Must Be Fall at Vivian Acres

Jethro Lookin Good

Fall has come to Vivian Acres again.  Beautiful fall.  Cooler temperatures, leaves changing colors, and the farm has begun some of it’s fall rituals.  There is a lot to do before old man winter sets in.  One of those is the shearing of the goats.  This is the first year that I have decided to take this extra step by doing this for my animals myself.  Anogra goats have to be sheared every 6 months.  Their hair grows an inch a month and left for longer than that, their fleeces would be a mess.  This is also necessary before another ritual can take place and that is the anual date night with the buck.  There would be so much hair it could make things more difficult for Jethro to perform his duties.  The exception to the rule is the kids that were born this past spring.  I intend to let their fleeces grow and I have a woman that will use their soft curls to line her custom made mittens.

I attended a class last spring on shearing.  Unfortunately for me all they had was sheep to shear.  The class involved a lecture in the morning followed by a demonstration and then they brought in the flock.  The idea was for us to chear as many as possible to get some experience.  This reinforced my love for goats.  The sheep were a lot bigger than my goats and certainly a lot less friendly.  There are many differences between sheep and goat anatomy also.  Sheep have more bulk than goats and their skin is a lot tighter.  The shears run smoothly down their skin.  Goats skin is a lot looser.  When shearing, you have to be careful not to get the loose folds caught in the clippers then cutting the skin.  Unfortunately there were not goats at the class, but there were a couple of master shearers that had experience with goats and we talked about it.  

Anyway, the decision was made to shear the goats the first week in October.  This is soon enough for breeding and also their fleeces will grow sufficient enough so they will have a fleece to protect them from the Vermont winter.

I knew that Jethro would be the toughest since he is my only intact buck and he would be first.

I began with placing Jethro on his butt.  If you take a goat (or a sheep) and place them on their butt with their head between your legs, they will go to sleep, kinda.    Then the shearing began.  Starting first on the chest then belly being careful to avoid the pizzle (opening for male parts).  Then the legs, sides and butt.   Before long,  Jethro’s thick fleece was all in the bag and Jethro had a new look.  A nice clean look, and I had my first goat sheared.   I have to admit I was pretty pleased with myself.

The goats are sheared now and fall is steaming along.  I have gained another skill to become more self sufficient on the farm.  There are so many things to do before winter comes to prepare the animals to help them have an easier winter. 

Clearing one of Jethro's front legs

Jethro just chillin

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