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Animal Blog

Make your barnyard life easier: four farm hacks

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?

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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Skin Issues

Skin Issues
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?

Shearing Parties - Fun or Folly?
Here are some things to consider if you're planning an event around shearing day.
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Shearing in the Rain

Shearing in the Rain
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?

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?

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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What to do with your fiber?

What to do with your fiber?
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

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

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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Why shear at all?

Why shear at all?
August 4, 2014 Recently there has been a terrific brouhaha in the shearing world and amongst animal rights activists over
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What About Fall Shearing?

What About Fall Shearing?
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

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

“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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Fine Farm Follk

Fine Farm Follk
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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Sheep Spirit

Sheep Spirit
The story of Huckleberry: his love, loss, and comeback.
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The Zen of Sheep Shearing

The Zen of Sheep Shearing
A story of how I got hooked on shearing.
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Wool Brains

Wool Brains
Busting some myths about sheep shearing and those who would oppose it!
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