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Bell sheep – a sheep (usually a rough, wrinkly one) caught by a shearer, just before the end of a shearing run. [1] Bellwether – originally an experienced wether given a bell to lead a flock; now mainly used figuratively for a person acting as a lead and guide. Black wool – Any wool that is not white, but not necessarily black.
Sheep shearing is the process by which the woollen fleece of a sheep is cut off. The person who removes the sheep's wool is called a shearer . Typically each adult sheep is shorn once each year (depending upon dialect, a sheep may be said to have been "shorn", "sheared" or "shore" [in Australia]).
Sheep not meant to be eaten are typically shorn annually in a shearing shed. Ewes tend to be shorn immediately prior to lambing. [18] Shearing can be done with either manual blades or machine shears. In Australia, sheep shearers are paid by the number of sheep shorn, not by the hour, and there are no requirements for formal training or ...
For meat and hide producers, hair sheep are cheaper to keep, as they do not need shearing. [42] Hair sheep are also more resistant to parasites and hot weather. [29] With the modern rise of corporate agribusiness and the decline of localized family farms, many breeds of sheep are in danger of extinction.
Sheep are not an important part of China's agricultural economy, since the majority of China does not have the large open pastures required for sheep-rearing. [23] Sheep farming is more common in the northwestern provinces of the country, where such tracts of land exist. [24] China does have a native sheep breed, the zhan. The population of the ...
Gun shearers using blade shears are usually shearers that have shorn at least 200 sheep in a day. A learner (shearer) is a shearer or intending shearer who has shorn less than a specified number of sheep. [3] In 1983 the Australian shearing industry was torn apart by the wide comb dispute and the ensuing 10-week strike that followed. The ...
A mechanical shearing handpiece is used, and the graziers sit the sheep between their legs and shear the required portion of the sheep, leaving the main fleece to continue growing. There are also many varieties of crutching cradles which allow the sheep to be crutched with less physical strain to the operator.
In the shearing shed the woolly sheep will be penned on a slatted wooden or woven mesh floor above ground level. The sheep entry to the shed is via a wide ramp, with good footholds and preferably enclosed sides. After shearing the shearing shed may also provide warm shelter for newly shorn sheep if the weather is likely to be cold and/or wet.