Getting Ready for Shearing
Hooray! We have a shearer coming out to shear our sheep! Shearing is a dying art here in Montana, so finding a shearer was not an easy task. Finding one required a lot of networking!
One thing the shearer needs to do his work is a solid clean floor next to the sheep pen. So my husband and our oldest son helped me get this ready. Unfortunately I do not have a barn. But, I am thankful to have a large three sided equipment shed. We were able to clean out one of the bays and put down plywood for a floor.
My oldest son and I will have the job of catching the sheep and dragging them to the shearer. To make our job easier and to prevent any sheep from escaping, we penned in the shearing area. The pen is mostly pallets and baling twine. It is not very pretty, but it is secure. And it is temporary. (My husband normally parks our car in that space!)
Our other children will have the jobs of removing the shorn fleece from the shearing area and keeping the shearing floor swept of sheep droppings.
I penned up the sheep last night and took away their water and food (as requested by the shearer). The shearer should be arriving in just 40 minutes.
To be continued...
One thing the shearer needs to do his work is a solid clean floor next to the sheep pen. So my husband and our oldest son helped me get this ready. Unfortunately I do not have a barn. But, I am thankful to have a large three sided equipment shed. We were able to clean out one of the bays and put down plywood for a floor.
My oldest son and I will have the job of catching the sheep and dragging them to the shearer. To make our job easier and to prevent any sheep from escaping, we penned in the shearing area. The pen is mostly pallets and baling twine. It is not very pretty, but it is secure. And it is temporary. (My husband normally parks our car in that space!)
Our other children will have the jobs of removing the shorn fleece from the shearing area and keeping the shearing floor swept of sheep droppings.
I penned up the sheep last night and took away their water and food (as requested by the shearer). The shearer should be arriving in just 40 minutes.
To be continued...
