Sheep shearing is always a stressful time. First we have to get all the sheep into the bergerie and at this time of year they know what that means, so they resist! This year we got them all in except 4. Donnie (who has the best wool), Thelma (who is the most cautious having been terrorised by dogs before we bought her), Laurie and Fudge. After much enticing with sheep nuts, I got Laurie and Donnie into the entrance...Donnie crashed through the fence to escape and Laurie jumped the gate to land in safely in the bergerie with the other sheep.
Next morning an early start to prepare for the day ahead and the arrival of the sheep shearer (who was 1hr30 late!). Apaché our largest sheep (pictured below) we have decided is claustrophobic. All the other sheep quickly chill out when shut up in the bergerie, Apaché gets more and more agitated, knocking the other sheep over, pacing around and trying to either jump the gates, crash through them or lift them up. By morning she was becoming impossible and in the end I had to hold her head tight and stroke her cheeks to keep her calm while we waited the shearer to arrive. She was of course the first sheep to be shorn and with good weather and a late in the year shear, the wool was quickly off. An added bonus was that we could shear them outside.
Things went much quicker than in pervious years and by 12.15 all 26 sheep were shorn. The three escapees had not ventured close to the bergerie, but amazingly one by one I caught them in the open field and within 10 minutes all was over.
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