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NEW ZEALAND SHEEP SHEARING [9040 NZ] Jack McKenzie and his dogs are herding the sheep to the shearing shed.

SHEEP SHEARING [9026 NZ] The Merino is the oldest and most numerous breed in the world. It is thought to have come from Spain or North Africa. The Merino was New Zealand’s first sheep and today there are just over 2 million of them. Most Merinos are found in the rugged South Island hill country, where it is the only breed to thrive on the high altitude pastures of native grass. Merinos stay in mobs and move quickly. Despite a heavy fleece, they are fairly small and hardy which means they survive the cold. Merinos have a very dense fleece, nearly three times as many as other breeds. The wool is very fine and soft and although the outside of the fleece looks grey, inside it is quite white. The wool is 6.5 to 10cm long and has close wrinkles or "crimps". A Merino grows 3.5 to 5 kg of wool every year. All rams and some of the ewes have horns. Merino wool is made into very fine fabrics for men and women’s fashion wear. It is even made into billiard cloths. (sheepworld.co.nz)

SHEEP SHEARING [9102 NZ] The first sheep were landed in New Zealand by Captain Cook in 1773. The sheep population grew to 70.3 million in 1982 but has now declined to 43.1 million due to declining profits compared to other types of farming.

MERINO WOOL SHEEP [9058 NZ] Their wrinkly skin makes them the toughest sheep to shear and they often endure nasty cuts during the process. But their wool is the highest quality. The wool sheared in the sheep's first year is used to make the best Italian suits.

SHEEP SHEARING SHED [9048 NZ] This is the McKenzie's sheep shearing shed, where it all happens. Let's take a look inside.

CHECKING IN [9002 NZ]

CHECKING OUT [9016 NZ]

SHEEP SHEARERS [9052 NZ] That's Kevin, Johnny, Kelvin, and Scotty (shearers); Owen (the owner of the shearing company); and Ian, who just completed a two-year program that makes him an expert on classifying the wool.

NEW ZEALAND SHEEP SHEARING [9056 NZ] Once the work begins, the music is turned on (rock, pop, loud!) and it is hopping. The music definitely livens things up and makes for a fun atmosphere.

SHEEP SHEARING IS HARD WORK [9086 NZ]

KEVIN [9012 NZ] Kevin is 55 and has been shearing since he was 19. Shearers are paid NZ$ 2.20 per sheep and they typically shear 160 sheep per day (that's roughly NZ$ 352 and US$ 243 per day). This is for Merino wool sheep which are the toughest to shear - fewer sheep sheared per day but more money per sheep.

JOHNNY [9070 NZ] Like many shearers, Johnny has sheared sheep around the world.

SHEEP SHEARING [9062 NZ] Once the entire fleece has been removed from the sheep, the fleece is thrown, clean side down, on to a wool table by a shed hand (commonly known in New Zealand sheds as a roustabout, or rousie, katie's job). The wool table top consists of rotating steel pins spaced approximately 12cm apart. This enables short pieces of wool, the locks and other debris, to gather beneath the table separately from the fleece. The fleece is then skirted by one or more rouseabouts to remove the sweat tags and other less desirable parts of the fleece. The removed pieces largely consist of sweat-soaked wool and are still useful in industry. As such they are placed in separate containers and sold along with fleece wool. Other items removed from the fleece on the table, such as faeces, skin fragments or twigs and leaves, are discarded a short distance from the wool table so as not to contaminate the wool and fleece.

KATIE AND KEVIN [9060 NZ] Katie and Kevin met years ago when Kevin was shearing in Scotland, where Katie lived until she married Kevin. They have 4 grown children and are proud grandparents. Katie told me (in her thick Scottish accent) they would soon be moving to Perth ('Pay-earth') where their daughter lived and that Kevin would no longer be shearing. She asked me to send her a photo of Kevin so she could show it to him if he ever missed shearing (Kevin told me that was unlikely).

KEVIN'S REMINDER PHOTO [9092 NZ] Kevin's 'catching' the sheep in the holding pen.

IAN [9094 NZ]

KELVIN - NEW ZEALAND [9064 NZ] The wool is removed by following an efficient set of movements, devised by Godfrey Bowen. The shearer begins by removing the coarse wool over the sheep's belly, which is separated from the main fleece while the sheep is still being shorn. A professional or "gun" shearer typically removes a fleece without badly marking or cutting the sheep in two to three minutes, depending on the size and condition of the sheep, or less than two in elite competitive shearing.

SHEEP SHEARING [9066 NZ]

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JOHNNY [9070 NZ] Like many shearers, Johnny has sheared sheep around the world.

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Copyright © Megan Delehanty. Contact Megan at megan@hitopimages.com.