2018, Waiting on Lambs! ♡

ohiogoatgirl · May 4, 2018

secuono said:
Got more fleeces skirted, nearly done. TONS of waste...NOT happy. Another bad year in shearing and animals. Ugh.

Do you mean for shearing quality? I know here there is a ton of talk among the wool sheep farmers (people who started with the fiber and got into the animals for the fiber mainly) and no one is happy with shearers and the fleece quality. One guy told me he would like to stand right behind the shearer and swat him with a stick every time he intentionally goes back over an area that is uneven, causing second cuts.

secuono · May 4, 2018

They are supposed to go over, so the sheep is evenly shorn. The issue I have is when there is excessive second cuts, chunks missed and so much fiber butchered from 2.5in to half inch or a little more.
3rd cuts left on the sheep might describe it better.
Tons of nicks as well.

I told the guy, Kris n Billy, you better shear them cleanly!!!
23ish sheep were clearly too much for him. He even said he doesn't make a living off shearing. . . . . :barnie

ohiogoatgirl · May 4, 2018

secuono said:
They are supposed to go over, so the sheep is evenly shorn. The issue I have is when there is excessive second cuts, chunks missed and so much fiber butchered from 2.5in to half inch or a little more.
3rd cuts left on the sheep might describe it better.
Tons of nicks as well.

I told the guy, Kris n Billy, you better shear them cleanly!!!
23ish sheep were clearly too much for him. He even said he doesn't make a living off shearing. . . . .

Well yeah, few people do make a living shearing. It is a tough job! This year I decided it was between me doing them or paying an arm and a leg to the one family that does them and still be unhappy with the outcome. And given all the complaints from them over the couple months before shearing dates from my sheep friends.... Yeah no I don't have time or money to mess with that. At least if I mess up it is on me AND I am getting more experience to do it better.

That said I am a helluva lot slower :gig

But the quality of the fleece I shear as a newbie I am happier with than what I would get paying someone, plus I'd still have to pay them per animal and travel fee.

The problem with shearers right now, in this area at least, is that only really two families do it as a decent business but they travel all over the country and the one mainly focuses on alpacas. And they changed dates on my friends multiple times per month in the couple months leading up to. Then still don't show up at the time they said. Then the farmers still want to wack em with a stick the whole time.
The only other option is finding someone who does it as a side job a couple times a year and will do a flock of like 10 sheep. But they aren't that good.. They don't care about the wool.. Some of them don't care about injuring the animal and get chased off the farm.. It is just a mess all around.

secuono · May 4, 2018

He meant it means nothing to him. Not his actual job, his life won't get worse because of it, so he didn't care if he did a crap job.
He was here, shearing time, 6.5 hours.....

secuono · May 6, 2018

Lucia had a ram by Sebastian!
Named him Pilaf.

secuono · May 6, 2018

Eloise was marked by Kris on Dec 28th, she's last to lamb.
I see zero evidence that Matilda is bred, but technically possible.

RoahT · May 7, 2018

Congrats on Sebastian! He's adorable!

secuono · May 7, 2018

If paperwork have returned, I'll be picking up the ewe trio this Thursday or Friday!

Zeno & Goku will be going home Saturday!

62 Tien & 64 Goku feel like they have real nice wool!