SHEARING
Shearing date
Farmers were asked whether their shearing date was suitable. Three-quarters considered their shearing date was suitable for their country but others (12%) stressed the need for using blades or a snow comb if shearing in winter. Others pointed out the danger of shearing too close to lambing, some considering that winter shearing was too risky and intended to revert to summer shearing.
| Shearing date | Response (%) | |
| Satisfactory | 76.0 | |
| Blades essential for pre-lamb shearing | 8.0 | |
| Of no importance | 6.0 | |
| Changing from machines to snow comb | 4.0 | |
| Shearing too close to lambing | 2.0 | |
| Shear only what you can cover | 2.0 | |
| Going back to summer shearing | 2.0 |
Farmers were asked whether shorn sheep survived the snow better than woolly sheep. Seventy six responses were obtained where farmers were able to make direct comparisons or knew of other farmers where comparisons were able to be made. Sixty eight percent considered shorn sheep to survive better the woolly sheep. Reasons were as follows.
| Reason | Response (%) |
| More mobile, less bogged down | 56.0 |
| Less sleepy sickness | 9.0 |
| Less stress due to absence of wet, cold wool | 5.0 |
| Shorn sheep moved to shelter | 2.5 |
| Belly crutching in autumn helped | 2.5 |
| Blade shorn the day before snow and OK | 2.5 |
| Blade shorn 7 days prior to snow and OK | 2.5 |
| Blade shorn 21 days prior to snow and OK | 2.5 |
| Blade shorn, 6 weeks but no difference | 5.0 |
| Snow comb, 4 weeks OK | 2.5 |
| Normal comb, 21 days insufficient | 7.5 |
| Two-three months wool ideal | 2.5 |
Banks Peninsula farmers experienced cold, wet weather after the snow, which kept woolly sheep wet and miserable. In this situation farmers found shorn sheep to fare no better than woolly sheep. In other areas blade shearing proved effective and sheep with up to a months wool following shearing with a snow comb appeared to cope well. However three weeks regrowth following a normal comb was insufficient. Some farmers expressed concern about the practice of winter shearing without the use of a snow comb or blades.
Death rates of ewes shorn at various intervals prior to the snow are as follows.
| Shearing date | (N) | Ewe deaths (%) |
| 1 month before | 33 | 16.1 |
| 2 months before | 6 | 14.9 |
| 3 months before | 8 | 9.9 |
| > 3 months | 23 | 14.7 |
The limited data suggests that a shearing interval of 2-3 months may be ideal for the survivability of ewes during a severe snow. Losses of sheep shorn within a month were not influenced by the method of shearing viz. blades, snow comb or normal machines.
| Shearing method | Farms (N) | Death rate (%) |
| Blades | 34 | 17.3 |
| Cover comb | 45 | 16.5 |
| Machine | 45 | 14.6 |
| All ewes | 124 | 15.2 |
Blade vs. machine shearing
In the high country 60% of farmers shore ewes with blades verses 7% on the plains (Table 14). The snow comb was the favoured method used by 50% of hill and Banks Peninsula farmers while the normal comb was the preferred use by two-thirds of plains farmers. Wethers and hoggets followed similar trends to ewes although more hoggets were shorn in the region with a normal comb (48%) than either the snow comb (30%) or blades (22%).
Table 14: Method of Shearing Ewes
| Farm Type | Blades | Snow Comb | Normal Comb |
| (%) | (%) | (%) | |
| High Country | 60 | 30 | 10 |
| Hill Country | 23 | 49 | 28 |
| Banks Peninsula | 33 | 50 | 17 |
| Downs | 23 | 36 | 41 |
| Plains | 7 | 28 | 65 |
| Total | 26 | 38 | 36 |
Contact for Enquiries
North Island
Phil Journeaux
Manager
North Island Regions
Sector Performance Policy
MAF Policy
Private Bag 3123
Hamilton
NEW ZEALAND
Phone: +64 7 957 8314
Fax: +64 7 957 8315
South Island
John Greer
Regional Team Leader
Natural Resources Group
MAF Policy
PO Box 20 280
Christchurch
NEW ZEALAND
Phone: +64 3 943 1703
Fax: +64 3 943 1757
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