuts. If it’s more than a small cut, shearers are trained to “doctor” sheep and stitch up cuts and ensure they don’t get infected.
Where humans and animals interact, there will always be cases of abuse, and this is unacceptable. However, there are many ranches in operation where animal welfare is deeply important. This is why knowing where your yarn comes from is very valuable. When yarn is made from wool that can be tied to a specific ranch it is referred to as “traceable.” There is lots to say about traceable wool, but I’ll leave it here for now.
I hope this gives you some insight into the process of shearing and elevates your appreciation of the wool and yarn that we all work with and love
