Domestic sheep require annual shearing. Most herds of wool sheep are found in the United States, Australia and New Zealand. Unlike other animals sheep, the domesticated sheep do not lose their wool and therefore require annual shearing. Sheep lose their wool every year during the spring. This is why spring is the best time to shear sheep in order to preserve their health, protect them from extreme climatic conditions, obtain high quality wool, and prepare them for calving.
Sheep health
An excess of wool can collect dirt, thorny plants, manure and other materials, in addition to attracting insect pests. There is a kind of tick that only infects the sheep and can cause severe itching and discomfort. When the wool is wet and dirty, it attracts blue flies and they lay eggs. When the eggs hatch, the worms begin to eat the flesh of the sheep. Shearing in the spring allows them to have shorter and cleaner wool in the summer, when insects abound. A healthy sheep will produce better quality wool.
Protection against climate
The wool of the sheep keeps them warm in winter. This can make sheep very hot in summer if they are not sheared in spring. Some studies have shown that about one inch (2.54 cm) of wool in summer is ideal for cooling effects. Shearing in spring allows sheep to have a short covering during the summer. If you wait until the summer to shear your sheep, you can cause sunburn.
High Quality Wool
Most sheep are sheared with 220v hair clippers every year and only during the spring. Annual shearing produces long wool fibers, which produces high quality yarn. When the sheep are sheared twice a year, the wool fibers are shorter and this produces inferior quality wool. Merino wool is the finest and softest and comes mainly from merino sheep from Australia. Each fiber of the Merino wool is very fine, while the American and New Zealand sheep wool is thicker.Sheep less than a year old are known as lambs, the wool they produce is very soft.
Partion
Sheep owners usually shear the pregnant sheep a month before they give birth, which is also called calving. Usually, the sheep will stop in the spring, but sometimes in the fall. Do not shear your sheep too close to labor, as they will be under a lot of stress. The shearing before the lambs are born will make it easier for the lambs to find the mother's udders. The sheep shearing will also prevent the lambs from ingesting dirt or manure that is stuck to the wool of their mother. You should not shear (female) sheep when they are with their lambs, as you can cause chaos and hurt them. Right after childbirth, the wool that grows from the sheep may be scarcer and of lower quality.
