[len]

Thanks Leah and Ross for your replies. It's good to have a little knowledge beforehand so I can ask intelligent questions of the vet. One of the vets at the clinic I use absolutely hates bands although she admits she only sees the bad cases, presumably when the animal was not vaccinated.
Leah, I'm in central Ontario, northeast of Toronto...it's winter time altho' mild and no snow here.
Any recommendations on a set of clippers? They will only see occasional use (such as clipping tails before banding) but I'm interested in good quality. I learned to shear my dad's small flock when I was a teenager a long time ago but I will not win an award for speed.
thanks again,


I'm not sure where you are, but winter is the best time since there are no flies.
I asked the vet what to do first...he didn't recommend the banding method, but most of the shepards I asked did, and several had docked older sheep with

 

[Ross]

I'm in Eastern Ontario but this isn't what I call winter! Horrible stuff this mild wet just like spring. I've owned a set of Sunbean Oster shearmasters which I replaced with Heinegers. I think I liked the old Sunbeams better truth be told. I just got an old set of cable drive Sunbeams which is definately the way to go if you can justify it. Much easier to hold and use; of coarse the older I get, the more I appreciate small improvments!

 

[LeahN]

I just bought at Premier 3000S. I've never sheared my flock by myself. I probably would have gotten the faster 4000S model if I were more experienced. I compared the Premier with many of the other hand held shears and I found it much lighter and easier to handle, and it seems to cut nicely through the wool. I haven't yet put it to the test of shearing all the sheep. I'll do that next month. The livestock expo in Louisville was great for comparing electric shearers...so many booths where I could try them out on sheep pelts!
Here in Kentucky we had some cold weather and snow, but now its a rainy mess. There were actually a couple warm sunny days in December, so I can't complain much!
Oh, and you probably don't want to make the mistake I did if you do decide to band...I guess I wasn't thinking, and I went through all the sheep shearing the area where the band would go, leaving wool on the rest of the tail. When I finished shearing, I got out my bander and realized that there was no WAY I'd be able to get that wooly part of the tail through the band! I had to get the shears back out and shear the whole tail