Step one: Wait until it is warm out.

Sheep have wool for a reason: to keep them warm in the winter. They can of course be shorn much earlier in the year than we shear them here, but once shorn, the sheep are colder and therefore expend energy keeping themselves warm instead of making milk. Since Pikunieta is centered around cheese-making, the quality and quantity of milk is the first consideration in every decision made about the sheep.

Step two: Wait until it is dry out.

This year is a bit rainier than average, but even an average year in the Basque country is wet. When sheep are raised for their wool, shearing them wet can lead to discoloration, rot, or even in extreme cases fire in the bales of wool being shipped elsewhere. Here though, the wool is shorn for the health and comfort of the sheep and once shorn is nearly useless. The reason we shear the sheep dry here has more to do with the comfort of the shearer.

Step three: Get your sheep together and shear them.

Generally you want a professional to shear your sheep (especially if the sheep are raised for wool). It’s much faster and therefore less stressful for the sheep, and it is also much safer; cutting a sheep with an electric shearer is quite easy.

In the past, Spanish sheep shearers would tie the legs of the sheep, but now the Tally-hi method is the most widely used. This method of sheep shearing was developed in Australia about half a century ago and is currently used throughout the world. By holding the sheep in a certain way they struggle less, and therefore shearing goes smoother and quicker. To learn exactly how to shear a sheep in the tally-hi method, you can watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKXww52dD3s