to shear or not to shear

[manybirds]

we sheared our ewe this spring but it grew back in fast. its been being SO hot here. i read that the wool keeps heat out as well as cold but she seem so hot and misserable, all she does all day is lay in the barn and pant. should i reshear or would it just make it worse?

 

[RemudaOne]

I haven't posted a link before(so I hope this is the right way) but this is a great article regarding just that question.

http://www.sheepandgoat.com/articles/heatstress.html

 

[shawnfisher]

I shear my ewes 2x a year on most years... this year I do not think i will as it is too hot.

Most often, i shear at night while I have an hour or two to spare and can knock out 20 or so ewes.

The 2nd day when I come back to round them up with the dog, I always notice one thing-- the unshorn ewes will be out in the pasture grazing all day-- and the sheared ones will be laying under a tree panting...
-
We must all remember that not only does that wool work as an insulator in the winter- but also works as an insulator in the summer...

 

[secuono]

I shear late, could shear the belly/bottom half so when she lays, it's directly on the cold ground.

 

[TeamChaos]

I'm not an experienced sheep owner, but I have learned that it's not worth the stress on the animal or you if the temps are already extreme. I tried the rubbing alcohol trick mentioned in the article RemudaOne posted and it really did seem to help, in fact our ewe was happy to stand for me while I fiddled w/ the bottle.

 

[SheepGirl]

If your barn has straw, take it out...straw is really only good as bedding when it's cold because it gets too hot for sheep in the summer. Our deck (the 'barn' for my sheep temporarily) faces the north, so it's pretty cool back there, but they still like to lay on the dirt under the steps, which keeps them cool. (My ram who does not have access to the steps prefers to lay in the mud around the water bucket.) Today with the heat index, it felt like 110*F and my sheep weren't panting (they were sheared June 1 and have about 1/4" of wool now), but they also weren't breathing fast/hard enough to worry me.

I wouldn't shear your ewe...just make sure she has plenty of cool water and shade. You can give her a fan if there is not a breeze. Also I have found when it's hot that sheep will prefer to lay in the mud or dirt as opposed to grass or in a bed of straw.

 

[manybirds]

alright thanks for the advice, i won't shear again this year. I'll check her over and take vitals etc and worm her, just to make sure the panting and laying around arn't health caused. I'll try rubbing alcohol and maybe a bag of ice when it getts Really hot. I'll let you know how it turns out