Sheep Shearing at Cannon Hall Farm

This summer the live demonstrations are back.

Transcript

00:00 Hey everyone it's Farmer Dave from Cannon Hole Farm. Now it's a very important time of year,

00:03 it's shearing time. We have to get all the fleeces off every sheep so they're nice and

00:08 comfortable through the summer. So these are the clippers we're going to be using,

00:12 they're extremely sharp, they're extremely fast, so you've got to be really really careful. So

00:16 I hope you enjoy it. Let's crack on and get a sheep.

00:27 So this is a shearling, it's going to be the first time it's ever been sheared.

00:31 It was a little lamb itself last year. Now she's sitting comfortably, I'm going to start.

00:37 So I shear the old-fashioned style. I start there and work my way down, just like the wood I do with

00:43 hand shears. There's a modern way of doing it, but I'm too old to learn that. I'm sticking to what I

00:49 know. Look at that, that's the colour of the wool. It's lighter on the outside because it's been

00:55 weathered, it's been bleached in the sunshine and now when I've done this, it's back to its original

01:02 colour. And I bet it's going to be a lot happier for having all this wool off. Back in the day,

01:11 wool was worth a lot of money. These days I might only get a couple of pounds for this fleece and

01:17 it'll probably cost me that to shear it. So it is really in the sheep's best interest that we shear

01:23 them. It keeps them nice and cool in summer, it keeps them free of the flies and the maggots.

01:29 You know, you don't want your sheep being attacked by flies. You know, you can lose your stock and

01:36 it's not good. When I've got this done, it's going to feel a lot better and when I put it back out

01:44 in the field, you should see them skip for joy. The sheep aren't stressed by this process. As long

01:51 as you're supporting the shoulders, the neck, the head, the sheep should be pretty happy. Now,

01:58 it's the first time it's been sheared and as you can see, it's not quite used to it yet. But

02:05 it's pretty stress-free and the end result is a happier, healthier sheep.

02:12 And that's what's important. Right, we're just on the last little bit now.

02:17 Nearly done. I'm going to make sure we've got every bit of wool.

02:21 We want a nice tidy job. No straggly bits. There, perfect.

02:29 So this girl's going to be a breeding sheep of the future and I tell you what, she's a bit of an

02:37 example. Now, I know I'm sweating but I'm actually in my prime. Well, that's what I tell myself

02:49 anyway. Now, we've got loads to do for the rest of the week so why not pop in and see how it's done.

02:54 Anyway, I better crack on. Hope you've enjoyed this.