Having had trouble finding sheep shearers for our small flock, we decided to do it ourselves. But, first, we thought some training might be a good idea.
So we signed up for the sheep shearing course run by the British Wool Marketing Board at Fernhill Farm.
We turned up on a freezing cold, wet May morning and shivered gently in a large barn full of sheep and other trainees. These ranged from young farmers with hundreds of sheep to older farmers with a smaller number of sheep and us.
It turned out to be two of the most physically demanding days I can remember. But also highly rewarding.
The key was to learn the moves so that the sheep is both comfortable and in the right position. Get it wrong and the sheep was off in a flash. And weighing in at around 80Kg, these sheep were pretty strong.
But we worked hard and managed to shear a few sheep, albeit with some help from the instructors. We plan to do another course and get our Blue Seal.
In the mean time, as soon as our shearing kit arrives, our 3 ladies will be shorn.
