We had our sheep sheared last week. Unlike most sheep that only require shearing annually, our breed, Valais Blacknose, require shearing every six months as their fleeces grow very fast and very thick.

I have an amazing lady, Danni Taylor, who shears my little flock and she travels all the way from Derbyshire to North Yorkshire to do them. Danni has her own flock of Valais Blacknose sheep so she understands the breed well. She is one of the most kind and considerate people I know and she is so gentle and patient with the sheep. This time she brought two helpers with her and, to watch them shear as a trio, was amazing. They were confident and managed to keep the flock calm despite one or two trying to be a little unruly. One of my sheep, Kevin, who was bottled fed as a lamb, showed his appreciation by wagging his tail throughout the whole process - not great for the shearer, but he did keep the rest of us entertained!

Shearing is a great time to check the sheep’s condition and to look out for any issues. It is also a good time to administer wormer, whilst they are all gathered together.

This year was the first year we have ever encountered any problems during shearing, and I was a little downhearted when Danni noticed that one of my ewes had succumbed to fly strike behind one of her horns. Fly strike is a painful condition which is caused by flies laying eggs on the sheep which then hatch into maggots. These maggots then proceed to eat the flesh of the animal. The unseasonably warm, dry weather has made conditions perfect for fly strike and it is something we always keep an eye out for. Being behind the horn, had made it difficult to spot this time.

Danni treated the fly strike immediately by removing the maggots and spraying the area with an antibacterial spray and fly strike prevention treatment. We kept a close eye on the ewe for the next few days, routinely washing the area and administering antibacterial spray until we were confident that all the maggots had been removed and the infection had cleared up. I am please to report that she is now back to full health and the fly strike has been eradicated.

Shearing

Shearing

Another issue was spotted on one of my wethers. A small abscess on his leg was revealed during shearing which was subsequently treated, and has healed well. Abscesses can be the result of a variety of things such as the sheep catching themselves on hedges or fences.

Routine checking of sheep is essential, not just at shearing time, and I was grateful that these problems had been spotted early.

The wool of the Valais Blacknose sheep is beautiful. It grows quickly and is great for spinning and felting. It is uniformly white with a staple length of around 5-6 inches and falls in tight ringlets.

Unfortunately, fleeces have very little value today and it often costs more to shear a sheep than the fleeces can be sold for. There are however, a variety of ways the fleeces can be used around the smallholding such as bedding in the pig arks (they love it as it is incredibly warm). We also use fleeces around the vegetable plot as it retains water and suppresses weeds. Alternatively, I have gifted fleeces to crafters.


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