Bath Day

Our first show of the year, 4-H on Parade, is only a couple of days away. The sheep have been sheared but there still is a lot of work to do to make them show ready. The next step in terms of grooming them is washing. Sure you wash your own hair and maybe your dog, but wash sheep? Yes, it does sound kind of weird and unnecessary but a clean sheep really stands out in the show ring. 
We like to wash our sheep twice before a show, weather permitting. Once about a week before and the day/night before show day. We have been very busy lately and only got our first round of washing done tonight. It was quick and easy because the sheep have a fairly short fleece, but it was a little cold without the sun shining.
You would think that with the rain we have had in the last few days the sheep would be a little cleaner from being washed by mother nature when they leave the barn, but the weather right now is less than ideal. 
Here are the steps for washing a lamb for show. 

Prep: A cold shower or bath is never as good as a warm one. Taking this into consideration we always like to wash our lambs with warm water. Since we do not have access to warm water outside we run a hose from the house to get warm water. We clean off the patio to wash on and bring the sheep in pairs up to be washed. We dust any hay or debris off and trim off any large clumps of dirt or manure.

Rinsing off my lamb.

Rinsing: The sheep is rinsed with warm water.With animals who have short fleeces, the initial rinse usually makes them turn pretty white, but the wool needs to be wet in order to make lather with the soap.

The soapy area is very noticeable.

Soap: We have always used Ivory dish soap because it makes the wool very white and it is colorless so there is no risk of dying the wool the color of the soap.  We also use scrub brushes to work the soap into the wool. Caution has to be taken when washing around the face to make sure we don't get any soap in their eyes. The whole bathing experience is good for the lambs. They calm down and get used to being touched. 

Rinsing out the soap.

Rinsing: It is very important to wash out all of the soap you put on the sheep. If any soap is left in, their skin will dry out and become irritated and your sheep will become very itchy. When rinsing you have to be careful to avoid the getting water in your lambs ears, it makes them uncomfortable and they will shake their head trying to get it out.

Tilting back my lambs head so she doesn't get
any soap or water in her eyes.

Hampshires, my breed of choice, are notorious for having wool everywhere. Washing their faces can be very interesting.




Blow Drying: To finish the look we use a blower to dry. This device blows air at fast speeds and is good for getting rid of any dirty water clinging to the wool that could leave a yellowish tinge. When using the blower you do not directly point it at the wool, your goal is to blow water off of the wool and this requires the nozzle to be angled. On days like today where it is cooler it is nice to be able to dry the lambs off, so they don`t catch a cold from being soaking wet. 




On Thursday we will be doing our second wash and Friday morning the lambs will make their way into Calgary for the show. I hope by then the sun is shining!