Shearing Day | Foxfire Fiber & Designs

It all starts here . . .

Shearing day marks a new beginning at the farm each year. On the heels of winter, our shearer Andy Rice arrives in the morning, clippers ready to relieve the sheep of the heavy fleeces they’ve been wearing all year long. Ten to twelve pounds of wool covers the back of each animal and some can barely see through the wooly top knots that have grown down over their faces.

A seasoned crew arrives to help. The procession to the shearing barn is a bit like a parade, minus the floats, with our llama Crackerjack serving as Grand Marshall. Excited to be GOING SOMEWHERE, the flock follows closely behind.

Here’s a look at what happens next . . .

First, we de-frock the flock.

Next, the sheep spa pedicure.

The girls wait patiently. . .

for a new coif.

Only the wool grown under the blanket goes into the bag.

Leaving the shearing board with a svelte new silhouette, a ewe has instantly dropped one coat size.

Shearing now, with lambing just around the corner, makes sense for
several reasons. Newborn lambs have a much easier time navigating if
they don’t have to nose their way through a five
inch blanket of wool to find their first meal. Newly shorn ewes are
instinctively more
sensitive to barn temperature and protective of their little ones.
Since
lactation can sometimes cause a wool break, it’s best to shear before
the lambs arrive, which won’t be far from now. . . Stay tuned!