You may wonder why we shear in early February. Importantly, that is when Brent is available for our small job, but for multiple other reasons, it is best for ewes to be sheared before they lamb. First, ewes are more likely to lamb in a sheltered spot if they are not wearing five inch thick, storm-proof woolen insulation; second, shearing exposes the udder and removes wool tags that newborn lambs may waste precious energy sucking when they're first figuring out how to nurse; additionally, sheared sheep release a great deal of heat that serves to warm a properly-sized lambing barn to temperatures survivable by newborns; finally, lambs are easily smothered when ewes in full fleece lie down nearby.
So, here are our ewes the morning after Super Bowl 2017, greeted by snow and zero degrees. Yup, they're cold. Now, however, as I compose this segment, they are nested into straw in the barn and stoking their inner fire with contented cudding.