The Learning Centre
Shearing
- Sheep need shearing to make them feel cooler in the summer
- Shearing does not hurt the sheep
- At our events you can feel the fleece - what does it feel like? Would you like a jumper made from it?
- You can smell the fleece - what does it smell like?
- The strong smell and greasy feel is from an oil called "lanolin" which helps the sheep stay dry and the ram (daddy sheep) also uses it as a scent to attract his girlfriends
- You can try carding! Take a small piece of fleece and put it between 2 brushes
- Pull the brushes away from each other. Repeat several times - the wool should all be lying the same way
- The wool is then ready to be rolled up so it can be spun
Chicken Facts
Did You Know...?- A chicken will lay eggs whether or not a cockerel is around
- Chicken eggs come in all different shapes
- Chicken eggs come in all different colours
- Chicken eggs come in all different sizes
- Eggs are a great source of protein
- A chicken does not fly
- A chicken will occasionally go "broody" - it will want to sit in the nest box all the time. However it may not want to stay long enough to hatch out any eggs.
- A cockerel must be around for eggs to be fertile - and for there to be a chance of any chicks hatching
- A chicken must sit on fertilised eggs for 21 days for them to hatch.
- Keeping the eggs warm by sitting on them (or using a special machine called an incubator) is called incubation.
- Duck eggs take 28 days to incubate
What do we use the animals for?
- Pigs - Bacon, pork, gammon, sausages, ham
- Sheep - Wool, lamb meat
- Chickens - eggs, chicken meat
- Turkeys - eggs, turkey meat
- Guinea pigs - pets
- Rabbits - pets
- Dogs - pets
- Goats - milk, cheese, meat
- Ducks - eggs, meat
Can you think of any other uses?