Blog #43
Season Opener Complete!!
So …, Yesterday Dede and I headed out before the dawn for
the first shearing gig of the year and it went great from start to finish, with
only a few hiccups along the way. Dede
and I met some terrific folks with a beautiful, peaceful, lower-impact farm and
had a great visit while we sheared up three Southdown Babydoll yearlings.
Right before we pushed from the house, we texted the
owners about the dryness of the sheep due to the rain earlier in the week. They called right back and said the sheep
were in from the rain, but in the open-air barn they picked up some moisture
from the heavy fog overnight. They had the
sheep in a clean, dry shed with no food or water for 12 hours, so I was fairly
confident they’d flock together and be dried out before we got there, and sure
enough, they were beauties. Of course,
me being me, we stopped for lattes on the way out of town. Thankfully there was a coffeehouse with doors
open at 0600!
The drive took us south of Albany, and I was hoping for
some wildlife on the way, but no such luck.
I enjoy seeing nature while driving, but not in the roadway, so I
suppose not seeing any is better than seeing them in the headlights at full
speed. We saw a few cardinals, geese,
and hawks, but that was it. With the fog, any deer, turkeys, rabbits, or foxes
could have been just inside the tree line, and we wouldn’t see them anyway.
We pulled up to a fully mature pecan grove with the farmhouse
and barn set well back toward the natural spaces of the farm and backed up to
the barn. The owner and I spent a few
minutes with hands on the sheep and sure enough they were nearly dry, and it
was just after full daylight. We ID’d a
good location for shearing with good flow for the sheep, assembled the hammock
for hoof trimming and got to work.
Even though they’re yearlings and not a large breed,
Babydolls still have quite a bit of strength and power. We got a hold of the ram first, figuring he
would be the most work, but other than being slightly bigger than the ewes, he was
cake. Shearing a ram’s undercarriage
requires attention, since a single nick can relegate a ram to the ovine equivalent
of the glue factory, but he sat nice and still and was cleaned off and jet
black in a few minutes. It’s always cool
to see mocha-wooled sheep turn to glistening onyx in a few minutes. Once he was sheared up, we lifted him into the
hammock for a mani-pedi. Hoof shears and
a Hoof Boss ® make quick work of hooves, and the Hoof Boss allows such fine
control over opening up pockets! I don’t
think I want to do hooves without one anymore.
The second ewe started off much like the ram, but she was
a bit more squirmy. We got her tipped, I
started down the belly and into the crutch and I then proceeded to make my
major mistake of the day, which was losing awareness of where my left hand was
in relation to the shears in my right hand.
I’ve learned that I can hear and feel when the shears go through a sheep’s
skin, and it’s similar going through human skin. Of course, the nerve endings in my fingertips
also let me know I shouldn’t have done that.
Still having 1 and 7/8ths ewes to shear, I paused and asked Dede to find
the first aid kit for a Band-Aid and athletic tape, which she did. We taped up my finger, and I was back in
business, but with the lanolin already on my fingers, I knew I’d have to Band-Aid
it again. A few minutes later I paused
and the owner saw a little pool of blood on the sheep and Dede was great about
telling her “Don’t worry, the blood is from Mike, not the sheep.”
When God designed sheep, they weren’t the breeds we have
today, but they contained the materials that allowed modern sheep to be
developed, which includes lanolin. Sheep
are a smaller ruminant, which means they are closer to the ground; therefore,
they can get caught up on branches, stickers, wires, etc., not forgetting bites
from predators. If the wound isn’t too
deep the sheep will likely survive, but it’s still subject to infection. Blessedly, under the wool, their skin
releases lanolin, which has tremendous antibiotic and antiseptic qualities. A minor scrape or nick on a sheep will heal in
a matter of days if there is no additional trauma to the area. Lanolin does the same on human skin. The cut on my finger is deep enough that my
skin will have to regrow fingerprints when the flaps of skin drop off, but I’m
not too worried about infection, since the lanolin soaked through the athletic
tape and Band-Aid. Pair that with the amount
of blood that flowed out and the wound was fairly clean even before I washed up. If you have someone in your household who is
subject to cuts and scrapes, a can or tube of Bag Balm ® is a great idea. It’s purified lanolin and a few other
ingredients for use on cow udders in the events of scrapes, so it’s strong
enough to work in field environments but safe for use in other conditions, too.
You can find it in feed stores, veterinary supplies, and online. Even when used liberally a single tin will
last years. It’s for external use, but I’ve
used it in a pinch as lip balm, too. It
goes on just about every cut in our household.
Sheep
can seriously relax during shearing
After the third sheep was sheared and hooves trimmed, it
was time to pack up and visit for a few minutes. It was cool to learn the owners are
considering getting into cattle but want to spend some time working with
smaller ruminants first, which makes sense to me. It was also exciting to learn how the pecan
grove and farm are being re-vitalized through natural soil amendments, first
mob-stocking hogs and sheep to root out everything that’s not soil, then following
with poultry to even out the effluence while they scratch for worms and bugs. That
section is allowed to rest and the animals are moved further down the lane to the
next patch of forage, and the cycle is repeated. The grassy dividers among the rows
are lush, green, and blossom-filled where the animals have done their thing! Rotational grazing like this does wonders to
provide consistent feed for livestock while improving soil for plant life, and
also provides safe, contained areas for the farm animals with protection from
predators.
Mouthguards
and earplugs are a great set of safety measures
If anyone else is keeping track, this is the first breed
of the year, Southdown Babydoll sheep. Treehugger
has some general information about the breed, found here: https://www.treehugger.com/wooly-facts-darling-babydoll-sheep-4869738. Oklahoma State University has a tremendous webpage
dedicated to sheep breeds. Each breed has
it’s own page that’s good breed primer.
Take a look at: https://breeds.okstate.edu/sheep
C-Ya!
*** No animals were harmed in the making of this post.
Shearing is an important part of sheep farming for the wellbeing of the sheep.
***
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