Caption Needed

I took this picture at the Weald and Downland Museum Rare Breed Show. Instead of traditional hay nets the sheep had these things that look like shopping bags. This picture demands a caption but can I think of one? Maybe you can help. Can you suggest a caption?

Shearing Gerbils at Townings Farm

Saturday I had a new experience: shearing gerbils. It was the Vintage Harvest Fair at Townings Farm, East Sussex. Townings is a family run farm specialising in traditional breeds. They raise Longhorn and Sussex cattle, Saddleback pigs and Hebridean sheep. 

At the Vintage Harvest Fair, the public can meet the animals, see vintage farm machinery in action, browse the craft stands and watch sheep shearing. That's where I came in. This was only my second public shearing demo, a scary proposition in itself. 

Being September, the adult sheep had all been shorn. However September is the traditional time for lamb shearing. So I in my enthusiasm had agreed to shear Hebridean lambs in public. Hebrideans are small primitive sheep. They have all their wild instincts intact and they have as many as four horns. 

I don't have much lamb shearing experience so I went along in the week to practice. I may as well have been shearing gerbils, or ferrets as one helpful onlooker suggested. Trying to hold the lambs was like trying to grip a bar of soap in the bath. You can grip an adult sheep with your knees and thighs. The lambs didn't reach my knees so I found myself bent into all sorts of contortions trying to hold the lambs with my lower legs while bending down enough to shear them.

This was shearing in miniature. When I was going round the fiddly bits between the hind legs I really wanted to switch to a nasal hair trimmer. The handpiece felt far too big for the lambs' dainty contours. Not only were they tiny, they also wriggled and squirmed and stabbed me in the legs with their horns. 

Weird things happened. On the long blows, when the sheep is lying on its side, you tuck your left foot under the shoulder. I did this and several times I ran into my toes with the handpiece. This never happens shearing adult sheep because unless you are a clown the sheep is a lot bigger than your feet. 

On the long blows

The lambs seemed to be able to get their toes on the floor or push against my legs however I tried to hold them. I think their legs are longer in proportion to their body than those of an adult sheep so when held in the same way as an adult the lamb can get its feet on the floor and escape.

This position isn't in the manual

Or maybe I'm just making excuses for poor technique? I do know I need to get more practice shearing gerbils, sorry - lambs.

Stepping Up the Neck

I've had a bit of a break from shearing. The weather has played havoc with bookings since you can't shear wet sheep, also I've been busy dyeing for Fibre East and working on the new website. Still, I managed to sneak away at the weekend and shear a few sheep. 

I was a bit worried I would have forgotten how to do it. Or that my fitness levels would have dropped. I'm sure my fitness levels have dropped but not as much as I feared. Despite the initial trepidation, I decided the best thing to do was just get stuck in. 

Working with another shearer out of a pen I had the luxury of choosing which sheep to shear. It is always a debate, do I choose the smaller ones which weigh less but are either more wriggly or older and bonier or the big fat ones which are easier to shear but so heavy? 

Fat or chunky sheep are all smooth curves and well filled firm flesh with large flat surface areas for the handpiece. Small sheep are more fiddly, there's less room for the handpiece, especially around the crutch area. Skinny sheep are all lumps and bumps. It's like shaving your legs, which is easier, running the razor over firm curved calf muscle or struggling with all the different planes and loose skin on your knees? Shearing skinny sheep is just like shaving a whole lot of knees.

I went for the smaller sheep. More fiddling, less weight. When a sheep which weighs at least as much as I do pushes back into my legs it is hard not to fall over, I have to stop shearing to get my balance back and regain control. Big and fat may be easier to shear but not when you are lying on your back with the sheep stood on top of you.

Currently I am working on getting to grips with one particular stage of shearing. It is when you step up the neck. This is a really hard manoeuvre. When you've finished the belly and first hind leg you take a big step with your left foot followed by a smaller step with your right foot at the same time switching the sheep from resting on her right hip to resting on her left hip. 

I remember when I was first learning the instructor put a bit of wool on the board and said: 'That's where your left foot needs to be.' The distance looked impossible. I had enough trouble holding the sheep with both feet on the floor. Ask me to stand on one foot and at the same time roll 80kg of wriggling muscle between my legs one handed while the other hand holds a running handpiece? You've got to be joking. 

These pictures, taken at the South of England Show, show just before and after stepping up the neck:

 

I fell over a lot at this stage, or hung onto the front of the pen for dear life. I found it impossible to keep my balance and keep hold of the sheep. Eventually I managed the manoeuvre without falling over, hanging onto other people or losing the sheep. But for a long time I've been switching off the shearing machine and putting down the handpiece at this point. It seemed safer than either poking myself in the face or cutting the sheep's ears. 

However, when the handpiece is on the floor it can be kicked by the sheep. Once a sheep kicked my handpiece and I couldn't see where it had gone until another the next shearer along found my handpiece tangled up in his sheep's fleece. Fortunately the flying handpiece hadn't hurt anyone and wasn't damaged.

So I am trying to get the hang of stepping up the neck while holding onto the handpiece and rolling the sheep one handed. The sheep always puts her penny's worth in by having a good wriggle. A few times at the weekend the sheep got on her feet as I tried to settle her into the new position. This is nasty as it means the sheep is on her feet with me straddling her. To get her back on her bottom I've got to unstraddle the sheep. Yep, once again I'm trying to stand on one foot, control a sheep one handed and deal with the running handpiece with the other hand. Still, with practice I am getting better. Shearing sheep is not easy. But the sense of achievement when another shorn sheep trots way is well worth the effort.

Wearing the Red Vest

Remember I was disappointed when I qualified to shear at Plumpton College Open Day then the event was cancelled? Well, I finally got to wear the red vest. I was part of the Plumpton College Shearing Team at the South of England Show (yes I know, the show was 7-9th June - I'm a bit behind!) It's a milestone in my journey to learn how to shear sheep.

The Plumpton College Shearing Team - thanks to Plumpton College for the picture

I had mixed feelings about shearing in public. There's always the worry something will go wrong, like falling over or letting your sheep escape. Then it's a male dominated world. I think a lot of people assume I'm there to roll wool and sweep the floor. Every time I opened the pen gate I sensed surprise behind me. That girl is going to shear a sheep!

I sheared every day of the show, shearing 18 sheep across the three days. The sheep were all very similar, lovely Suffolk Mule tegs. I really felt like I was improving and I think it helped that the sheep were consistent. When every sheep you pull out of the pen is different it can almost feel like starting again. Each sheep was a similar weight, size and shape and the fleeces combed through beautifully.

I can tell from the time stamps on the photos I was taking about 8 minutes to shear one sheep. That is slow but the important thing is to get the pattern and foot work right. Speed can come later. I've got to grips with the basics of shearing but there is so much detail to learn. For example the answer to the question why is the sheep struggling may be, you need to move your right toes two inches to the left. It's that precise.

Icelandic Sheep

As promised, the pictures of the Icelandic sheep, I thought I'd post these separately.

 
Have you ever spun or knitted wool from Icelandic sheep?

Meet Oliver

I promised to tell you about Oliver. Oliver is a rather special lamb. He is an orphan and just like his namesake he is always bleating for more. Even though he is bottle fed, he chases the ewes around and tries to sneak a drink from other lambs' mothers. 

Oliver came over to watch the shearing. When one of the ewes was sat up to be sheared he saw her bulging udder and two pink teats waving at him. Oliver could not resist. He latched on and helped himself. 

Shearing had to wait while Oliver filled his belly. Fortunately, the ewe didn't seem to mind.

Ice Badgers

I met some very unusual sheep this weekend. Ice Badgers. Baby Ice Badgers to be exact. Want to see one?

Aren't they adorable? They are a very unusual cross. They only exist because some naughty ewes decided they fancied a bit of fun and jumped into the ram's field. The ewes are Icelandic sheep, the ram is a Badger Face Welsh Mountain. 

In the picture above, the lamb on the left is a pure bred Badger Face and the one on the right is an Ice Badger. Can you see the Ice Badger already has tiny horns? It is unusual to find Icelandic sheep outside of Iceland. Icelandics are beautiful sheep, they remind me of Arab horses, they have dished faces and huge eyes. In the top picture above you can the Ice Badger lamb has a dished face.

This is a pure bred Icelandic ewe:

Isn't she gorgeous!

Later in the week I'll show you some more pictures of the Icelandics and tell you about Oliver, the cheeky Badger Face Welsh Mountain lamb I met.

Maybe I Should Eat More Spinach

You want our wool?

Meet the lovely ladies I've been shearing today. They are Suffolk Mules, which means Dad was a Suffolk and Mum was a North of England Mule. They are about a year old so this is their first time being shorn. A very confusing  experience I should imagine.

Yesterday was the first day of the shearing season for me. I have set myself the goal of shearing at Plumpton College Open Day on 12 May. In order to shear as part of the public demonstration I need to prove I'm good enough. The last couple of days have been training in preparation for Open Day. 

Due to other commitments I could only do part of each day. But I sheared three sheep yesterday and three today. Six in two days isn't much, a professional shearer would expect to do between 200 and 400 a day. Only another 197 to go! Still, I'm just glad to ease myself back into to what is an extremely demanding activity. 

Where did my fleece go?

Today I was told I have made the grade and will be permitted to shear on Open Day. This means I will get to wear the special red shearing vest printed up with 'Plumpton College Shearing Team'. It feels like I've reached a milestone. But there's still a long way to go.

 

I am stronger now than when I first started trying to learn to shear but I still need to acquire a lot more strength and stamina. I guess I'm going to be on a diet of spinach for the next three months!

Golden Shears Sheep Shearing Competition

Right now the world's most prestigious sheep shearing competition is under way in New Zealand.  This is The Golden Shears World Championship at Masterton.  The competition is being streamed live over the internet. I highly recommend you have a peak over the next few hours. The event finishes Saturday night New Zealand time. Don't miss it! If you've never watched a sheep shearing competition before it is a real adrenalin rush, the commentators do a fantastic job, they make you feel like you're watching a horse race and they are very funny.

I have just seen the Senior Final. I was delighted to see a lady shearer in the final, Teatakura Crawford, she sheared 12 sheep in 15 minutes 45 seconds. To be in the Senior Final she must have beaten a lot of very good male shearers. It is inspiring to see a lady shearing at this level. 

You can find the full programme of classes here. To watch the competition live go to the Golden Shears website. Look out for David Fagan, a legend in the world of sheep shearing.

Have fun watching and let me know what you think!

Southdowns in the Snow

 

It's Friday again, where did the week go? I promised lamb pictures and I have got some rather sooner than expected (there will be more as spring arrives). I can't do better for today's Favourite Thing on a Friday link up than to share my pictures with you. I encountered these adorable Southdowns the other day. Southdowns have the cutest faces. Look at the sheep in the background in the picture above, she knows I'm a stranger and she is curious about me. At the same time she's too nervous to approach so she's hiding behind her more confident friend.

I love the way sheep put their heads on one side when they look at you. It so clearly says, 'Hello, who are you? Have you brought me any food?'

Outside in the snow I found these Southdown lambs and their mums. The lamb on the left of the picture below has just got up and is having a big stretch, that's why he looks to be in an odd position.

Apologies for the angle with this photo: the lamb is busy at the milk bar with no thought for modesty!

 

I will have some better lamb pictures a bit later in the year. Now do go and see what everyone else has chosen as their Favourite Thing on a Friday!