Winter shearing

sheepfarmer92

Anybody on here do it? Will have all the ewes housed at christmas here this year due to dropping expensive winter grazing, neighbour does it and reckons ewes are far healthier in shed without wool if housed for that lenght of time

davidk1394

sheepfarmer92 wrote: »

Anybody on here do it? Will have all the ewes housed at christmas here this year due to dropping expensive winter grazing, neighbour does it and reckons ewes are far healthier in shed without wool if housed for that lenght of time

Did it here a couple of times. Made the lambing a lot easier and the ewes thrive a lot better in the shed. Stopped doing it a few years as the ewes are out wintered. We shore the ewe lambs back in October and they look great now

charolais0153

davidk1394 wrote: »

Did it here a couple of times. Made the lambing a lot easier and the ewes thrive a lot better in the shed. Stopped doing it a few years as the ewes are out wintered. We shore the ewe lambs back in October and they look great now

Does it affect birth weights of lambs:D:D

davidk1394

charolais0153 wrote: »

Does it affect birth weights of lambs:D:D

We'll find out in spring haha

tomwaterford

It is the fear of prolapseing would cause me to be wary of it....as you'll be hard pushed to make up a restrainer harness on your own



Other that that reason....I would 100% do it tbh

roosky

tomwaterford wrote:

It is the fear of prolapseing would cause me to be wary of it....as you'll be hard pushed to make up a restrainer harness on your own

Couldnt you just bring a rope around her chest

stantheman1979

tomwaterford wrote: »

It is the fear of prolapseing would cause me to be wary of it....as you'll be hard pushed to make up a restrainer harness on your own



Other that that reason....I would 100% do it tbh

We shear here after scanning. Great job IMO. We use the harness for any with prolapse. When she lambs just wash it in hot water and detergent and youre good to go again. Works well.The plastic restrainer is a waste of time.

farawaygrass

Stupid question really-but if you winter shear do you have to shear again in the summer? Would they not be melting with the heat? And if you shore in December, would the sheep have enough wool cover for outside after lambing in march?

sheepfarmer92

farawaygrass wrote: »

Stupid question really-but if you winter shear do you have to shear again in the summer? Would they not be melting with the heat? And if you shore in December, would the sheep have enough wool cover for outside after lambing in march?

A few lads that are at it shear them twice, i think we will head that direction aswel just for easier managment, sheep need to have at least 8 weeks wool growth before turnout so shouldnt be a problem hopefully!

stantheman1979

farawaygrass wrote: »

Stupid question really-but if you winter shear do you have to shear again in the summer? Would they not be melting with the heat? And if you shore in December, would the sheep have enough wool cover for outside after lambing in march?

We only shear once a year 1st week of Feb. If its ok to let out young lambs then surely a ewe with 6 weeks wool is ok. It works well as i find if the ewe is cold shell bring her lambs with her into the shelter. Rather than grazing away in the cold with her lambs shivering.

Siamsa Sessions

Resurrecting this thread again after reading about winter shearing in the Journal this morning.

Does handling the ewe affect her pregnancy? That is, do some ewes abort after being caught and turned over when they’re getting sheared?

If we decide to shear, it’d be mid-January so about 8 weeks pre-lambing.

charolais0153

Siamsa Sessions wrote: »

Resurrecting this thread again after reading about winter shearing in the Journal this morning.

Does handling the ewe affect her pregnancy? That is, do some ewes abort after being caught and turned over when they’re getting sheared?

If we decide to shear, it’d be mid-January so about 8 weeks pre-lambing.

Cant imagine at that stage itd cause abortions but it must be a curse to shear them in cold weather. Wool must stick like a curse.

davidk1394

Siamsa Sessions wrote: »

Resurrecting this thread again after reading about winter shearing in the Journal this morning.

Does handling the ewe affect her pregnancy? That is, do some ewes abort after being caught and turned over when they’re getting sheared?

If we decide to shear, it’d be mid-January so about 8 weeks pre-lambing.

Just handle them gently where possible

charolais0153

Check this out on Agriland - Thinking of winter shearing your ewe flock? Here are some points to note https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/thinking-of-winter-shearing-your-ewe-flock-here-are-some-points-to-note/

ganmo

i always thought that rough handling contributed towards lambs coming backwards etc so a lot of patience might help a lot further down the line