Best Sheep Shear for the Small Holder

It’s approaching that time of year again, when the sheep will need to get rid of their winter coat and farmers and small holders get their sheep shears ready. Large farms are likely well versed in sheep shears, and have either a service or a large shear for their clock. But what about the small holder? Those with a small flock, and perhaps not a wealth of shearing experience?

In my mind, there are 2 key brands to consider. Heiniger has long been known as the leading Sheep Shearing brand. The clippers are made in Switzerland and, although a good price, they certainly do the job. Lister is a UK company that holds the Royal Warrant and is also known for their excellent shearing machines and, in particular, their high quality blades. List tends to be slightly more affordable than Heiniger, so let’s start there.

Lister Laser 2 Mains: This is an excellent, tough machine. It has the motor in the handpiece and runs from the mains. If you have horses, you can switch the heard to make it a horse clipper too, although please note that the horse clipping head costs extra. This shear has a 5 m cable, an overload switch and a ventialted head. It is ideal for dagging and small flock shearing.

Lister Laser 2 12 Volt: This is the same body , but has a special low voltage cable designed to be run off a 12 volt battery

Heiniger Xpert Sheep Sheer: This is a powerful yet slimline and lightweight clipper. The extremely efficient 200 watt permanent magnet motor as well as the ergonomically designed handle allows a shearing without exhausting the shearer. The unique and innovative robust connection between the shearing head and the glass-fibre reinforced housing reduces the vibrations during shearing. It is a very quiet clipper and is comfortable to use. The Xpert’s shearing head is based on a patented suspended pressure-fork system. This is technology at its highest level. This clipper is also suitable for dirty cattle. It comes with a 2 year warranty.

Heiniger 12 Volt Sheep Shear: Heiniger was the first company to develop a 12 volt sheep shear, allowing farmers to shear the sheep wherever they are. It weighs 1.2 kg, manages 2,300 strokes per minute and has a 12 volt motor equivalent to a 220 Watt Mains motor. This shear will run for 4 – 5 hours from a 65 aH battery. If you own horses, you can also switch the head to a horse clipper head, giving you extra usage for this clipper (the horse head costs extra).

Heiniger Xtra 320 Watt Sheep Shear: This is a mains powered sheep shear, with a 320 watt motor. It is very powerful and ideal for small – medium flocks of sheep. It also has a cattle head (costs extra) should you wish to clip cattle. It weighs 1.53 Kg, so is slightly heavier than the other shears mentioned above, but with this extra weight comes extra power. This sheep sheer has a 2 year warranty.

Most sheep shears come with a set of blades, although we are currently offering an extra set of blades FREE with most of our sheep shears (so two sets in total). Sheep shear blades are typically interchangeable between the brands – so you can put a standard Lister blade on a Heiniger sheep shear and a Heiniger blade on a Lister Sheep Shear. There are many fancy sheep shear blades available, with claims of superior performance and the ability to get through the toughest fleeces. However, these blades are quite difficult to use and can easily inflict injury on sheep. We therefore recommend that all but the experienced stick to the standard sheep blades or the wide sheep blades.

In addition to these options, Lister also offers a 13 teeth Wizard blade that can be used on the Lister Laser 2 or the Lister Legend horse clipper. For a very small number of sheep it can also be used on the Liberty, if you are careful.

If you have any questions about Sheep Sheers, please don’t hesitate to give us a call. We are a family run business with over 15 years experience and are always happy to help.

https://www.farmcareuk.com/sheep-shears/heiniger-sheep-shears

FarmCare UK

Clipper and Electric Fencing Specialists

01323 406212

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