Our sheep are getting a new "do" for summer
/The sheep are getting sheared and we’re all just a little bit jealous!
While the rest of us may have to endure really bad COVID hair for just a bit longer, the sheep at HEEFS have been busy scheduling their annual May shearing appointments with caregivers, Andrea, Alison, Cheri, Jen and Nicole. For those of you who missed it or would like a reminder of what sheep shearing at HEEFS looks like, here is our sheep shearing article from 2020 with a few updates included!
Every year, around the end of May or early June, the sheep at HEEFS get their annual shearing. This year we sheared our sheep on May 20th. This timing was perfect to ensure that each of our sheep residents would be cool and comfortable for the hot summer months ahead, while also allowing enough time for them to grow their wooly coats back in before the colder weather returns.
8 sheep = 64 pounds of wool
On average, we shear 64 pounds of wool from our eight resident sheep. The amount of wool on each resident varies by their age and specific breed. Farmed sheep are bred to continuously grow wool, unlike sheep in the wild who will naturally shed their coats every spring. Without shearing, our sheep would overheat in the summer and suffer potential health concerns.
The process
Sheep shearing day for our residents begins with each sheep receiving a full health exam. This includes recording their weight, cleaning their eyes, ears and bottoms, plus they get a complete body check and their hooves get trimmed, if needed. (Our sheep get regular hoof trimming every 3 weeks.) Once this is done, we start the shearing process.
In previous years, we had a team of dog groomers come out to help with the shearing but this year, for the first time, we will be managing the process entirely by ourselves under the very capable, and well-trained, hands of our caregiver team.
It takes an average of one hour to shear each sheep resident. Using electric clippers for most of the wool, and hand shears for our sheep’s more “delicate” areas, we work as quickly, gently and thoroughly as we can to ensure a comfortable experience for all.
We get asked a lot…
What do we do with all that wool? After the wool is removed, we place some of it around the wooded areas of HEEFS for wildlife to use as nesting material and the rest gets composted.
Watch our sheep get sheared!
https://www.facebook.com/710897528959597/videos/789786388573420
