How Sheep Shear Themselves in the Wild?

How Do Sheep Survive in the Wild

How did sheep survive in the wild? In Nature Sheep Molt twice a year to shed their wool naturally. They do not grow in size that has detrimental effects on the health status of sheep. The breed included in this category is “wild Dall sheep.” They do not need any help. They grow just enough wool to protect themselves from the cold in winter and keep them cool. When it is time, they will shed their winter coat all by themselves.

In the wild, some breeds naturally shed their wools and survived themselves. Their breeds are classified as follows;

• Must shear sheep breeds
• Natural shearer breeds
• Breeds missing wool

How do Sheep Shear Themselves in the Wild / Types of Sheep

• Wild Sheep – Bighorn – Mountain
• Domestic Sheep – Meat and Milk Sheep
• Wool Sheep

Based on the shearing process in sheep, they are categorized based on their wool growth. Sheep used to be reared for meat and milk, but later on, they were bred to enhance the production of wool.

Must Shear Sheep Breeds

Why do sheep need to be sheared – Some breeds need to be shorn every year; otherwise, they will grow their wool continuously. The wool may grow in size that is two or three times the original body size of the sheep.

The survival of sheep without manual shearing mainly depends upon the type of breed of the sheep. Some breeds are selectively bred to raise the sheep with heavy coats that are normally not shed, and they keep themselves growing. They need to be shorn regularly. You will find a sheep three times the size of its original one. The breed included is “Merino.”

These have been selectively bred for thick heavy coats. About 30% of wool used worldwide comes from Australia, where the most commonly raised sheep, Merino. Their coats are so thick that some die of heat exhaustion during hot months. Unlike wild sheep, merinos cannot shed their fleece.

Breeds Missing Wool

What do wild sheep do about their wool – While some sheep do not have wool at all; rather, they have hair on their body. And these breeds shed their hair seasonally. There is no concept of sharing in these types of breeds. They constantly replace their hair with new ones with each changing season.

Mulesing

When domesticated sheep cannot shed their fleece themselves, their wool will grow longer while flies lay eggs in their skin’s moist folds. The hatched larvae can eat the sheep alive.

To prevent this from happening, ranchers will perform an operation called mulesing. Without anesthesia, large strips of flesh are cut off the backs of lambs and around their tails.

While considering the natural shearing method of sheep, some terms must be understood.

Shearing Domestic Sheep

Shearing is the process in which the woolen fleece of sheep is cut off.

Shearer

The person removing the wool of sheep is called a shearer.

Shearing of Sheep

Typically, each adult sheep is shorn once each year. The annual shearing of sheep most often occurs in the shearing shed, a facility specially designed to process often hundreds and sometimes three thousand sheep per day.

Selectively Bred, Sheep are shorn in all seasons, depending on the climate, management requirements, and wool classer and shearers’ availability. Ewes are normally shorn before lambing in the warmer months, but consideration is typically made about the welfare of lambs by not shearing during cold climate winters.

However, in high region countries, pre lamb shearing encourages ewes to seek shelter among the hillsides, so that newborn lambs are not completely exposed to the elements. Shorn sheep tolerate frosts well, but young sheep especially will suffer in cold and wet windy weather.

In this event, they are shed every year until the weather clears. Some sheep may also be shorn with stud combs commonly known as cover combs, which leave more wool on the animal in colder months, giving greater protection.

Sheep shearing is considered a sport all over the world with competitions held around. The competitions are usually held between spring and summer.

Modern Shearing

The large flocks of sheep are mustered, inspected, and possibly treated for parasites such as lice before shearing can start. Then they are shorn by professional shearing teams working eight hours a day, by machine shearing.

These contract teams comprise shearers, shed hands, and a cook. Industry awards regulate Their working hours and wages. A working day starts at 7:30 and the day is divided into four runs of two hours each. “Smoko” breaks are a half-hour each, and a lunch break is taken n at midday for one hour.

Most shearers are paid on piece rate per sheep. Shearers, who “tally” more than 200 sheep per day, are called” gun shearers.” Typical mass shearing of sheep today follows a well-defined workflow

• Remove the wool
• Throw the fleece on to the wool table
• Skirt, roll, and class the fleece
• Place it in the appropriate wool bin
• Press and store the wool bin until it is transported.

Wool Removal

A sheep is caught by the shearer, from the catching pen, and taken to his stand on the shearing board. It is shorn using a mechanical handpiece. The wool is removed by following an efficient set of movements. Sheep struggle less using the tally-hi method, reducing strain on the shearer, and there is a saving of about 30 seconds in shearing each one.

The shearer begins by removing belly wool, separated from the main wool by a rouseabout, while the sheep are still being shorn. A professional or gun shearer typically removes a fleece, without significantly marking or cutting the sheep, in two to three minutes, depending on the size and shape of the sheep. It is less than two minutes in competitive sheep shearing.

The shorn sheep is released and removed from the board via a chute in the floor or the wall to an exterior counting out a pen.

See Our Extensive Guide – 16 Ways to Make Money Sheep Farming

A Non-Mechanical Method of Sheep Shearing

This modern sheep method is not involving manual power and is also concerned with an injection. Only an injection of protein is being injected that creates a natural break in the wool fibers. After fitting a retaining net to enclose the wool, sheep are injected with protein. When the net is removed after a week, the fleece has separated and is removed by hand. In some breeds, a similar process occurs naturally.

Fleece Skirting

Once the entire fleece has been removed from the sheep, the fleece is thrown, clean side down, on to a wool table by a shed hand. The wool tabletop consists of slats spaced approximately 12cm apart.

This enables short pieces of wool, the locks, and the debris, to gather beneath the table separately from the fleece. The fleece is then skirted by one or more wool rollers to remove the sweat ribs and other less desirable parts of the fleece.

The removed pieces largely consist of shorter seeded, burry or dusty wool, etc. which is still useful in the industry. As such, they are placed in separate containers and sold along with the fleece wool. Other items removed from the fleece on the table, such as feces, skin fragments, twigs, and leaves, are discarded a short distance from the wool table not to contaminate the wool and the fleece.

Following the fleece skirting, it is folded, rolled, and examined for its quality in a process known as wool classing, which is performed by a registered and qualified wool classer. Based on its type, the fleece is placed into the appropriate wool bin ready to be pressed when there is sufficient wool to make a wool bale.

Roofing / Plucking Wool By Hand

In some primitive sheep, there is a natural break in the growth of wool in spring. By late spring, this causes the fleece to begin to peel away from the body, and it may be then plucked by hand without cutting- this is known as roofing. Individual sheep may reach this stage at slightly different times.

Problems Related to Shearing

Shearing the sheep brings us the wool, but there may be problems concerned with the shearing of sheep. It is a gentle process and must be performed humanely.

After the removal of the sheep’s wool, the sheep’s body coat is reduced, and it must be performed in the summer season so that sheep can survive and live without a coat of wool. Following are the problems that may expectedly arise during the shearing of the sheep

• Wrong time of shearing
• Rough handling

Wrong Time of Shearing

Sheep are sheared in the spring, just before they would naturally shed their wool coats. Because shearing too late would mean a loss of wool, most sheep are sheared while it is still too cold. An estimated one million sheep die every year of exposure after premature shearing.

Rough Handling of Sheep

Another problem with modern sheep shearing is that the shearers are not paid by the hour, but by the volume. They handle the animals very roughly, and a lot of sheep get injured.

The injuries may do more harm than good. Getting wool from the sheep is possible when the sheep are alive and healthier. So humane and gentle handling of sheep must be carried to ensure the constant production of wool.

Shearing Devices

Whatever device is used, shearers must be careful to keep it clean to prevent the spread of disease amongst a flock.

Blade shearing has recently made a resurgence in Australia and the UK but mostly for sport rather than commercial shearing. Some competitions have attracted almost thirty competitors, and there have ever been shows created just for blade shearers to compete in.

Blade Shearers / No Electricity

Blade shears consist of two blades arranged similar to scissors except that the hinge is at the end farthest from the point. The cutting edges pass each other as the shearer squeezes them together and shear the wool close to the animal skin.

Blade shears are still used today but in a more limited way. Blade shears leave some wool on a sheep, and this is more suitable for cold climates such as Canterbury high country in the South Island of New Zealand, where approximately half a million sheep are still shorn with blade shears each year.

For those areas where no powered machinery is available, blade shears are the only option. Blade shears are more commonly used to shear stud rams.

Machine Shears

Machine shears, known as handpieces, operate similarly to human hair clippers in that power-driven toothed blade, known as a cutter, is driven back and forth over the surface of a comb and the wool is cut from the animal.

The original machine shears were powered by a fixed hand crank linked to the handpiece by a shaft with only two universal joints, which afforded a very limited range of motion. Later models have more joints to allow easier positioning of the handpiece on the animal. Electric motors on each stand have generally replaced overhead gear for driving the handpieces.

The jointed arm is replaced in many instances with a flexible shaft. Smaller motors allowed the production of shears in which the motor is in the handpiece. Professional shearers do not generally use these as the weight of the motor, and the heat generated by it becomes bothersome with continued use.

Holding Pens

When the wool production of sheep declines, they are sold for slaughter. Millions of lambs and sheep are exported for slaughter each year.

Sheep Farming for Wool Profitability Table

Sheep	Lambs / 3 Per Yr	Space Required 20 Sq Feet - Each	Grazing Acres .3 / Sheep	Feed Required / Yr $100	15 Lbs Wool / Year	Average Price $ 10 / LB Wool	Total Revenue Possible
1	3	60 sq ft	.9 acres	$ 300	45 lbs	$ 450	$ 150
2	6	120 sq ft	1.80 acres	$ 600	90 lbs	$ 900	$ 300
5	15	300 sq ft	4.5 acres	$ 1,500	225 lbs	$ 2,250	$ 750
10	30	600 sq ft	9 acres	$ 3,000	450 lbs	$ 4,500	$ 1,500
20	60	1200 sq ft	18 acres	$ 6,000	900 lbs	$ 9,000	$ 3,000
30	90	2,700 sq ft	27 acres	$ 9,000	1,350 lbs	$ 13,500	$ 4,500
40	120	4800 sq ft	36 acres	$ 12,000	1,800 lbs	$ 18,000	$ 6,000
50	150	3,000 sq ft	45 acres	$ 15,000	2,250 lbs	$ 22,500	$ 7,500
100	300	6,000 sq ft	90 acres	$ 30,000	4,500 lbs	$ 45,000	$ 15,000
200	600	12,000 sq ft	180 acres	$ 60,000	9,000 lbs	$ 90,000	$ 30,000

Sheep can give Birth 6+ lambs every Two Years
Sheep can Produce 2 - 30 lbs of wool per year depending on Breed
Raw washed Wool Runs $ 6 - $ 14 using average $ 10
Feed 5 Months Buying Hay $ 100 rest Grazing
Please Check my Numbers

Sheep Farming for Milk Profitability Table

Sheep	Lambs / 3 Per Yr	Space Required 20 Sq Feet - Each	Grazing Acres .3 / Sheep	Feed Required / Yr $100	Wool $ 15 lb / Year	Average Price $ 10 / LB Wool	90 Gallon/ Yr each ewe	Price $ 30 per Gallon	Total Wool Revenue Possible	Total Revenue Milk and Wool
1	3	60 sq ft	.9 acres	$ 300	45 lbs	$ 450	270	8100	$ 150	8,250
2	6	120 sq ft	1.80 acres	$ 600	90 lbs	$ 900	540	16,200	$ 300	16,500
5	15	300 sq ft	4.5 acres	$ 1,500	225 lbs	$ 2,250	1350	40,500	$ 750	41,250
10	30	600 sq ft	9 acres	$ 3,000	450 lbs	$ 4,500	2700	81,000	$ 1,500	82,500
20	60	1200 sq ft	18 acres	$ 6,000	900 lbs	$ 9,000	5400	162,000	$ 3,000	165,000
30	90	2,700 sq ft	27 acres	$ 9,000	1,350 lbs	$ 13,500	8100	243,000	$ 4,500	247,500
40	120	4800 sq ft	36 acres	$ 12,000	1,800 lbs	$ 18,000	10,800	324,000	$ 6,000	330,000
50	150	3,000 sq ft	45 acres	$ 15,000	2,250 lbs	$ 22,500	13,500	405,000	$ 7,500	412,500
100	300	6,000 sq ft	90 acres	$ 30,000	4,500 lbs	$ 45,000	27,000	810,000	$ 15,000	825,000
200	600	12,000 sq ft	180 acres	$ 60,000	9,000 lbs	$ 90,000	54,000	1,620,000	$ 30,000	1,650,000

Sheep can give Birth 6+ lambs every Two Years
Sheep can Produce 1/2 Gallon Milk per day / 180 Day Lactation
Raw Sheep Milk $9 - $25 per Quart - Used $ 30 per Gallon for Table
Feed 5 Months Buying Hay $ 100 rest Grazing
Please Check my Numbers

18 Breeds of Hair Sheep FAQ Table

Hair Breeds of Sheep	Country Origin	Purpose of Breed	Use	Ewe Weight
Katahdins	Caribbean / Maine / Africa	To Graze Power lines / instead of Chemicals	Meat	120 - 160 lbs
Dorper	South Africa	Thrive in Africa / Hot Climate	Meat / Fast Growing	230 LBs
Blackbelly	America	Hot Climates	Meat	150 LBs
St. Croix	Carribean	Came on Ships for Meat for sailors	Meat	150 lbs
Romanovs	Russia	Primarily for Meat	Meat Wool - Double Coated	110 lbs
Blackhead Persian	Africa / Somaila	Bred for High Quanity of Fat	Meat	120 lbs
West African Dwarf	South / Central Africa		Meat	55 lbs
Red Maasi	East Africa	Bred for Hardiness and parasite Resistance	Meat	77 Lbs
Wiltshire Horn	England	Do not suffer from Flystrike	Meat	149 lbs
Royal White	United States / Texas	Bred for Tender Meat and Disease Resistants	Meat	175 lbs
California Red		Not completely Hair sheep/ Combination of both/ Prod 2 lambs Yr	Meat	140 lbs
Damara	Egypt	Vigorous with fast growing / in extreme conditions	Meat	110 lbs
Pelibuey	Cuba / Mexico	Tropical Sheep	Meat	75 lbs
Africana	Columbia / Venezula		Meat	110 lbs
Morada	Brazil	Survive Scrub	Meat	66 lbs
Brazillian Somaila	South Africa / Somali		Meat
Uda	Africa	Long Legged Sheep	Meat	88 lbs
Touabire	Africa		Dairy / Meat	77 lbs

Breeds - Origin - Purpose - Weight

Minature Breeds of Sheep

Breed	Height	Weight / Full Grown	Food Per Day	Lifespan	Wool / Hair Sheep	Cost
Quessant Sheep	!8"	28 - 30 Lbs	1/2 - 1lb	10 - 12 Yrs	Wool	$ 350 - 450
Baby Doll Southdown	18"	75 lbs	2 - 3 Lbs	10 - 12 Yrs	Wool	$ 350 -450
Southdown Sheep	18" - 24"	130 lbs	6 - 6 lbs	10 - 12 Yrs	Wool	$ 180 - $ 600
Cheviot Sheep	20"	130 Lbs	6 - 6 lbs	10 - 12 Yrs	Wool	$ 180 - $ 600
Border Cheviot	20"	130 lbs	6 - 6 lbs	10 - 12 Yrs	Wool	$ 180 - $ 600
Shetland Sheep	24"	75 - 100 lbs	6 - 6 lbs	10 - 12 Yrs	Wool	$ 50 - $100
Navajo - Churro	20"	110 lbs	6 - 6 lbs	10 - 12 Yrs	Wool	$ 200

Breed of Sheep and Physical Charistics
Amount of Food they Need
Lifespan
Wool - They Need to be Sheared Hair Sheep - Do not Grow Woll but shed Hair once a year
Pricing Depend whether you just want Sheep Or you want to Breed

Toxic Plants for Sheep Pastures

Toxic / Poisonous Plant	Symptoms / Characteristics
Garden Iris	Roots and stems
Holly	Berries - Diarrhea - vomiting - stupor
Morning Glory	hallucinogenic seeds
Rhubarb	Leaves - Convulsions and Death
Wild Cherry	Wilted Leaves have Cynaide - Convolusions, Rolling Eyes, Tongue hanging, animal dies within hours
Yew	Needle Like Shrub - vomiting, convulsions, animals Rarely survive this poisoning
Oaks	Acorns, young trees - anorexia, constipation diahreah thirst gastro problems
Mountain Laurel	Same symptoms of Poiaoning. Vomiting, Diahreah, salivation - Usually fall into Coma and then Death
Rhododendron	Same symptoms of Poiaoning. Vomiting, Diahreah, salivation - Usually fall into Coma and then Death
Azalea	Same symptoms of Poiaoning. Vomiting, Diahreah, salivation - Usually fall into Coma and then Death

List of Poisonous / Toxic Plants
many of these are found around Fence Rows
Fields Should be Checked

Sheep Associations 10 Breeds of Sheep

Breeds of Sheep	Country Origin	Purpose of Breed	Use	Ewe Weight	Association For Info
Suffolk Sheep	Britian / Suffolk	Fast Growing	Meat	250 - 350 Lbs	United Suffolk Sheep Association
Merino Sheep	Spain	Softest Wool	Wool	100 - 200 Lbs	American and Delane Merino Sheep Association
Hampshire	Britain	Best Tasting Mutton	Wool / Meat	200 Lbs	American Hampshire Sheep Association
Romney	England / Romney Marsh	Disease Resistance	Wool / Meat	225 - 275 Lbs	American Romney Breeders Association
Lincoln Sheep	England	Produce Longest Fleece In World	Wool	250 - 350 Lbs	National Lincoln Sheep Breeders Association
Dorper Sheep	South African	Fast Growing Meat	Meat	230 Lbs	American Droper Sheep association
Turcana Sheep	Romainia	Adapted Alpine Pasture	Wool / Milk / Meat	175 - 200 Lbs	?
Rambouilette Sheep	France	Strong / Hearty / All Climates	Wool / Meat	300 Lbs	American Rambouilette Sheep Breeders Association
Leicester Longwool	United Kingdom	Fast growing / Good Fleece	Wool	200 Lbs	Leicester Longwool Sheep Breeders Association

Breeds - Origin - Purpose - Weight