It was that time of year again.
A year worth’s of wool, of all sheeps and sizes, sheared.
The CEEDS farmers at the Horse Lake Community Farm Coop held their annual Sheep Shearing Sunday, this past weekend (March. 10).
It’s a quick process – one by one, the sheep are brought out from the pen, while master shearer Dave Cadsand, shaves the thick coat of wool off his four-legged friend.
“The shearer (Dave) knows how to keep them quiet as he is sheering them,” said community co-leader Rob Diether. “It roughly takes two to three minutes per sheep.”
As the sheep are being sheared, they are also given their annual vaccination shot. The sheep are inspected, as Cadsand will check their bags and feet. Before the next, the wool is thrown on a table, rolled up and put into a large bag. There is six sheep in total at the Coop.
“Our sheep have good wool for spinning,” said Hennecker. “It’s often used locally. We sell it locally to spinners and weavers.”
While the weather is still a bit cold, it benefits the freshly sheared sheep. The cold temperatures help get rid of any external parasites – stopping any chance of burrowing inside the fleece.
For the next couple of weeks, the sheep will sleep inside the barn at night to stay warm, while they adjust to their thinner coats.
In a month or so, lambing will begin.
