To gain entry into the wool industry you’ll need to know how to pen a sheep in preparation for shearing, and to press and bale the carefully sorted wool. As an experienced shearer or wool handler, you’ll also need to understand and be able to do this role.
Someone who pens and presses is a Shed Hand and plays a key role in the operation of the shearing shed. If you’re a newbie, this is where you will likely find yourself starting out performing routine duties such a penning and wool pressing. It you’re an upskiller, it’s good to learn how to pen and press so you understand the roles.
As a shearing shed hand, you’ll be involved in:
- Carefully and efficiently moving sheep into catching pens, keeping the pens full for shearers
- Having a clear focus on animal welfare at all times in the handling and managing of the sheep
- Pressing and branding the bales of wool
- Assisting a wool handler to sort wool for pressing, if required
- Working as a key part of a shed team, understanding roles and responsibilities and communication within the team.
- Eat wisely for a longer more sustainable career
WOMOlife penning and pressing content will show you:-
- How to work with the farmer to bring in the sheep from the outside pens to the catching pens inside the shed
- How to keep the pens filled during runs depending on shearer tallies;
- How to take care and consider the health and wellbeing of the sheep as they move and are held in the pens
- Types of pens and gates,
- Types of cut outs and tallies
- How and what is needed to set up the press
- How to pick up wool
- Best practice to fill the wool bale to be compact and secure
- Routine equipment and safety checks
- How to weigh, compact and brand the bale
- Set up, pressing, capping and unloading for the following industry presses: Hydraulic Vanguard, Crank Down, Hydraulic TPW, Lyco Dominator.
We recommend you watch the penning videos in order. But for the pressing videos you can watch these videos in any order because you will know before your in-shed training which type of press you’ll be working on – and watch those videos!
