Shearing of sheep on farms should be carried out according to a previously developed general plan, according to which plans are drawn up for individual brigades and farms for each day, as well as schedules for adjusting the flocks and routes of their movement to the shearing stations.
Time for driving from the place of grazing to the point of cutting should be set depending on local conditions, taking the speed of advance of the flocks no more than 15 km per day.
In farms with large livestock, in which the flocks are selected by sex and age, sheep are sheared in a certain order: first, the breeding stock of winter lambing, then the young of last year’s birth, waltz, spring damning queens and, finally, breeders. Flocks with diseases such as brucellosis or scabies, etc., are sheared last and in a separate room.
Before shearing, sheep are kept without food for a day and 10-12 hours without water. On the eve of the day, sheep shearing is left indoors overnight so that the wool is not moistened from dew or rain. Sheep, the hairstyle of which is scheduled for the second half of the day, are driven into the room early in the morning. Sheep with a wet fleece cannot be sheared, since the wool in the bales is self-heating and deteriorates. After shearing, all sheep must be treated with a solution of creolin with hexachlorane or another solution to prevent skin diseases and protect against ectoparasites.
Sheep shearing is a rather laborious operation. With machine shearing, an experienced shearer can cut from 60-80 to 100-120 sheep per day. Sheared highly skilled sheared 300-350 sheep per working day.
There are three types of machine shearing sheep: on the tables (shelves), in-line on the carousel and conveyor installations and speed.
Haircut on the tables - the least productive method in which one shearer delivers sheep to the desktop, shears, gathers and puts wool on the classifying table or on the scales. Strigal also replaces, adjusts, lubricates the cutting pair of the machine and performs auxiliary operations.
Flow haircut on the carousel and conveyor installations significantly simplifies the work of the shearers.
Carousel consists of five desktops. On one they fix a sheep for a shearing, on the other four - shear.
The hauler catches in the pen, drags him to the installation and fixes the animal on the table. The carousel moves the sheep from one strip to another. The shearing process is divided into four operations performed by individual shears. Each of them cuts only a strictly defined area of the sheep, which ensures the shearing of the thread. The oiled sheep again falls into the workplace of the customer, who frees her and removes the fleece. Then the process is repeated.
The conveyor installation is a linear belt conveyor equipped with clamps for a sheep. Sheared are placed on both sides of the conveyor and, as in a ring installation, each of them performs well-defined operations. Serve the conveyor 11 people, of whom 5 are located on one side, and 6 - on the other side of the conveyor. The main advantage of conveyor and carousel installations is that they do not require shearing of high qualification to work on them. Their disadvantage is the difficulty of controlling the work performed by each strip.
Currently, the most progressive is the speed, the so-called Orenburg haircut. Its essence lies in a strict rational sequence of methods and movements of the strigal with the machine. In this case, the sheep are sheared in a "sitting" position on the floor without flooring.
Sheep should be sheared carefully, without cuts and gaps, avoiding chipping (cutting from repeated passes). Be careful not to break the fleece during shearing or its pollution.
The transporter carries the sheared fleece along with the personal sheet of the strigal to the scales. The accountant records the data on the wool mass in the journal of the haircut and in the individual card of the haircut. Then the fleece is classified according to the procurement standard for this type of wool.
Classification is carried out in a well-lit room, where classifying tables are placed, compartments for accumulation of classified wool, press for packaging, and allocate space for storing bales with wool. The bales are labeled according to the requirements of wool standards, and the packaged wool, as it accumulates, is sent to the nearest wool preprocessing factory or to a harvesting center.
Timely selection, training and proper placement of personnel are of great importance for the proper organization and conduct of haircuts. It is necessary to pre-select and appoint chiefs of units, grinders, servicemen, their assistants and strigals from among the most experienced full-time farm workers. Sheared, not having sufficient experience, must undergo special training. Haircut on enlarged shearing stations contributes to a more rational use of technology, reduces labor and costs, improves the quality of work of shearers and wool graders, provides a more organized harvesting and delivery of it to procurement centers, and provides an opportunity to improve the cultural and personal service of workers.
Haircuts
Animal grooming is a responsible and painstaking process in this type of animal husbandry. All large-scale farms are equipped with special shearing machines and an appropriate set of equipment for organizing a fleece collection point.
Animal preparation
The animal to be cut should not be fed before the procedure during the day. An overcrowded stomach causes additional anxiety, which may lead to an inversion of the intestines. Water is not given to the animal for 10 to 12 hours. This is also done so that the wool does not get dirty with the products of the selection during the haircut.
Reference! In fine-fleeced and semi-fine-colored lambs, to preserve the quality of wool, tails are cut at the age of two months.
Strigal examines the sheep before the procedure, determines the quality of wool and the sequence of admission to the manipulation. Animals with wet hair are not allowed to be cut until they are completely dry.
Room preparation
Experienced farmers approach the process of preparing for a haircut very seriously. They choose a room where they will carry out the procedure in advance, clean it of manure, carry out disinfection. The place where animals are trimmed should meet the basic requirements for the room: dry, light, without drafts.
Shearing is carried out directly on the prepared standard tables (size 1.5 x 1.7 x 0.4). Tables are covered with a tarpaulin to protect the rune from contamination and loss. Nearby is a wound disinfectant.
If the procedure is performed outdoors, the place is selected with the following characteristics: elevated, dry, with no drafts, when using a small canopy to protect from direct sunlight.
Sheep shearing is performed in two ways:
The quality of the wool obtained depends on the experience and qualification of the master - the cutal. The most common defect rune - reducing the length of the coat. This happens when the master does not cut the wool at the base of the staple, but slightly higher.
Wool is obtained artificially shortened, which affects the lower cost of the fleece and causes a loss.
Technique and sequence haircuts
There are several techniques to perform the process of cutting. The first one is traditional, using tables in specially designated rooms. Consider the sequence:
- An animal deprived of support is located on the left side, with its back to the worker. Preliminary cleaning of wool is carried out.
- First, the tail, legs, and udders are trimmed, neatly covering them from cuts,
- The next stage is cutting the inside of the animal’s body: the belly and chest,
- Next, turn the animal to the other side of the muzzle to itself for the convenience of shearing the croup and scapula,
- Then successive movements are performed to cut the waist, side, withers (the same manipulations are performed by turning the animal to the other side)
- The final touches - longitudinal cutting of the back, head, neck,
- Carefully remove the animal from the table.
Known is the second method of the process of collecting the fleece experienced shearers: speed. It is characterized by high speed work. The master places the animal on the floor in a sitting position. He performs all the manipulations by clamping the legs of the animal with his knees.
The sequence of work is slightly different from the traditional way: first, the inner surface of the chest is cut, then the legs, back, sides, and head. The masterly master of high-speed way per day shaves up to 90 fine-fleeced sheep.
IMPORTANT! After the procedure, be sure to inspect the animal for cuts and wounds, carry out disinfection and release to graze. Pointed sheep give some water and feed.
Rune storage
Sheep shearing should be done carefully. without jerking to preserve the integrity of the rune. the actions of unqualified strihal lead to a violation of the integrity of the material, and, as a result, to a reduction in cost (torn fleeces are not valued sufficiently high).
INFORMATION! The rupture of the material obtained occurs not only through the fault of the worker performing the haircut, but also during the inept storage of the rune.
Experts - sheared to give the following recommendations:
- Fresh fleece is weighed and placed on a flat clean surface to identify visible defects and identify areas of the animal's body: head, legs, back, and so on.
- Shake off the resulting material, freeing it from dust and debris,
- Otkhogayut from the whole cloth reed, polozhku, wet areas (wool low grade),
- The fleece is laid for storage in a special way: the fabric on both sides of the side is bent to the center, then the head and tail parts are rolled up to the center of the fleece,
- Such a rolled roller is placed in the bag until the moment of sale. The rope is not used to bind the material, since in the place of contact a hall is formed, from which it is difficult to get rid of later.
Conclusion
Sheep shearing is a process that requires responsible attitude and the right approach. Performance of technological operations will provide high quality fleece and will keep psychological comfort of animals. Therefore, each breeder must have knowledge of the methods of shearing sheep, the necessary tools and the rules for storing the material obtained.
Compliance with the rules and technology of sheep shearing is necessary to preserve the quality of wool. It is advisable for an unprepared sheep breeder to consult with experienced shears or to watch their work when they first perform the procedure.
Sheep shearing: ways, technique
For a long time sheep wool was considered the main and most valuable product of sheep breeding. In terms of its healing and heat-saving properties, it has no equal among other similar types of raw materials. Properly and at optimal times, shearing of sheep not only allows you to collect the maximum amount of wool, but also helps to improve the growth and development of these lovely animals, preserving their health.
Depending on the breed, wool is collected from the sheep either once or once in the spring, or twice a year. However, in any case, cutting animals can occur only in warm, fairly stable weather.
The reason lies in the fact that sheep are heat-loving animals and even an insignificant supercooling or a little rain, and even more terrible cold wind can seriously damage their health. In addition, the timing of the haircut is of great importance. The reason lies in the fact that the animal's coat has an unpleasant feature of clogging up a lot. That is why the haircut must have time to hold before maturation and drying of burdock and similar weed plants.
Tightening with a haircut is also inexpedient for the reason that sheep with thick long hair do not tolerate heat, their appetite decreases, molting begins, which leads to a decrease in the amount of wool and deterioration of its quality.
There are two ways of cutting - manual, with the help of scissors and machine shearing of sheep. Manual method of harvesting sheep wool is used in farms with a small number of livestock. In large farms, sheep are sheared with special machines. Sheep shearing is a very important event.
Preparation for it begins long before its direct implementation. In advance, the staff of equipment cutters and knife grinders are trained, trained and undergoing training. The mechanization of sheep shearing requires the advance purchase and preparation of the necessary equipment, primarily sheep shearing machines.
The most thoroughly prepared room for a haircut. Tables are set up to half a meter in height and up to one and a half meters wide, on which workers will work for shearing sheep. Both manual and electromechanical methods of shearing sheep require from all the people involved in this process maximum efficiency and excellence.
There are high-speed and the usual method of shearing sheep. The speed method assumes the work of a shear with a sheep sitting on the floor. Being located behind the animal, it attracts it with one hand to itself, at the same time bending the sheep's head, and the other cuts out the chest. Then, pressing the cattle to their legs and fixing its front hoof under its knee, shears the hair between the hind limb and the stomach, on the belly, at the same time holding and straightening the delicate skin to avoid cuts.
Skillful movements worker for shearing sheep successively removes wool from the inside, and then from the outside of the hind limbs of the animal. In a few short movements, the tail is clipped, after which the shearer, pressing the left side of the sheep with the hand, makes passes along the spine, while holding the sheared fleece.
Having finished with this, with a deft movement of the legs, the worker moves the sheep and continues to remove wool from the right cheek, ears, head, and shoulder. Virtually changing the position of an animal in a state of light shock, the shearing machine makes passes from the croup along the entire body to the head. Quick coup, and everything is repeated in the mirror image on the right.
In the usual method of sheep shearing technique is as follows: a sheep is placed on the table, on its left side, with its back to the haircut, and the body is fixed so that it cannot rise on its own. Previously from the surface of the fleece clean various dirt. The haircut begins with the collection of low-grade wool, standing on the legs, belly, tail, other places prone to rapid contamination.
Then the hair is trimmed from the abdomen and chest by gently moving the machine from the groin of the right rear leg to the front. When finished, the sheep is turned on its right side, shears scapula, croup, withers, side. In this case, the fleece itself falls on the table. Another coup and wool collected on the right side, from the back, neck, head. Haircut is over.
The speed of the high-speed haircut method is so great that, with enough experience, it allows one person to cut up to 90 fine-fleeced bright ones per shift. And at the competitions held in Kalmykia in the spring of 2013 for the best strigal champion, he cleaned 200 sheep for 9 hours a day, spending 1 minute 40 seconds to process one female.
Fleece, collected during shearing, is folded with hair inwards and sent for further processing. And animals that gave up their wool to people are carefully inspected, treated with disinfectant solution and grazed in the vicinity of the kosar.
When is the best haircut?
Rams and sheep are sheared according to the quality of their coat. If animals have a uniform coat (fine-wool and half-fine sheep and sheep), they are sheared once a year in the spring. If the wool is mixed (coarse-haired animals), then the haircut is taken twice a year, usually in spring and autumn.
Some coarse-haired sheep are even trimmed three times in one year.
Lambs with heterogeneous wool begin to cut from the age of 5 months (usually - in the summer). If the lambs' hair is thin or semi-thin, then the main condition for the first haircut is a fiber length of at least 4 centimeters (usually their hair grows to such length also in 5 months).
To organize a competent haircut, you must choose the right time for this procedure. They are set according to weather conditions, and also depend on whether the wool has grown.
Regardless of the climatic zone, the main factor for correctly determining the date of commencement of this procedure is steady warm weather. This is due to the fact that animals, after they have removed their wool, can catch a cold and get sick.
However, the key word in determining suitable weather is warm. Если установилась жара – стричь баранов и овец также нельзя, поскольку шерсть не только защищает от холода, но и регулирует температуру тела животного в зной. Слишком высокая температура может вызвать у стриженного животного потерю аппетита и, как следствие, истощение. Кроме того, в такую погоду шерстный покров часто засоряется разного рода растениями (например, репейником), что затрудняет процесс снятия шерсти и ухудшает её качественные характеристики.
Another important rule for cutting a ram is to choose the moment when the coat begins to roam.
Coarse-haired animals need to be cut in a timely manner to prevent the quantitative loss of raw materials. As soon as the temperature rises, these animals fill up with molting and lose up to half of their wool. In addition, in the warm season, such animals almost completely lose their fluff, which is the most valuable type of wool raw material.
In connection with the foregoing, all sheep and sheep are sheared in the spring, from about the end of May to the beginning of June, since it is not at this time that it is still hot, but it is already stable heat. The timing of the second haircut - from late August to early September.
These terms are due to the need for the animal to restore the sheared cover before the cold period begins.
Before the procedure, sheep and sheep should be properly prepared for it.
Animals stop feeding the day before the haircut, and water - for twelve hours.
This is due to the fact that with a full stomach the sheep are harder to undergo the procedure, and may, at the time of the removal of the wool, stain it with urine.
You can not remove wet hair from animals, as in this case it deteriorates quickly.
If the coat is wet for any reason, you need to wait until it is completely dry.
Conditions for proper haircut
The room where the procedure takes place should be well lit. To store the raw materials you need to prepare in advance desktops and cover them with a tarpaulin.
This will avoid loss and contamination.
Sheep shear in two ways - manual (with scissors) and mechanical (using a clipper).
The first method allows you to get better products, as you can cut with scissors as close as possible to the skin, without the risk of injuring the animal. This is especially important when shearing fine-wool sheep, where the length of the fiber especially strongly influences the cost of the obtained raw materials. The undoubted advantage of the second (mechanical) method is the increase in speed and, consequently, productivity.
It is very important that during the procedure the knives do not touch the skin. It is also impossible to cut the same place twice, as this will lead to a decrease in quality indicators in the future (this is especially true for rune raw materials).
Hair cut from the legs and belly is packed separately from the fleece. If all the listed conditions are met, it does not matter where the haircut will take place - on the desktop or on the floor.
To properly perform the procedure, you must comply with the following conditions:
- the animal must be positioned to the strigal back, and the legs must not be supported,
- coat before cutting should be cleaned of dirt and weeds,
- First, the hair should be cut from the heel and inner side of the thighs, then from the front and rear legs and around the udder. This wool is set aside separately.
- after that, from the right hind leg through the groin area to the right front leg, a band is cut, and later on, the stomach and chest are cut off with the same stripes,
- turn the animal on the other side
- cut the croup and the left shoulder blade,
- we strip the loins and right side with stripes,
- turn the animal on its left side again,
- we cut left shoulder blade and croup,
- then remove the hair from the back with long stripes,
- we cut the head and the right side of the neck,
- raise the head of the ram and cut the left side of the neck,
- remove (or turn off) the tool and release the animal.
It is important that during the procedure the ram or sheep are positioned so that the sheared six or fleece itself falls on the prepared surface (floor or work table). Also at the end of the process it is necessary to inspect the animals, during which, if necessary, they cut the hooves and disinfect them (if any) cuts.
Shredded rune material spread on a flat clean surface, straighten, shake, then cleaned of dust and possible contamination, as well as substandard fibers. After cleansing, the fleece is rolled with wool inside into a roller, and stored in this form until practical use in production.
Speed cut method
The most common location of the workplace specialist at the most illuminated walls of the shop. Proper lighting allows him to wield a machine with greater confidence and is less likely to make a mistake and chop the coat or, as they call it, cut it, as well as damage the skin of the sheep.
Immediately, near the workplace of the shearer, relatively minor hunters of the bazooka are building. From here come the new sheep for shearing, and already the “treated” ones are lowered into a specialized hole in the wall or in the floor of the room.
It is also important to use the same tool. Due to the fact that each strigal gets used to his typewriter, blades and other accessories, in the future his work will be more efficient and, as a result, more productive.
Order and rules
Before starting the hairstyle, the specialist should go into the bazok and, with a fairly quick movement, pick up the sheep with one hand in the neck and the other in the area behind the front paws. Pulling the sheep up a little so that the hind legs remained on the floor, and the front were in the air, the master must move his back, continuing to pull the animal towards the working space. It will be most convenient to support the sheep at an angle of approximately 45 ° relative to the floor. This will avoid additional efforts and "struggle" with the sheep. If you lead a sheep vertically, that is, at an angle of 90 ° with respect to the floor, then its position will be unstable, causing the sheep to try all the time to escape, losing balance. To keep her in this position requires considerable physical effort of the shearer, and, accordingly, more time is spent than with proper handling of the animal. When tilted at 45 ° to the floor, the sheep is not nervous, does not try to escape, but quietly rests on the arms that support it, the front part of their body and neck, while moving on their hind legs. To make it comfortable to cut in the future, you should bring her face to the hatch located on the opposite side of the shaft hanging from above, the main purpose of which is to connect the motor with the trimmer. Then you should almost sit down the sheep and become from behind and slightly to the side.
The first penetrations make short movements (no more than two or three) in the region of the sternum, also called the “trowel”. Then you can do penetrations with full coverage along the entire length of the comb. Begin from the already cropped area near the right forelimb and continue to gently move along the peritoneum to the groin area. In parallel with this movement, the task of the cutal is to divert the wool aside with the other hand and to hold the sheep with its legs as tight as possible, without at the same time creating an inconvenience for the animal so that it does not tear out.
The second passage is carried out in the same place on the opposite side of the sternum. Further passes are realized in a downward direction, the rest are already across the belly. Professional haircut in this place of the body of the animal is considered to be quite a complicated and responsible process. It is in the area of the belly that folds often occur in many sheep, which makes it difficult and slows down the cutting process. It is advisable to try to maximize the leveling of the folds before the implementation of passes.
The secret to simplifying the process of cutting at this stage is the leg bent at the knee and laid back behind the right knee of the strigal. Due to this, it turns out to release your second hand and carry out all sorts of auxiliary actions for it, for example, after this simple intake it will be possible to strain and smooth the skin in the peritoneal area without additional efforts and thus avoid additional waste of time and damage to the final product.
In the position described above, the brute will be ready to trim the inner hind limbs and the outer side of the left hind limb. In this place it is very important not to injure the sheep. The area of prepuce in rams and valukha, as well as the nipples in females, requires a competent and professional approach. Move the machine should be across. The first is on the back of the leg, starting from the groin area and gradually moving closer to the hock, and then in the opposite direction. If, after the initial passage, there is still an uncut crop, then the passes are repeated 1-2 more times until the result is achieved. If the sheep's leg is not straight enough, shear should lightly press down on the joint with his left hand. This will fully straighten the limb. In this way, both rear legs are clipped.
Further, the outer side of the left hind limb is cut. A passage is made diagonally from the hock almost to the spine of a sheep. Then in the same direction we make another 2-4 short passes, cutting off the wool on the left thigh.
It is considered wrong if the passes are made relatively far (higher) or if after each pass the trimmer moves up. If you do this, then it will be necessary to implement additional passes in the same places, and this will necessarily lead to a chop or, as it is also called, pererestu.
Without changing the posture of the sheep, the specialist proceeds to tail trimming. It should be made passes over the tail and directly below it. Further position of the sheep should be somewhat changed. Pushing his legs back, the hair clipper sits the animal on its right side and makes several short passes along the ridge, moving gradually from the back and stopping a little further than the base of the tail. With your free hand, you should move the wool back so that you can watch the trimmer cut and control the process.
Further it is necessary to proceed to the shearing of hair in the region of the head and neck. For the process to go smoothly, you need to carefully put the sheep in a vertical position. The most professional shears may have time to make several passes over the sheep's forehead while replanting it into a new pose. The right leg of the strigal should be located in the area between the limbs of the animal. Start trimming the hair from the neck should be from the stern "trowel" and above to the muzzle. The passages must be short, and the free arm must be moved apart by wool on the path of the machine. Then make a long passage parallel to the neck. In exactly the same way, then another two or three passages from the sternum to the cheek are realized.
Next you need to very carefully take the sheep by the ear, and after short passes to cut the area between the ears. It is not necessary from such position to shear all the wool from the cheeks of the sheep. In the upper part, it will be more convenient and correct to do this with the help of long passes.
When the left side of the head is processed, you need to go to the shoulders and further to the front limb. It is necessary to raise the leg of the animal and rotate it, substituting a typewriter. This will allow you to quickly process this place using the descending passages and move on to the next one.
Next, you need to move the sheep from the sitting position to the lying position. This will make it possible to carry out long passes along the whole body. They should start from the lumbar spine to the base of the head. Next you need to slightly move the legs back and you can start to cut the side. All long passes should be made parallel to the ridge. In the back and from the sides, it is advisable to try to use the maximum grip of the comb, closer to the neck - a grip equal to half of the comb.
For the proper implementation of long passes along the entire length of the body of a sheep, it must be kept in the area of the ears. If we substitute the left leg approximately at the place where the right shoulder of the sheep begins, and the right leg is kept in the lumbar region, then the animal's skin will stretch in such a position, which eliminates the possibility of wrinkles and simplifies the movement of the machine along the whole body. Those sheared, who have not yet sufficiently filled their hands on sheep shearing, often make an unallowable mistake. Trying to carry out a long passage along the body of the animal, they hold the sheep by the right ear. This treatment causes the sheep to burst out, because the animal feels pain, and this will negatively affect the overall production process and in particular the cutting of wool. Properly hold the sheep behind the head between the ears and lightly press it against your left leg.
After long approaches from the hind limbs to the head, it is necessary to gently turn the sheep with your left foot closer to the right wall. Thus, before doing further grooming, you should make sure that the position of the sheep from the period of “long passes along the body” to the next stage, namely grooming the right side of the head, has changed almost by 180 °. The entire right side of the head is shaved with a few short passes. Moving in the same direction, it is necessary to process the area of the scapula and the remaining intact part of the thoracic region. Then you can go to trim the inside of the right limb. A ganglion can be felt near the sheep's shoulder. If you press on it, the animal will allow you to straighten your right leg, which will simplify the process of cutting.
Further, by analogy with the left side, the strigal will have to mow the right one. Good long passes should be made at an angle not exceeding 45 °. It is desirable to slightly bend the body of the animal. In order to properly produce a haircut of the remaining right hind limb of the animal, it is necessary to gather all the hanging skin in the groin area into a fist, and then, slightly pulling it, to ensure that the limb of the animal is straightened out as much as possible. One should not forget at the same time slightly exert pressure on the joint to relax and straighten the leg. At the final stage, the area around the tail is treated with not too long passages, starting at the very tail and moving closer to the lumbar spine.
