If we didn’t exist, rhinoceroses and elephants would still be roaming around northern Europe. But how do humans affect the lives of these animals? According to researchers at Aarhus University, sheep cannot regrow their wool without grass. And because they can’t regrow their wool without grass, they stay with their mothers until they are five months old. Lambs are considered fully grown at six months.

Shearing sheep

Sheep can regrow their wool after being shorn. This procedure can cause cuts and nicks, but deep cuts are usually stitched up by the shearer. Shearing is often performed in a yard adjacent to the sheep’s shed, using slide chutes. Shearers may also perform preventive treatment for parasites in the sheep’s wool. Here are a few of the risks of shearing.

Symptoms of shearing

Shearing sheep requires many handlings. Sheep are particularly vulnerable to trauma during this process. They may suffer cuts, nicks, and abrasions. Those that are deeply cut are often sewn up. Shearing sheep should take place in a sheltered area to avoid exposure to excessive heat and rain. Before shearing, you should treat the sheep for heat stress and administer preventive treatment.

Regrowth of fleece

Sheep need approximately six weeks to regrow wool after shearing. This is enough time to ensure the sheep’s wool is thick enough to keep them warm in winter. However, they are not always able to regrow as much wool as a spring lamb. As a result, a second shearing may not yield as much wool as a spring lamb, but the regrown wool will be cleaner and fresher.

Safety of shearing

Safe shearing of sheep is vital to the productivity of the farm. There are many different risks associated with this job. In addition to physical harm, sheep shearers can be exposed to a variety of chemicals that are used to grow wool. Wool growers work with sheep for eight to nine hours a day, so this exposure can be hazardous to their health. To ensure workers’ safety, they should use protective clothing and equipment while shearing. The wool shed must be ventilated and any electrical portable machinery must be equipped with an isolating transformer or residual current device. WorkSafe recommends using a portable residual current device when working with electrical machinery, to protect against electric shock.

Cost of shearing

Sheep must be shorn at certain times during the year in order to re-grow their wool. However, wool prices have halved since the closure of the global market for Covid-19, which means that farmers no longer make as much money as they did in previous years. Sheep farmers can expect to make around 32p per kg for the wool, but the process is not purely for financial reasons. They get a certificate for the wool that they produce.

Need to be done twice a year

Sheep need to be sheared at least twice a year to produce a sufficient amount of wool. This wool can hold manure, mud, and fluids from birth. This dirt is a breeding ground for pathogens. Shortening the sheep’s wool makes the environment clean for the ewe and lamb. A second shearing may not produce as much wool as the first, but the wool from the first shearing will be cleaner and fresher.

Keeping wolves out of pastures

Keeping wolves out of pastures while a sheep herd regrows their winter wool can be difficult. A sheep herd can encircle a pasture and provide a large amount of wool for crafters. However, sheep are vulnerable to predators such as wolves, coyotes, bears, cougars, and domestic dogs. A combination of measures is needed to keep wolves from attacking the sheep. The most common situation is where a sheep flock is grazing on large public land.