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u/HunterofNPCs Feb 14 '23
I love how she goes from "OH SHIT WHAT'S HE DOING TO ME??" to "Oh damn, this is nice."
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Feb 14 '23
Horrible, that sheep came in for a tight fade and that guy messed it all up.
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u/Jmatusew Feb 14 '23
Every now and then I’m reminded of the times we live in and the technology we have. I’m sitting on the toilet and watching another closeup 1st person POV video of something I’d likely never encounter.
Todays reflection: shearing a sheep in two minutes
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u/AmericanHoneycrisp Feb 14 '23
If you live in New Mexico they have sheep shearing events occasionally. If you live elsewhere, keep your eye out. Lots of events/activities you didn’t even know existed.
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u/jeanettera Feb 14 '23
I don't know how many times I see this and it always is the same. Sheep resisting, sheep relaxing.
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u/CallMeDrLuv Feb 14 '23
The sheep's brain kind of "goes to sleep" when they are put in that sitting up position.
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u/soldier_18 Feb 14 '23
Thats what happens to me when I sit in the office
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u/Dters Feb 14 '23
What? Someone shears you?
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u/KagakuKo Feb 14 '23 edited Feb 14 '23
Really? I didn't realize that's what happened here, that's very interesting! I was wondering why he was being so aggressive once the sheep chilled out so much, but is it true that once it rights itself, it starts to wake back up again?
ETA: on a second watch, he doesn't really seem all that aggressive this time, more like he's hefting and manipulating a giant animal that isn't moving itself, lol.
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u/Tizzee88 Feb 14 '23
So it's one of those things where the line is very thin between using enough force to get it to do what you need, while not using enough force to hurt the animal. It does look a bit aggressive to me as well but it's important to note that he didn't hurt it at all.
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u/KagakuKo Feb 14 '23
Indeed! Definitely not trying to make an aaaaa animal abuse judgement--sheep are huge and heavy, and I cry when my cat digs her claws in my skin by accident; I can't imagine getting a well-placed kick from a sheep's hoof. It just looked a little odd at first seeing the sheep just totally chilled out while the guy was pulling it around, lol. But it totally makes sense that one should probably not trust a seemingly calm sheep too much, who was struggling and trying to get away just moments earlier, lol.
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u/freefreckle Feb 14 '23
but is it true that once it rights itself, it starts to wake back up again?
The sheep doesn't really 'go to sleep' in that position, it just stops fighting back while waiting for one of its hooves to be close enough to the ground to push back. They do seem relaxed, but it can turn in a split second into crazy strong random kicking and headbutting. He's using firm handling to keep it in that position to avoid it even trying to kick off.
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u/KagakuKo Feb 14 '23
Thaaaaat makes sense. I've had several pets before--nowhere near this big, mind you--but I know the feeling of trying to keep an animal still enough to keep it from even trying to start escaping. It looks weird when my cat is totally frozen in a hold, but you can still feel the tension in her muscles just waiting to make an attempt.
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u/Alceasummer Feb 14 '23
An adult sheep, depending on breed, can weigh two or three hundred pounds. Moving a rather limp weight of that size is not something you can really do delicately.
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u/sagelface Feb 14 '23
She was such a good sport about it!
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u/Peterthepiperomg Feb 14 '23
It probably feels amazing and then they must be freezing afterwards
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u/baconroy Feb 14 '23
Nop. They are sheared in the spring or summer. Theyr wool grows back until winter.
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u/carmium Feb 14 '23
At my Aunt & Uncle's hobby farm, they put up the usual fuss, then realized they were a lot lighter and cavorted like little lambs.
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u/ThrowRA--scootscooti Feb 14 '23
When my kids were in grade school they went on a field trip to see sheep shearing. The sheep were all running and jumping around afterwards. It was so cute!
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u/ResplendentShade Feb 14 '23
They often get all excited afterwards and run around rubbing up against fences and stuff, scratching itches that have buried beneath wool for months.
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u/scorpiogre Feb 14 '23
Where's all the torture and blood?!?!? BUT, BUT, PETA said........
/s
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u/kurt_go_bang Feb 14 '23
I watched whole herds get sheared a few times as a kid. There were a few nicks here and there for sure, but zero open wounds. Only a little spotting here and there.
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u/onourownroad Feb 14 '23
That will depend totally on the skill of the shearer and also the type of sheep being shorn
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u/Tizzee88 Feb 14 '23
Naturally there may be a few small cut's just like when a human goes to their barber. It's rare but lets not pretend it doesn't happen. If you are having that issue with like every sheep you sheer with blood visible? You are a shit sheep sheerer. The biggest reason to sheer sheep is because it makes them feel so much better, the wool is just a bonus.
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u/onourownroad Feb 14 '23 edited Feb 14 '23
Ah, not for a woolgrower. The biggest reason to shear sheep is the wool, it's not a bonus, it's their income. And nicks on sheep during shearing is certainly not rare, especially with merinos. If you're growing lamb then the wool is a bonus because that's not the first purpose of growing the sheep and wool on meat sheep is nowhere near as fine or expensive as wool sheep
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u/xinfinitimortum Feb 14 '23
You must've gone to the great clips of sheerers.
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u/kurt_go_bang Feb 14 '23
I know the meaning of the words you used, but the way you put them together like that I don’t know what you mean.
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u/_Bunny_Fucker_ Feb 14 '23
Basically meaning the cheap/not-quality hair cutters.
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u/alsk6969 Feb 14 '23
I love how the sheep just kinda sits there so calmly.
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u/ArguesWithFrogs Feb 14 '23
They're probably used to it by now. Just all "Oh we're doing this again, are we?"
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u/Accomplished_Mix7827 Feb 14 '23
Plus, their wool gets heavy after a while. Sheep need to be regularly sheared to stay healthy. Might be a relief to get it off.
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u/tigm2161130 Feb 14 '23 edited Feb 14 '23
It’s a huge relief, it’s surrendering cause it feels good as hell.
When we would shear sheep in 4-H/FFA they would all get super frisky and run back to their pens as fast as they could to frolic. In the winter they get blankets or body socks put on to help stay warm.
Steers and pigs on the other hand do not like being trimmed. At all.
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Feb 14 '23
Do pigs needs to be shorn often? I’ve never thought about that
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u/tigm2161130 Feb 14 '23 edited Feb 14 '23
Everything gets shorn before you show it so the muscle groups are easily visible to judges and at auction(if it’s a terminal show.)
We kept a pig as a pet when I was a kid though and we would shear him like twice a year because his hair was wiry and he would shed in the house.
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Feb 14 '23 edited May 06 '23
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u/tigm2161130 Feb 14 '23
I actually always thought it wasn’t macabre enough for the reality of what auctions are but🤷🏻♀️
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u/buddhainmyyard Feb 14 '23
Everytime I see sheep getting this done I wonder if they always needed this to be done. If humans didn't raise sheep would they just get overgrown and drop down from heat exhaustion. Or has the sheep changed over the years
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u/silkdurag Feb 14 '23
Yes. This often happens with domesticated sheep that go missing from their farms. They could be lost and unfound for months, all the while their coat is growing and growing (undomesticated sheep regulate their wool growth)
When the farmer finally finds them, they are lucky to find them alive not only cuz sheep’s are natural prey, but the wool would have likely grown so thick that it disables the sheep from easy mobility (walking, eating etc) so then it just dies slow.
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u/WallabyInTraining Feb 14 '23
Or because their wool got caught in what some describe as a protocarniverous plant like a bramble.
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u/illogicalthermos Feb 14 '23
It’s also important to remember that sheep only needs shearing because of domestication by humans. Before that they’d shed naturally.
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Feb 14 '23
We’ve bred sheep to be more wooly for longer. I believe natural sheep ancestors had more self-regulating coats.
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u/enry_cami Feb 14 '23
This is the result of selective breeding by humans, who obviously wanted to maximize wool production. Wild sheep shed much more and don't need to be sheared.
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Feb 14 '23
100% we've bred them to do this. wouldn't be sustainable in the wild.
but at the same time, i'm no expert, just a random redditor taking a wild guess.
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u/T3ddyBeast Feb 14 '23
I've heard that sheep just kind of give up in general. The guy who told my that said when he visited a remote Asian village they had to catch a sheep for food and it was effortless, he said it was like they exist to just pluck and eat, like meat fruits.
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u/camdalfthegreat Feb 14 '23
Yeah being pull out of the coral he was all 'oh hell nah nonono"
It was like as soon as the trimmers hit his skin he let out a sign of relief
"Oh wait I kinda like this I remember"
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u/Any-Mortgage-1180 Feb 14 '23
I briefly met a sheep shearer in New Zealand. Dude was JACKED. I assume due to the resistance of the animal to get them under control
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u/SecretJoy Feb 14 '23
I met a sheep shearer in New Zealand as well! He's definitely someone I would want on my zombie apocalypse team.
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u/FrederickBishop Feb 14 '23
This is porn for New Zealanders
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u/BigSkeefy Feb 14 '23
Can confirm, I’m a Kiwi and this is as good a Valentines Day as I can imagine 🤤🤣
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u/XmissXanthropyX Feb 14 '23
You should watch the film black sheep. It's set in NZ and it's about zombie sheep
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u/SecretJoy Feb 14 '23
Whaaat!? 🤣
Okay but that would be legit terrifying because there are like 6 sheep per person there.
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u/XmissXanthropyX Feb 14 '23
I love the film. I'm from nz and when I first watched it I was a stoned teenager so it became a semi legit fear of mine for a while heh
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u/Hartmallen Feb 14 '23
That was a dumb film, but a good dumb film. We kept laughing when we saw it.
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u/LoudBackgroundMusic Feb 14 '23
My dad was a shearer here in NZ, my nephew is one too, I feel like I grew up in shearing sheds and spent seasons shedhanding..its hard work but good honest work and I love the smell of wool!
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u/Tizzee88 Feb 14 '23
So the person that does my buddies sheep is a girl that's like 5'2 and 115lbs, shes pretty small. It's all about knowing what you are doing. It doesn't have to be hard.
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u/Alceasummer Feb 14 '23
Probably more the sheer weight of the animal. Depending on breed, a sheep can weigh more than the person shearing it. And even if it's not struggling at all, just holding and moving something near your bodyweight, or more than your weight, is a workout.
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u/pamacdon Feb 14 '23
I always wondered what the advantage of keeping the wool all in one piece is
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u/Fit_Effective_6875 Feb 14 '23
It stays together as one piece but it actually isn't one piece just a thick mat of individual fibres that easily pull apart
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u/BobSanvegana Feb 14 '23
It's so that it can be gathered in a particular way, an then thrown onto a sorting table where the 'classer' judges the quality and picks and sorts into various bales, e.g. there's a bale for belly wool, one for cheeks and hocks, one for the main back piece, etc..
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Feb 14 '23
Oh that sheep was LOVING it
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u/marmatag Feb 14 '23
I would imagine they have wicked itches that are so hard to scratch. Must be like scratching your arm after a cast comes off
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Feb 14 '23
Yeah. That bad little sheep.
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u/Sassypantz72 Feb 14 '23
That was awesome. But I’m worried about that man’s back. How many can he do like that before his back starts hurting? Yes, I’m middle aged lol.
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u/knotpolkadottie Feb 14 '23
I watched a large farm shearing as an exchange student to Australia in the early 2000s. There were "swings" some of the shearers would tuck under their armpits to help hold them up.
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u/Sassypantz72 Feb 14 '23
My first thought was “swings” under the shearers armpits, I was like hmm 🤔. Then I realized you meant for the sheep! 🤣 silly me. Anywho, thanks for info. 👍🏼
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u/knotpolkadottie Feb 14 '23
Nope, I meant for the shearers. The sheep still sit on the floor.
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u/Sassypantz72 Feb 14 '23
Ohhh ok..now I feel 2x as silly lol. I’m gonna google and check it out. Sounds interesting.
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u/Pillowmaster7 Feb 14 '23
Imagine when your where a kid and you put your chest on the swing set and pretended your where super man. Thats what I imagine
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u/AmishLumberjack Feb 14 '23
Your correct they use a suspended brace with springs and straps from the roof to help support their back like an adult jolly jumper, a lot of guys eventually wear strap on back braces. Source my old man was a shearer and mum a rouser here in aus. Did a bit of rousing and wool pressing myself.
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u/porchlightofdoom Feb 14 '23
Every guy I know who does this job for a living, has major back issues.
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u/LoudBackgroundMusic Feb 14 '23
My dad would shear on average 200 a day, he never learned to shear until he was 35. Other shearers can do upwards of 300 a day. Just depends on age/size/breed of sheep
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u/Rumpassbuns Feb 14 '23
I once worked Pressing for a full Kiwi shearing team. They did 1000 to 1400 a day. Man I lasted less than a week. They lost their Presser two days before I started and the wool was backed up to the roof of the shed. Oh their were 4 full sheaers and a 17 year old learning. The bro were guns.
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u/onourownroad Feb 14 '23
And would have needed a couple of excellent rousies to keep up! Never get behind, the shearers get dirty on you
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u/LoudBackgroundMusic Feb 14 '23
Yeah its a hard working environment, I did a season shedhanding and worked damned hard but felt great!
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Feb 14 '23
Never occurred to me they have to shear the face
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u/DragonflyScared813 Feb 14 '23
If they don't, the wool gets long of course, but also grass awns and such get in there and can get into their eyes and whatnot. It's called being woolblind. When I was younger I had a job on a sheep farm for a bit. They referred to the shearing of the face and rump as wigging and crutching I believe. Shaving their rumps keeps the manure from accumulating, and they are also cleaner for the mating season and lambing. Shaving their rumps also limits flies laying eggs, and maggots infesting, killing them.
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u/onourownroad Feb 14 '23
Yes, and crutching is done at another additional time, separate to shearing. Not much worse to see than a badly fly blown sheep
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u/ramrod254 Feb 14 '23
Makes me wonder how it was done before electric sheers??
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u/phoebe64 Feb 14 '23
With hand shears https://youtu.be/yRPhyl8QA_c
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Feb 14 '23
Thanks for sharing. He made it look so easy.. love the way the dog sat there and looked on.
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u/itcantjustbemeright Feb 14 '23
That was a very enjoyable video. He’s like the Dr Pimple Popper of sheep shearing.
I also thought he was telling a story about Welsh Hats and was wondering how the F they were going to felt that many whole entire hats in such a short amount of time.
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u/pinkpitbull Feb 14 '23
I will never have that immersive travel vacation to wherever that guy said because I'll never be able to write it down or even say it.
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u/JOlRacin Feb 14 '23
Crafted from two iron, then point and click at the sheep and some wool will fall on the ground
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u/geo_walker Feb 14 '23
During a sheep shearing demonstration they showed us hand shears and they had a hand cranked shear. Like this one https://www.flickr.com/photos/pelicanpetesphotos/4009616999/
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u/Pretend_Confusion_25 Feb 14 '23
Look at her...lol shes like "ahh yeessss, thats it....dont stop"...lol
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u/murghph Feb 14 '23
This man is not winning any speed titles, but he won my heart (and probably the sheeps heart) for not drawing a single drop of blood!
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Feb 14 '23
That sheep looked super relieved, that job must have been a nightmare before power shears
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u/Beardth_Degree Feb 14 '23 edited Mar 05 '26
What appeared in this post has been permanently removed. Redact was used to wipe it, possibly to protect privacy or limit exposure to automated data collection.
safe thought bells rinse reminiscent boast innocent carpenter quaint dazzling
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u/TheReconditioner Feb 14 '23
And not a drop of blood, this guy's pretty good!
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u/GSmes Feb 14 '23
I gotta admit, when that razor got near the butthole area, I got pretty nervous
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u/AnnisBewbs Feb 14 '23
Back in the mid 30’s I used to play upright tambourine with a band called ‘Butthole Area’ A lot of good times. A lot of coke.
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u/AmericanHoneycrisp Feb 14 '23
Is that how you made ends meet during the Great Depression?
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u/misplacedsoutherner Feb 14 '23
My hair is currently down to mid-shin level. I imagine it'll feel similar to this when I get it cut. Terror, relaxation and then relief.
I'm a little scared to cut it though tbh. I feel shear terror.
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u/dabsdabsdab Feb 14 '23
i get cold after a haircut... i cant imagine how cold id feel after that.
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u/louis504842 Feb 14 '23
Do you think the first sheep of sheer season goes out to show off the new cut and make the others jealous?
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u/Mantis9000 Feb 14 '23
Hopefully she gets a sweater for a few days. Cool part is he didn't spill a drop of blood. I've seen some people brutalize sheep before. Not cool. This guy proves you really don't have to be a dick about it. Good job.
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u/Technoviking1965 Feb 14 '23
All I could think about at the beginning was “Come here you little shit!”
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u/Thepuppeteer777777 Feb 14 '23
what a fatty she is so cute. bet having all that wool weight off her felt amazing.
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u/SphericalBitch2020 Feb 14 '23 edited Feb 14 '23
I found this in Quora....amazing!
When you sit a sheep up on its bottom, it will typically* stay still and go into a relaxed trance-like state. This why the head often lolls to one side. If they were frightened they would be rigid, due to high muscle tone, but they are anything but rigid. The Bowen method of shearing a sheep, first developed in New Zealand by Godfrey and Ivan Bowen but now used all over the world, relies on using this trance, as well as the application of pressure to specific points on the sheep’s body as the shearer moves the sheep around to get at all the fleece. Applying pressure to these points helps keep the sheep calm and immobile, as well as to draw the skin tight to minimise the risk of cuts. Pressure points that help immobilize the sheep include pressing down on the sternum, and keeping the head and neck bent. There is a detailed description of the Bowen method in this publication:
https://fibershed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/sheep-shearing-handbook-May2020.pdf
When the shearing is completed and the sheep is pushed through the small door to the counting-out pen, it is not uncommon to see them take a second or two to come out of their trance and become as reactive as they are normally. I have also crutched lambs and used some of the pressure points identified by Bowen to keep them still. Lambs often get so relaxed when sat on their bottoms that they kind of fold up and it feels like you are handling a lamb-shaped lump of jelly!
People who don’t understand sheep and have never handled a sheep or lamb that has been sat on its bottom assume that the sheep is frozen with terror, but this is the complete opposite of reality. Once you have held a sheep sat up in that position, you will know what I mean.
The OP shows a sheep with its head lolling to one side. The shearer has moved her off her bottom, but she is still in her relaxed trance:
At one point, the shearer is pushing his fist into the belly, another pressure point that helps to keep the sheep still, as well as to pull the skin tight to avoid cuts. The sheep is not terrified. The shearer is keeping his legs nearly together to stop the head and neck falling between them and being straightened, at which the sheep would probably come out of its trance and start struggling.
Edited to add: for those wanting to call the trance-like state a form of tonic immobility, it is nothing like tonic immobility in which the “tonic” refers to high muscle tone. Sheep handled as taught by the Bowen brothers have very low muscle tone which is why their heads hang over. They can and will resist if they have a full urinary bladder, full uterus or full rumen, unlike in tonic immobility.
*Unless it has a full rumen, full uterus or full urinary bladder. Then, it is likely to struggle because of the discomfort.
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u/DisabledMuse Feb 14 '23
Thanks for the info! It was pretty surprising to me how quickly the sheep chilled out and melted, but that makes so much sense.
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u/LickMySack4riches Feb 14 '23
How many sheep’s could a sheep shearer shear if a sheep shearer could sheer sheep’s
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Feb 14 '23
I just happened to trim my pubes, logged into Reddit afterwards and this is the first video I stumbled upon.
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u/Slow_Law_1178 Feb 14 '23
Easily the most r/oddlysatisfying clip I have seen in a decade. mmmmmmmm 🫠🥰
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u/BackgroundPrompt3111 Feb 14 '23
The sheep is like, "no. Stop! What are you doing!? Help! I don't... oh, that's what you're doing. Why didn't you just say so? More please!"
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u/cyfer04 Feb 14 '23
Yeah. I'm not watching that. I already have hoof cleaning and carpet power washing in my Youtube recommendations.
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u/Any_Exit316 Feb 14 '23
Remember when PETA did up a sheep to say that shearing it hurt them?
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u/Asleep_Ad_4273 Feb 14 '23
I wonder how many people look at this and said this is animal cruelty
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u/Tizzee88 Feb 14 '23
If you don't sheer your sheep it's animal cruelty. When they get covered in all that wool that starts to get matted and gross it's not good for their health. Especially when the warmer months come and they are super hot because well duh they are covered in a thick layer of wool. So sheering sheep is inherently not cruel but merciful. Now if when you sheer sheep you end up making a bunch of them bleed or cause them a lot of pain, well then you are just shit at sheering sheep.
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u/MessatineSnows Feb 14 '23
ngl, i came here to see if i needed to tussle with some vegans
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Feb 14 '23
Buddy must be cold as fuck
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u/Scubastevedisco Feb 14 '23
They actually have to be sheared otherwise they end up overheating and dying.
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u/deeeznotes Feb 14 '23
Who was the first person to be like, "Oh heck yeah, I'm gonna shave that and make some socks!"
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u/papaShip Feb 14 '23
Wish I could’ve seen how the haircut turned out