How to Hand-Shear a Sheep

Hand shearing a sheep can be time consuming but yields more wool.

Back in the day, when electric shears were not available or where there was no electricity, hand shearing or blade shearing a sheep was the way to extract wool. This technique yields more wool than electric shears since it results in a closer cut. Shearing a sheep is not an easy skill. It must be done efficiently and safely so as not to stress the sheep. Cuts and abrasions to the sheep must be avoided during the shearing process. When hand shearing a sheep, you need a sharp shearing blade and a lot of patience.

Things You'll Need

• Sharp shearing blade

Instructions

1. Position the sheep so that it is in front of your two legs with its back against your knees and its head just under your waist. Remove discolored fibs and start from the bottom portion of the belly, sweeping upwards and across it. Be careful not to injure the belly's skin since it is relatively thin compared to the other body parts. Tighten your grip around the teats as you shear this area.

2. Hold the hind leg with one hand and shear the leg from the hoof up to the flank area. Cover the sides of the legs in succeeding blows. Do this to the other hind leg until you have both hind legs are sheared. Shear the topknot of the sheep by starting from its ears and horns down to its mouth. Do this in three strokes until you cover the entire top head section.

3. Cover the first shoulder with strokes similar to the ones you used on the hind legs. Start from the hoof and shear towards the shoulder area in three strokes, progressing towards the belly section as you go along. You can hold the front leg upwards to make the shearing motion easier to perform.

4. Lift the face of the sheep upwards, towards you and clear the side of its face. Do this on both sides of its face. Lay the sheep on one side, with its head now near your knees, instead of your waist. Cover the backbone by shearing from the tail end towards the back of the head until you clear all wool in this section.

5. Cover the neck area of the sheep by spreading apart its front legs and clearing the wool, starting from the lower neck area upwards to the base of its mouth. You may encounter some wrinkles especially in adult sheep in this area of the body. Cover the remaining areas of the body by laying the sheep flat on its back and shearing from the tail end towards its neck. Do this on both sides of the sheep.

References

• Ranching with Sheep: Sheep Shearing Tips
• Sheep 101: Shearing
• FAO: Harvesting of Textile Animal Fibers