We just finished up our shearing weekend at Five Marys! We had two talented shearers, Duke & Wendy, who were here for 2 days to shear our whole flock of 300 Navajo Churro ewes and rams. It’s an all hands on deck kind of process at Five Marys, because many hands make light work. The girls all come to help, and we always have a few outside friends come by too. It’s always a long few days getting things prepared, and always a fascinating process to be a part of.

Duke & Wendy drove from Oregon (Duke trailered his wool press with him) and they stay with us here in Fort Jones. Duke had his wool press custom made – there are only a handful of these found throughout the country! Both Duke and Wendy have traveled across the world shearing sheep for ranchers and farmers. Wendy was even featured in this awesome Vogue article about women shearers!

They are up early to prepare for the long days of shearing. It’s a team effort to sort the sheep and keep the chute filled and ready to go for the shearers to do their work. Shearers typically get paid per sheep. They have a clicker that they press each time they finish one ewe (one ram counts as two clicks!), so it’s important that the sheep are ready to go and we aren’t wasting time.

We shear every season before the warmer months for the health, comfort, and safety of our sheep. It always feels good to have our beautiful flock shorn and ready for summer!

Check out our video that just perfectly captures our 2021 shearing weekend on the ranch. Duke and Wendy are incredibly knowledgeable about their craft and they share TONS of info with you!

Have you ever been around sheep shearing? Leave a comment below telling us what you learned!