[Jacob-list] Sheep shearing question......

[Joe & Betsy Guarino]

sounds like good advice, but apparently, it is reeeeealy hard to find a
shearer willing to come out and do my three ewes...I'm about to cave in and
do it myself, as it is hot now, and I want the girls to have time to get
their winter wool in nice and full for the cold season.
Where can I find a guy/gal in the Northern Virginia area (south Warren
County) to do the job?  I've tried the extension agent, putting ads in local
papers, asking at the feed store, asking other shepherds, everything....
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Neal and Louise Grose" <nlgrose at yadtel.net>
To: <jacob-list at jacobsheep.com>
Sent: Sunday, August 01, 2004 4:55 PM
Subject: Re: [Jacob-list] Sheep shearing question......


> Reply A: If you have a limited number of sheep, then it is perfectly
> reasonable to shear them yourself, even if it takes you a week to work
> through them. Find a professional that is good, and doesn't leave a lot of
> seconds and stuff, and hire her/him to train you. It is a very useful
skill
> to have even if you hire most of your animals shorn professionally. If you
> need to; because of their open fleece, you can even shear Jacob Sheep with
a
> cattle head to start with to eliminate the cutting of the sheep that is
> inevitable with inexperienced shearers.
>
> Reply B: Don't even think about it, especially if you are going to have a
> "shearing day" when hand-spinners come in to shop for fleeces. You will
need
> to spend your time at such an event correctly skirting and sorting fleeces
> and dealing with customers.
>
> Reply C: Don't even think about it. It is a good idea to have a knowledge
of
> shearing in order to shear in emergencies, but it is not worth risking
your
> back and ruining fleeces and man-handling of sheep. Inexperienced shearers
> WILL mishandle sheep....just taking 30 minutes to shear one rather than
the
> 5 minutes a good shearer takes is a significantly greater strain on the
> animals. Besides, our shearers need the jobs, and they can not stay in
> business if no one hires them.
>
> Neal Grose
> North Carolina
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Christopher Brantley" <brantleychristopher at hotmail.com>
> To: <jacob-list at jacobsheep.com>
> Sent: Sunday, August 01, 2004 1:13 PM
> Subject: [Jacob-list] Sheep shearing question......
>
>
> Ok guys.... you are a fountain of knowledge and great at sharing it with
me
> and everyone else. I continue to appreciate that and your persistent
> patience with me as I learn more and more through your generosity.
>
> I'm looking at the spring and shearing season coming up. I was wondering
how
> many folks hire out the task of shearing their sheep and if it's worth the
> cost. Or, is it too much trouble for most sheperds to do themselves.
>
>
> The other twist to my shearing will be that (maybe not this year, but in
the
> future) turned into an event. We'll probably market it as a weekend event
at
> our Bed and Breakfast so folks can see where wool comes from... So getting
> it right is important around here.
>
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