Description
Shear wool from sheep using machine or blade shears while handling animals humanely and efficiently. Perform crutching and dagging, inspect animals and provide minor first aid, move and pen sheep for shearing, maintain and sharpen equipment, keep tallies, and clean shearing areas to safety, welfare, and biosecurity standards.
- • Sort sheep by age, condition, or shearing order.
- • Shear sheep to harvest wool using machine or blade shears.
- • Perform crutching, dagging, and wigging as required.
- • Handle and position sheep humanely to minimize stress and injury.
- • Catch, drag, and pen sheep to the shearing stand or board.
- • Inspect sheep for cuts, skin issues, or parasites.
- • Treat minor nicks and report major injuries or illness.
- • Maintain, sharpen, and repair shearing handpieces, combs, and cutters.
- • Clean, lubricate, and sanitize gear and the shearing area.
- • Coordinate with wool handlers and classers to manage fleece flow and quality.
- • Mark shorn sheep per farm instructions.
- • Move sheep between paddocks, yards, pens, and chutes.
- • Keep tallies and basic records of numbers shorn and time.
- • Follow PPE use and ergonomic, safety, welfare, and biosecurity procedures.
- • Travel to farms and set up shearing stations.
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Agriculture
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Tasks & skills:
O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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This site includes information from O*NET by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Career Clutch has modified some of this information for student readability. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Last reviewed: Jan 2026
