Below are pictures of my make-shift shearing pen. The pictures aren't great; it was closer to twilight than I realized when I took them, but you can get the idea.
I attached a couple of large 6-foot gates to create two sides of the enclosure. The third side is one wall of the barn. The final side is composed of three 3-foot gates. It's not elegant, but it works. I have to keep the other sheep away while I'm shearing. Although each and every one of them doesn't want to be on the shearing stand, half of them want to be petted while some other sheep is on it being sheared. That situation is very inconvenient.
The metal shearing stand has a head stanchion with a chain the loops behind the sheep's head to keep it stationary. Since this device is not foolproof, I also put a collar or halter on the sheep and fasten it with a leash to the shearing stand to prevent a fast getaway, in case the sheep decides to bolt. Such rebellions have been known to happen, resulting (before the leash and collar) in me chasing a partially-sheared sheep around until I finally catch him or her to finish the job. I bought a sheep halter (it came in only one size), but it turned out adult Cotswold rams' heads are too big for it. I need to find out if super-size sheep halters are available or if one made for another species would work. If anyone has a suggestion, let me know.
The shearing stand has a hydraulic hand jack attached. I can raise and lower it (and the sheep) to a comfortable shearing height.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment