The boys that catch the sheep for us, Tim and Jay Cisewski, don't get too many breaks.  The animals are close by where they have been drying off for a couple days. The sheep must be spotted near the shearing equipment, as it has limited range from the power unit on the wall.

       When the shearer arrives, a large canvas mat is placed on the barn floor to keep the wool clean.  Our shearer is Joe Huber from Oxford, Wisconsin.  His dad and all of his brothers are shearers. 

       The shearer must hold the animal in a comfortable position with his legs and one hand while shearing with the other hand. The sheep must remain calm for a period of about 5 minutes and is probably quite happy when it's over.   

       You can see how the fleece holds together and comes off all in one piece.  It doesn't take Joe long to get the wool off.  He did 30 sheep in about two and a half hours.