Our shearing day is approaching quickly on Tuesday, April 7th - it truly is one of my favourite days of the year as I love getting to see the fruits of my labour. This year I anticipate it taking me a lot longer to sort and skirt - there are 27 fleeces this time around.

SHEARING DAY

Did you know that you can’t shear sheep when they are wet?

Wet or damp wool is harder for the shearer to remove and can reduce the quality of the wool under storage conditions. We will be keeping an eye on the weather forecast leading up to shearing day and may need to move the sheep into a holding pen in the barn again this year based on the possibility of rain (or more snow).

My Preparation & Shearing Plan

1. Fasting sheep
   Taking the sheep off of feed and water for several hours prior to shearing is more important than most people realize. It helps reduce abdominal discomfort while they are sitting up or being laid down on the shearing board. It also helps prevent urine and feces from the contaminating the shearing board and fleeces.

2. Prepping vaccinations

   To decrease further stress, especially as the ewes near the end of their gestation carrying lambs, we vaccinate on shearing day. I prepare all of the vaccinations in syringes and place them in a cooler until they are ready to be used. I choose to vaccinate because sheep can be infected with a number of clostridial diseases caused by bacteria that live in the environment, most usually soil. It is a cheap preventative measure to keep the flock healthy and to protect our future genetics. The ewes especially need this to be able to provide antibodies in their colostrum to the lambs since they have no immunity of their own when they are born. This will provide the lambs some protection until they are old enough to receive their first dose of the vaccine.

3. Shear the males first

   I choose to shear males first for a couple of reasons. The shearer needs to be careful when clipping around the testicular and genital areas of the sheep so it is better for them to do these areas while they are fresh and not fatigued. In addition, handling a bunch of ewes and having their scent on your hands and then attempting to shear the rams may cause a bit of trouble. The ewes do not get nearly as rowdy when scenting a male, so we do them last.

   

4. Gathering fleeces

   After the wool comes off the shearer’s clippers, I usally have a small crew that helps to gather the fleeces into a bag and sweep the shearing platform. Each fleece has a paper ID tag that includes the name and age of the sheep, the time of year we are shearing, along with a space for the skirted weight and staple length for me to fill in afterwards.

5. Hoof trimming & administer vaccines

   I trim hooves while the fleeces are being gathered. We trim the feet at minimum on a biannual basis to prevent foot rot and lameness. If the weather is too wet, the hooves do not wear naturally on their own, so we do our best to keep them in good shape.
   Vaccines are given post shearing as it is easier to identify the anatomical landmarks once the wool has been removed.

6. Feed & water sheep

   Everyone gets relocated to larger pens with hay and water when we are all done. The sheep feel so much better with the extra weight gone - some of our fleeces weigh anywhere from 4-6 lbs from just seven months of growth and can have a 5-7” staple!

7. Skirt fleeces

   This step usually takes me many weeks, but I start with the fleeces that have been pre-ordered through SponsorSHEEP or our new “Reserve a Fleece” option (we still have 3 fleeces left!). Then I work on fleeces that are designated for repeat customers and collaboration projects. Lastly are the fleeces that are potential candidates for the Manitoba Fibre Festival Wool Show since this event does not happen until September 11th.

   

   Questions about our shearing day, or interested in helping out at the farm on the big day? Send us a message on social media or reply to this newsletter - I’d be happy to chat with you!

UPCOMING EVENTS

Pembina Fibreshed Mixer
April 10th, 2026 from 7-9pm
Riverview Community Centre, Winnipeg MB

Goodbye Winter Market
(details below)

LAMB WATCH

And lastly, I can hardly wait to see our new lambs on the ground starting the first week of May. If you are interested in being a paid Substack subscriber, you can get to see some behind the scenes footage that we will share during our lambing window between May 5th and June 4th!

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Until next time…enjoy the warmer weather friends.

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Why this, why now?

I feel like White Spruce Heritage Farm is at a crossroads. Having started the fibre flock in 2022, I am at a significant moment in time where growth is important to the continued success of this business and the farm. I have learned a lot over the last 3.5 years since our inception and I want to be able to engage a broader community to learn more about multi-purpose sheep farming and appreciate the Navajo-Churro sheep as much as I do.

Transitioning the farm newsletter to Substack will also allow me to generate content for paid subscribers, such as tutorials and instructions for how I create my artwork, behind the scenes of the farm operation and tested recipes I have made with our own Navajo-Churro lamb. All of our SponsorSHEEP subscribers (available only until January 10th) are also going to be transitioned to this platform, which I am really excited about, as it will allow these folks to have priority access to the chat function and their own exclusive monthly content.

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Posts will happen four times per year (dates listed below are for 2026), to coincide with the nature-based cycle that includes the seasonal equinoxes (this is a farm operation that works in harmony with nature after all):

• Ostara, March 20th

• Litha, June 21st

• Mabon, September 22nd

• Yule, December 21st

Paid subscribers will have access to additional content and the full archive & be able to post comments and join our “Fleece . Fine Art . Food” community. SponsorSHEEP subscribers (available for purchase on our website) will receive six additional monthly emails sent directly to their email. If you subscribe to be a founding member through Substack, I will provide you with a $40 gift card to be used in our farm store as a token of our appreciation.

I look forward to connecting with you as we grow our community here.

This is “Fleece . Fine Art . Food” written by Shirley Harvey.

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