Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Looking for a Shearer

I've been going along to help shear for a number of years and now I'm the shearer myself. As I've been doing this I've noticed a lot of things. Some people are a joy to shear for while others are just a real bear. Many times it has nothing at all to do with the sheep. The people and how they treat the crew can make or break a day.
Here's a couple of tips to make life easier and make your shearer want to come back.

#1- We are here to help you. Remember you called us to do a job that you can't or won't do yourself. It is a dirty, hard job. Not many people do it and chances are you had to scrape around to find our name. You are not the only person who has called us and I will get to you. Just give it time. Weather and health play a lot into how many I can do and how fast I can do them.

#2- When we say lock the sheep in, lock them in. That doesn't mean wait until the minute we are pulling in the driveway. (This is only excusable if you have a very small  elephant proof paddock.) I came to shear your sheep. Not chase them around a field. This cost time which in turn costs me and you money. Once you have them locked in, make sure it is full proof. Sheep will try to get out and just because they are ok with you in the barn doesn't mean they are ok with the crew in the barn.

#3- If you want to help, for me, that is fine. But you must be willing to do what I tell you or get out of the way. Remember I'm using electric knives moving at a very high rate of speed. They can cut off a finger. When I tell you not to do something it's for the safety of everyone involved including your sheep.

#4- Yes your sheep are hot. It's not likely that they'll die from being hot. Remember on the other hand if the shearer comes out both them and your sheep could die from heat exhaustion while shearing. It can wait another day. If you were that worried maybe you should've called the shearer earlier. Don't wait until the last minute. We don't like shearing in hot weather and unless it's our fault that it's late shearing we are most likely only doing it because we feel bad for the sheep not for you.

#5-  Don't gripe about the price. Once again I go back to the basic theory. We are doing a job you are either unwilling or uncapable of doing. I can tell the customers who have either actually shorn, or attempted to shear a sheep. They have respect for what I do and are willing to pay for it without complaint. Believe me we are not making money. If you only knew what the cost of our equipment and upkeep is you'd be surprised.

#6- Leave water. ok while not a rule it is a suggestion. A welcome one at that. I always appreciate a drink at the end of a job. Even in cool weather I break out in a sweat.



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