Sheep Shearing Video

Cutting or shaving the wool off of a sheep is called shearing. Shearing doesn't hurt a sheep. It's just like getting a haircut. However, shearing requires skill so that sheep are shorn efficiently and quickly without cuts or injury to the sheep or shearer. Most sheep are sheared with electric shears.

In this video Darren Sattler of Chilton WI is shearing one of our shetland sheep. Shetlands are half the size of suffolk sheep but can take longer to shear because they are very restless. Darrin has been shearing our sheep since we opened in 2005. The Sattler Farm also breeds our suffolk ewes.

WI sheep are usually sheared once per year, usually in the spring before the onset of warm weather. Sheep with long fleeces or sheep that live in the south are sometimes sheared twice a year. Many ewes are sheared before they lamb, because it results in a cleaner environment for baby lambs. Shearing before lambing keeps the fleeces cleaner.

One sheep produces any where from 2 to 30 lbs. of wool annually. The average fleece weight in the United States is 8.2 lbs. per sheep (per year).

Info curtisy of Sheep 101.com