Animal Blog
Make your barnyard life easier: four farm hacks

1. Gates. Can you open your gate with one hand? Or do you have to drop everything and fiddle with
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Too fat, too thin, or just right?

In some ways, it should be easy to evaluate your animal's body condition. But if they are all fluffy, how can you tell?
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Shearing uncovers some surprises. Here are a few things to look for on your animals on shearing day.
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Shearing Parties – Fun or Folly?

Here are some things to consider if you're planning an event around shearing day.
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It's spring. Time for shearing But it's raining. What do you do? Here are some ideas.
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It’s hot. Can you come tomorrow to shear?

No, these words were not uttered by a client. They are my own. I just returned from a 10-day, 4-state
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What is it like being a shearer?

I became a shearer by accident. And yet I cannot imagine a better job, more satisfying and more suited to
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Now you've gotten your animals shorn for the year -- what next!? There are many options to use the fiber
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8 Reasons to Shear Before Lambing

With a few caveats, I'm a firm believer in pre-lambing shearing.
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East coast shearers: 10 points that make us logistical geniuses

Shearing is a service. As such, shearers aim to please the farmers, remove the fiber efficiently and expertly, and treat
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August 4, 2014 Recently there has been a terrific brouhaha in the shearing world and amongst animal rights activists over
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Most farmers think of shearing as being exclusively a spring activity. Contemplating the heat of summer, they (hopefully) call their
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Reflections on Farm Life
Bridging the Communication Gap

Despite all the challenges of setting up a schedule for shearing at hundreds of farms in multiple states, and despite the hard physicality of the job, you may find that the most difficult part of being a shearer is communication.
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“Be Safe”–Shearing in the time of Corona

The year 2020 brought a deadly and decidedly inconvenient disease to the world. For many people, life stopped. But the shearing must go on.
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Being a travelling shearer means that I get to meet a wide variety of people and animals. Here are some of their stories.
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