THE WOOLLY CHORUS

« NETTLE TEA ANYONE? | "THAT'S A WHOPPER!" »

THE WOOLLY CHORUS

by menhir @ 06 Jun. 2008 – 20:31:00

I spoke to the wife of the sheep farmer, our neighbour. I thought the decibels of noise the sheep were making was due to it being mum and lamb separation time. But no, it is not.

The sheep need to relinquish their woolly coats and are being sheared. There is no money to be made from the wool coats these days, the shearing therefore, is a necessity to keep the animals comfortable. It is going more slowly than previous years as sheep shearers' services are hard to obtain. The farmer has found just one guy and he is doing the whole flock.

There used to be teams that would get through the flock in a day or two. This year, there are about 600 sheep being sheared at about 100 per day. The noise the animals make when they are being shorn and when they are done, is something to hear. I doubt a large mixed choir with microphones could compete.
Options:
Tags:
- sheep
- 2008
- shearing

10 Comments to THE WOOLLY CHORUS

Hide subcomments

- PurpleDragon
- 06 Jun. 2008 @ 20:48:54
Is that because they are pleased to be cooler, or complaining for being cold?
- - menhir
  - http://www.myword.blog.co.uk
  - 06 Jun. 2008 @ 23:12:34
  I shall have to have a chat with one of the woolly, or rather, wool-less beings, PD.
  
  My guess is that with the fairly good weather here it is likely to be the former. I noticed one or two smaller sheep fairly bounced and rolled around and, got up under their own steam, after being shorn. I was just preparing to pick up the phone to alert the farmer when one little acrobat did a flip up on all fours!
  - Reply to comment
  - Permalink
- MrFlighty
- 06 Jun. 2008 @ 21:32:32
What happens to the wool? xx
- - menhir
  - http://www.myword.blog.co.uk
  - 07 Jun. 2008 @ 23:30:30
  Good question Mr F. I must check it out. That said, I believe there is still a wool marketing board - maybe under another name - and fleeces still have to meet a certain quality. However, the market prices that used to be accessible for fleeces no longer exist. It has been such for about a decade or so. Fabrics, manufacturing and retail prices, as you know, have been depressed for a whole variety of economic reasons.
  
  In essence, the farmer is saying, I think, that the shearing process is uneconomic, it doesn't defray any of the costs for farming the sheep; it may just about pay towards the costs of shearing. This low value element of sheep farming, would be another reason why sheep-shearing is no longer the team business it was.
  
  Last year and the previous one, I did see hill sheep that had not been shorn; their coats were beginning to separate from them in thick fronds. The coats looked a mess and the sheep weren't looking too thrilled either. The crofters and farmers who had these animals then, probably found that shearing was one expense too many.
  
  Hill sheep are small, quite scraggy ones, by comparison to the more common farmed picture-box sheep. On a weight for sale basis they wouldn't fetch great prices at auction. This year, the crofters and hill sheep farms are reporting a healthier return which in turn has paid towards the animal husbandry.
  - Reply to comment
  - Permalink
- - menhir
  - http://www.myword.blog.co.uk
  - 16 Jun. 2008 @ 22:27:58
  Hi Mr F,
  
  Regarding your query about the wool. I am now in a better position to answer your question. The Wool Marketing Board does still exist.
  
  Sheep shearing expertise and obtaining it aside; the shearer gets something like 71p/72p per sheep sheared. The figure might vary a bit from region to region. However, that's a number which tells you a lot of sheep have to be shorn to make a living. the wool is weighed per kilo and the price is just now beginning to creep up to about 68p per kilo.
  
  As the farmer's wife said, there's nothing much coming back from selling the wool if you are thinking about off-sets to farming costs for raising good quality stock.
  - Reply to comment
  - Permalink
- EllieGant
- 06 Jun. 2008 @ 22:29:10
I know - it's an incredible racket. I used to help roll up and tie the fleeces at shearing time. The lanolin makes your hands incredible, so if you get the chance to help out ....
- Reply to comment
- Permalink
- chrisistoofat
- 07 Jun. 2008 @ 11:43:18
I worked for a few months at a wool factory and the stench from the 'lanolin pit' was abominable ! You won't find me cuddling a 'fresh' fleece ! Lamb chops, on the other hand ...

CITF
- - menhir
  - http://www.myword.blog.co.uk
  - 07 Jun. 2008 @ 23:07:10
  You'd have to go a long way to find a lanolin pit these days and I guess there are not so many cuddly fleeces around either.
  
  I can think of one place some 30 miles or so from home that still prepares a few fleeces from their own flocks for sale to by-passing tourists, who stop off at the nearby cheese factory then meander in 'next door' to see what's on offer.
  
  I suggest lamb gigot...
  - Reply to comment
  - Permalink
- Hayden (Visitor)
- http://lyricflight.blogspot.com
- 07 Jun. 2008 @ 14:24:22
what a lovely image --- lambs and sheep gambolling in the field!
- - menhir
  - http://www.myword.blog.co.uk
  - 07 Jun. 2008 @ 23:11:50
  The lambs gambol while mums keep a watchful eye on their brood. Sometimes the young lambs group together and run races or appear to be playing 'tag'.
  
  The greedy lambs, who constantly want to stuff themselves with mum's milk get away with it for a week or so, then learn to avoid a gentle nudge, a minor head butt, or a warning hoof. If all else fails, mum will just vigorously shake herself and walk off leaving piggish offspring standing where s/he hoped to pig out.
  - Reply to comment
  - Permalink

WE'LL ALL CRUNCH TOGETHER
by menhir on 01 May. 2006 – 20:33:30

THE WOOLLY CHORUS

10 Comments to THE WOOLLY CHORUS

Leave a comment (Login)