Range Sheep 141 



These three operations are usually performed at the same 

 time rather than at separate times as is the case on the 

 small farms. The method of castrating and docking is 

 the same as that used on the farms and a detailed dis- 

 cussion of these operations is given in the chapter devoted 

 to farm sheep. 



SHEARING 



The time of shearing is usually shortly after lambing if 

 weather conditions permit. On the ranges, nearly all 

 of the shearing is performed sometime during the months 

 of April, May, and June. 



The work is usually conducted by professional shearers 

 who travel from one locality to another. Because of the 

 large experience which these men have, they are able to 

 shear 100 or 200 sheep in a day. Some of them shear in 

 Australia, New Zealand, and Argentina as well as in the 

 United States and in this way have work almost the year 

 around. Within the past ten or fifteen years, machine 

 shearing is largely taking the place of hand work. The 

 machine shears are usually arranged in gangs of ten to forty 

 machines all run by one engine. The chief advantages of 

 machine shearing are : a neater job and less cutting of 

 the skin. An expert can shear about as many by hand 

 as by machine, but an amateur can work much faster 

 with a machine. It was at first feared that the very 

 close shearing performed by the machine might subject 

 the sheep to damage when exposed to the burning sun or 

 storms ; but so far, few bad results from these sources 

 have been noticed. In many states a large amount of 

 shearing is still done by hand, but the use of the machine 

 is growing. The process of shearing large flocks occupies 

 considerable time under the most favorable conditions, 



