Interactive lesson

Shearing sheep, step by step

Interactive lesson: when to shear, how to catch and turn a sheep, take the fleece off in one piece and pack the wool all the way to the bag.

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The whole lesson as text

1. When to shear

A sheep doesn't shed her wool: it grows all her life, so shearing is a duty, not a choice.

Once a year — In the UK and Ireland lowland flocks are mostly shorn from mid-May to the end of June: when the cold nights are over, but before the big heat.
The wool has risen — Part the wool on the shoulder. When you see a finger-thick layer of new, softer wool between the skin and the old wool, it's time.
The ram earlier — Shear the ram 6–8 weeks before tupping, because heat and stress make him temporarily infertile.
Only dry sheep — Bring the sheep under a roof the evening before. Wet wool heats up and rots in the bag, and an electric handpiece in wet wool is dangerous.

Why: An unshorn sheep carries two or three years of fleece: heavy, dirty, full of flies and maggots, and she suffers in the summer heat. Shearing too early brings chills; too late brings heat, flies and maggots.

Hill flocks are shorn later, in July. In North America it depends on climate: some flocks are shorn in a shed before lambing, others in late spring.
Spring-born lambs usually aren't shorn in their first year, but as shearlings the following summer.

2. Preparing the flock

Book the shearing day in advance, with a spare day in case of rain.

Shearer or yourself — Book a shearer early, because everyone calls in June. If you want to learn, help a shearer the first year; British Wool and shearing associations also run short courses.
Clean floor and power — A clean board or tarpaulin 2 × 2 m under a roof, so the wool doesn't pick up straw and mud. An extension lead with an RCD (GFCI), away from water and wool.
12 hours without feed — Water stays available. A full sheep is hard to turn, pressure on the rumen hurts her, and there's less dung on the board.
Order in the pen — First shearlings and ewes with clean white wool, then rams, then coloured sheep. Sheep with scabs, itching or maggots last, and the tools are disinfected afterwards.

Why: For 3–10 sheep the best option is usually a shearer who does small flocks: they shear a sheep in 2–5 minutes, a beginner with hand shears takes 20–40. Good preparation spares the sheep, your back and the fleece.

Team up with neighbours: a shearer would rather come for 30 sheep in one place than for 5.
If you suspect scab, tell your vet before shearing.