What Do I Do?
This site has Sound Effects, it brings a little of the countryside to your computer.
I mainly shear sheep but I also shear Angora Goats, and a few well behaved Alpacas.
I have now sheared some Alpacas (well three), they went a lot easier than I thought, but I did do them standing up on a halter (that's the Alpaca not me - like clipping a horse). I don't intend to shear Alpacas tied to the floor which is the traditional way, it doesn't look very nice to me.
I can also trim sheep's and goat's feet.
I can bring a mate or two to help me on the big flocks, and could bring extra workers to help wrap fleeces or pen sheep.
I can set up in a shed or in the field and could bring a trailer which turns into a ground level pen to hold about eight sheep which I (and a mate) can catch the sheep out of.
It helps if you can provide a standard 13 amp three pin socket to plug my machine into, but I can bring a generator if there is no power, for a small extra charge (blame the price of fuel).
Contact Me
Phone me at home after 6pm on (01507) 578044
Phone me on my mobile up to 10pm on 077 9595 6922
Email me on sheepshearermike@btinternet.com
Where Do I Go?
What Do I Charge?
Minimum charge of £35 for the first hour or so and an extra amount will be charged for travel costs if travelling over 10 miles or so (at 55p/mile), or £1.40/sheep if you have a lot (over 20).
I did not want to charge for travel as it puts up the price so much, but as some of my clients are over 200 miles away I can end up been out the house all day, with most of it driving, and only earning £35, so, at 55p/mile it gives me 30p/mile towards running costs and about £10/hr when traveling. I think that sounds fair.
If you are badley organised or the sheep are very hard to do (if they are dirty or in poor condition, or just a tricky breed of sheep like Merino) or things are generally not going well (such as I spend 2hrs getting then into a pen!!) I might have to charge a minimum of £20/hr, but as I usually do between 10 and 20 sheep/hr that does not happen very often. If I am with you for a day or two I might well give you a discount.
If I bring someone to wrap fleeces and pen sheep they usually charge £10/hr and will need paying separately.
If I bring a generator I may charge a little towards the petrol costs.
What Have I Done?
My current records are 28/hr on one hot afternoon, and a total of 186 in a day.
I shear between 1000 and 1500 sheep in a year (and a few goats and Alpacas).
I mostly shear little lots of pet sheep often two or three sheep at each stop, and on some days go to six or seven households.
On other jobs I can set up and shear for three days with two other shearers, and the sheep keep on coming, doing five hundred or so.
I like the social chit chat with so many different types of people I meet, prefering to shear steadily and accurately to turn the sheep away looking clean and tidy.
However, it is also nice to have a few days where you can fly and see how many you can do in a day. And of course, still turning them away looking quite tidy.
Recommendations
I shear the sheep and goats at The White Post Farm, between Mansfield and Newark where the A617 crosses the A614. It is a great place to watch and feed the different farm animals, with other creatures not so farm related, such as snakes, spiders and ants.
To see a video clip of me shearing Janice the Angora Goat, click this link: http://whitepostfarmcentre.co.uk/blog/janice-at-the-salon/.
