Hand shearing using shearing cutters may appear to be antique shearing techniques, yet there are advantages to employing them. Read below to know.
While most sheep owners keep manual shears for trimming the occasional dag, most large-scale shearing is now done using electric clippers. Clippers make rapid, light work of shearing, and it’s simple to understand why it’s the favored method for farms with hundreds of sheep.
A skilled shearer can shear a sheep’s fleece in about a minute, compared to around five minutes with hand shears. When you consider the cost of employing a crew of expert shearers and the incredibly low rates that fleeces attract, it’s easy to see why electric clippers are preferable from a financial or commercial standpoint.
Hand shearing with shearing cutters, on the other hand, is more feasible for smallholders with smaller flocks. But why would you do it? What are the advantages of using hand shears on your flock?
There are several advantages to utilizing hand shears, the most important of which is to the animal’s wellbeing.
Fleece Quality
Hand shears’ slow, deliberate cuts with ace cutters ensure that a shearer is less likely to harm the fleece than electric clippers’ continual activity.
Less Anxiety for The Sheep
Hand shears are less loud than clippers. This implies that a sheep is calmer when being sheared, which is beneficial to its health. The slower speed implies that the animal is not hurried into shearing postures, and the entire procedure is steady.
Environmentally Friendly
It’s also excellent news for the environment. The carbon footprint of hand shears is substantially lower than that of clippers, and they do not require power to operate, conserving energy. It also implies that you may shear a sheep anywhere in a pasture or confinement without using power.
Sheep Insulation
To begin, consider the function of wool. It acts as insulation. It keeps a sheep warm in cold weather and shields them from the sun in hot times. In fact, wool was once utilized to make firefighting clothes for the same reason: heat protection.
Electric clippers cut very close to the sheep, leaving very little wool on them. That sheep will feel the effects of cold during the night and the effects of the sun on the skin during the day after being shorn using clippers.
Consider what would happen if that sheep had lambs. A chilly sheep will use more of its energy reserves to remain warm, which may reduce milk output. Hand shears leave a thin covering of wool on the sheep, reducing the temperature shock caused by electric clippers. If you leave some insulation on the sheep, you’ll get a happier, healthier animal that’s well-equipped to give the finest nutrition for its offspring.
Consider the advantages of hand shearing if you have a small herd of sheep! Using hand shears instead of clippers helps to conserve essential traditional skills while also providing major benefits to smallholders.
Author’s Bio – Jow Miller is an owner of a flock who supports hand shearing with ace cutters. Here he explains the benefits of using shearing cutters.
