To keep them warm when it's cold. Sheep spend most of the time outdoors, even when it's snowy, so they need a thick coat of wool. This wool coat is called a fleece. When the warm weather comes, farmers clip off the fleece, but the sheep grow a new coat in time for winter.
Snip, snip
If the sheep that has had half a haircut, you can see just how thick that wooly coat is.
Lots of wool
We use sheep's wool to make clothes. We can also get wool from goats, rabbits, and camels.
Close shave
Shearers use electric shaving combs when they cut off the sheep's wool. It doesn't hurt the sheep one bit!
Woolly gags
"Doctor, doctor, I've just swallowed a sheep."
"How do you feel?"
"Very ba-a-a-ad!
Wooly facts
- The fastest sheep shearers in the world can trim a whole sheep in less than a minute.
- In Australia, scientists have made a sheepshearing robot. It's not as quick as a human -but it can work much longer hours!
