Have you ever wondered why sheep need to be crutched? Simple answer, they haven’t learnt how to wipe their bottoms with toilet paper! A ewe is a female sheep by the way.
I am a sheep farmer, wool producer and I care deeply about my animals. All 4,500 of them. And of course, my chooks, who I call “the girls”. Sheep farmers have been copping quite a bit of flack recently due to the live export trade and the mulesing debate. I am not prepared to go into this but I want to you assure you readers that most sheep farmers are committed to providing a healthy, happy environment for their sheep to thrive in. There is only a small percentage that wreck this for us competent farmers and this is what is reported on I am afraid.
I am here to share with you a common practice in sheep husbandry. By no means does it hurt the animal and it only takes a matter of minutes before they are with the mob again. Let’s get started.
Sheep are generally shorn once a year to harvest their wool, however once the wool starts to get long around the crutch area, urine starts to stain the wool and this can attract infection and even blowflies. To mitigate any unwanted harm to the animal we shear the crutch area to prevent this and wig the face area so the sheep can see to eat. This is also commonly done prior to the ewe giving birth to lambs.
The following picture shows urine stain accumulating around the crutch area and an example of a full crutch on a ewe.
It is done with extremely sharp gear and minimal stress is placed on the animal. If this is not performed on sheep then it may become fly-struck and they become very ill. We are very strong on animal welfare here on the farm and I assure you, the sheep are by no way hurt or injured during this process.
If you have any questions then please email me! Otherwise, enjoy this picture of the sheep happily sporting new haircuts!!
Hashtagaramas
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