I figured now was as good of a time as any...
Along with having wool sheep comes the task of shearing the sheep. This can be a profitable hobby if you sell the wool or a great chance to make your own yarn if you spin, but either way it has to get done. Although I have never done anything like this before, I figured that I might as well learn and figure it out.
HERE WE GO!
A bit ago @mama-pepper picked up some cordless clippers that we thought could work for shearing sheep. A lot of people hire this job out and professional electric sheep shears can cost a bit depending on which variety you go with, so I figured I'd make sure that we were at least up for the job before we invested too much in it. For starters, I selected our one year old ram "Rico."
I think that enjoying animals helps in the process, since I do not find it to be a difficult waste of time. Rico was pretty cooperative and the the clippers seemed to do a good job. With the hotter summer months approaching we wanted to get this thick wool off our sheep first, but we did not want to shear them too soon and leave them out in the cold. With the recent arrival of a few lambs that don't really have a lot of wool, we figured if they could handle it, then these larger ones probably could too.
I had been wondering about the darker color of the spots on the lambs compared to the lighter colored dark spots on the older sheep. This photo shows that the darker wool does grow out darker, but eventually gets bleached by the sun and begins to look lighter brown instead of almost black. I figured that we would eventually solve this mystery and sure enough we did.
Just for fun we decided to leave a few longer sections of wool and braid them. We will see if we let Rico keep them but for now they seem to be doing fine. By placing the braids right along the color transition they look even more interesting.
Here is a close up of the braids so that you can get a better look at them. He kind of reminds me of those guys with the braided mullets now, but it is what it is.
Here you can see the wool being sheared off of one of our ewes in a big section. She too has the darker wool underneath the sunbleached stuff. She was a little less cooperative, but we still made it work.
While we did not shear the whole wool in one big section, Red-Pepper shows off a big bunch of it anyway. We met a lady last year who offered to teach the girls how to spin, so we are excited for that possibility. A few of us can already knit and/or crochet, so spinning our own wool yarn could work out pretty well.
This ewe does not normally have a mane, but when we sheared her neck and rolled back the wool, it looked pretty interesting so Pinkie-Pepper wanted to take a photo. At this point we've got two sheared already, and twelve more to go! Hopefully it goes well, but we are learning!
As always, I'm @papa-pepper and here's the proof:
proof-i-needed-to-learn-how-to-shear
Until next time…
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Wow @papa-pepper..really cool stuff! And how easily you make such a mundane task into a fun-filled family event! I love it!
Really glad I started following you...btw it was "Papa" and "husband" (so blatant yet I can feel the love) that made me check you out :)
PS you're missions statement is one of the most inspiring things I have seen on Steemit
WOW! Thanks for all of that. It's encouraging!
Just paying it forward :)
YOU CHEATED!
You used electric clippers...cordless even.
For a really barrel of fun use the manual sheep shears..
that's what I used back in the day on the Llano Estacdo
(I dunno if cordless clippers even existed back then)
I started off with something similar, but then went "modern!"
wise move..the sheep with thank you.
LOL - Tru dat!
Hahahahaha .
Its time to being modern .
Haha.. ....nice observation sir @everittdmickey.
Good morning
What beautiful pictures, friend @papa-pepper I like more where the girl comes that beautiful. Greetings
@papa-pepper
Great post . every time you did very interesting things . and then you share it with us . thank you for this .
And he photos are also awesome.
Good job .
Yep helping animals having a lot of enjoyments .
Hope you did a good job .
Thank you! It's a learning experience, but we are enjoying it.
Welcome.
Good . keep enjoying it . we learn a lot of thing like that
Sheep become one of the animals that every part of it can be used. Milk and meat from sheep are in great demand with a variety of cuisines. and also skin and fleece can also be used as accessories and clothing. usually a sheep can produce 1-6 kg of wool. Hence, man keeps the sheep to take advantage of his feathers. The thick fleece of sheep used to be used as woolen fabrics, which can be used to make clothes. Not only that, leather and fleece are also used for bags and shoes ...
really useful ... nice job @ papa-pepper
Magnificent post . Each time you did extraordinarily fascinating things . what's more, a while later you share it with us . thankful to you for this.h e photos are moreover awesome.Good work . @papa-pepper
Papa-pepper started the wool business or what?
Not yet! We will see!
great post sheep wool cutting is famous
It was about time that I learned! Thanks @beejayjung!
A futures business ,, and very tempting
very handsome @papa-pepper, thanks for sharing.
Isn't it painful for ships?
Only as painful as when we cut our hair.
Wow this is so interesting to see firsthand! Looks like you did a good job especially for your first go around.
We have a few crafters that post for #NeedleWorkMonday that spin their own yarn. I’m sure they would love to get there hands on some thick wool such as this. That would be really awesome for your girls to learn how to spin especially since they are already familiar with knitting and crocheting. I hope that goes well for them :)
Once I get the rest sheared, I'll offer to send some to some other steemians free of charge. Keep an eye out and I'll be happy to share with any of you that are interested!
Oh wow that is very awesome and generous of you!!! Thank you! I’ll have to tag my friends I think would be interested! 😊
@luthvarian
@madame-malena
Wow, that looks a cool experience. The sheep look so calm on the photos. Were they in reality as well?
The first one was really calm, and the second one most of the time. It did go well though.
clean and dry prof.
That's right!
From some previous post I see prof. There is always work. Trees, land, pigs, goats. Looks like all there is .. it's really fun like this. Full of busyness and avoid stress. Every day picknik. Good luck prof
Wow, this is a great post. A wonderful business to set up, it kinda seem lucrative.. Thanks for the post @papa-pepper
We will see what all becomes of it! Thanks for enjoying the post!
a good job @papa-pepper, because in sheep's wool there is likely to be a breeding place for ticks that cause disease in sheep, and the growth of young sheep's hair will be better and cleaner after shearing
Good point! Thank you for sharing that!
😂😀😀😀...i love this!
Your posing with the sheep is beautiful.
That's really a lot of fur red pepper is holding..wao.
Nice job @papa-pepper.
It's morning over here, Bonjour
Bonjour @cyprianj!
Well, that looks like it'll keep the sheep warm a bit longer. I'm sure like anything else, the more shearing you do the better you'll get at it! Cute little guys. And it looks like you got a bundle of wool off of him!
We were surprised at how much they shrank!
It's so beautiful to see this. Looks like an old fashioned way of doing things yourself and saving yourself extra cost of contacting these jobs out...
You're an inspiration sire @papa-pepper
Glad to hear that you find it inspirational!
Oh yes I do. I used yo have a phobia for animals but seeing your blog and how you handle /love your animals makes me think of the possibility of owning my own animal farm in the nearest future...
Simply beautiful...
Nice work... now you can make some warm sweaters for the whole family!
Plus a few to give away!
wow ,, it was so fun papa ,,, it seems like every day vacation ,,, lots of experience and learning while playing. it really is very fun papa ,,, that sheep are also very cute ,,,
hopefully one day you can establish a family wool company ,,, :)
Great @papa-pepper, we are meant to learn everyday of our lives. Your family is doing great on this community. @litlepeppers and @mama-pepper are really doing good to make your goals achievable. I wish i have a wife and children already... Lol
Have a great day sir.
A song we learnt at school :)
I can remember watching my dad shear sheep when I was a little girl. He usually sold the wool, but at least once my older sister carded and spun some of it and knit him some mittens. They were his special pair!
Hobby yang sangat unik, proses pencukurannya pun sangat menarik.
CUTE! They will be comfy in the warmer weather now plus you get wool. I used to work on a yak farm which was a lot of fun! I crocheted with some of the yak's yarn!
this is a good job buddy..you give us experience in returning sheep, and this is one way of taking care of her best.
Just so awsome! teaChung us new thing everyday
Shearing sheep is one thing I am definitely not keen on. I have been looking into hair sheep a bit and they seem to be a more appealing option for us.
Have a look on Uncle Google for NZ shearing championships and hints.
They sit the sheep on its bum and cradle the head under their right arm, the sheep will usually sit there quite happily while the shearer goes to work.
Very cool! That's something I've wanted to learn, and who knows, perhaps I will one day.
I've thought seriously about getting a few sheep, at least a breeding trio, but haven't as yet, as we need to upgrade our fencing first. So at the moment, the closest thing we have is a couple of mutt wethers, of mixed meat and dairy lineage, though we know for a fact they both have Tennessee Fainting Goat, because they've both demonstrated the faint, which Marek thinks is the most hilarious thing he's ever seen.
Our larger wether has a thick angora coat in winter, then blows it out come spring, so the closest thing to sheep shearing I have to do is some serious combing out for a few days. I'll probably get a drop spinner this spring, since this will be our third season's worth from him, so I've got enough to spin and possibly make something of, possibly scarves or mittens.
I know you definitely had fun. That's good. Twelve more to go? Each will get better and better as you do them. You did a great job Papa, and it is fun to see Red and Pinky learn as always. Can't wait to see what you make of them after spinning.
@papa-pepper finally got what he wants.
Another adventure at the Steem Acres!
Not bad for the first time shearing sheep, @papa-pepper! All it takes is practice. I remember my granddad shearing sheep when I was about Red-Pepper's age. I was so fasinated and he was quick. I guess with practice comes speed.
Just a thought, Papa, the braiding is nice but might get caught on something and rip out a chunk of flesh.
One of those fun things when owning sheep. I haven't done this since I was a kid (ha ha). I started doing it because the sheerer we used for our 4-H project sheep seemed to always be drunk. I remember I used to plop them on their butts holding their heads with one hand and the clippers in the other and cut down. It is a lot of work and after a couple of them I was ready for a cold one in the shade.
Nice work papa, seems you have a lot of livestock around, may I ask if you home school the children? as we are thinking about doing that.
Good job @papa-pepper
Hope your sucses with your wool sheep
I try translate your post again
Chek my translate for this post, clik here!
https://steemit.com/rumahhunian/@dimanrama/terjemahan-ke-indonesia-papa-learns-how-to-shear-sheep-postingan-papa-pepper-02d65522b4e
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