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Understanding the Anatomy of Sheep before Shearing - A Comprehensive Overview

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Shearquantity
Understanding the Anatomy of Sheep before Shearing - A Comprehensive Overview

Shearing is an age-old practice. It is necessary for promoting the hygiene and well-being of sheep. Shearers and shepherds understand its importance very well and consider it a crucial annual job that needs the right planning and preparation. The process involves a series of steps and requires a range of equipment and accessories to ensure you conduct the job perfectly. You can find specialised clothes for the shearer as well such as shearing pants online, and wearing them will help you in doing the job conveniently.

Here this blog will act as a step-by-step guide that will help you prepare for the job as a pro.


Gather knowledge about sheep anatomy

You need to know about the ram (male), ewe (female), and wether (castrated male) in detail so that you can avoid harming their delicate parts. Though you might feel that this is something quite basic and it’s very obvious for everyone to know, there’s a lot of confusion among people when it comes to understanding the sheep's anatomy. The cases of imperfectly castrated wethers and intersex sheep have increased in number than what you can expect.


The reproductive parts of sheep are mainly located between the legs and the belly. Using a raised milking stand and sitting or crouching on a stool, hel you figure out the same properly.


Ewes

The ewes have their teats on the lower belly section, just above the crotch area present in between the rear legs. They can have 2-4 teats (even 6, in case of an exception), which are farther apart or clustered together. Some teats can be tiny so, you must be extremely careful. In case the ewe is lambed, her udder and teats are likely to be more visible and larger. Ewes also have belly veins for carrying blood to the reproductive areas and you must be careful while shearing in that area. The vulva is present beneath their tails.


Rams and Wethers

The pizzle is located at the mid-belly section in rams and wethers, which mostly looks like a large belly button and can be hidden by the fleece. After you’ve located the pizzle, you should draw a circle using a grease pen or any anti-fly spray. It’s also ideal to use the handpiece for shearing the surrounding area and lastly trim the area of the pizzle using hand scissors.


The testicles of rams are present in between their rear legs, which might have some wool on them. It’s always advised to trim around the testicles using hand scissors if required. Point the scissors away in another section from where you’re cutting to avoid any cuts or injuries.

You should also be careful around the hamstrings and legs. Cutting the hamstrings can make the sheep lame. They run down the backs of the legs of the sheep, which is quite similar to the case of humans. So, you should shear the sides of the legs, instead of shearing down the back. Also, never forget to leave the extra wool present on the legs while shearing them.


Closing Thoughts

Sheep shearing isn’t easy for sure. And if you aren’t well-experienced or don’t have much knowledge on the same, you should ask a skilled shepherd or shearer to help you learn this practice or you can enrol for a shearing course. There’s nothing to fear; just take the right steps to learn this practice and you will master it in no time. Shearquality.com is a leading supplier of different types of shearing equipment. If you are looking for a trusted online marketplace to buy shearing accessories, visit their website now.

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