Articles on Alpacas - Alpaca Shearing

Summer is coming up quickly. Alpaca ranchers in SE Arizona are busily preparing their alpacas to be sheared by late April through May. For the health of the alpaca you want to get the fiber off of them before summer hits as to not create heat stress. Are you ready?

What I mean by are you ready is have you taken the proper steps for the before, during, and after shearing?

Before

• Assign a clean area for shearing. The area should be protected from the elements such as wind and rain. Remember that you will need enough floor space for a shearing table and another table behind it if you will be doing show fleeces. If no shearing table will be used then just make sure you have enough floor space to stretch out the alpaca and tie it down. You also need to be able to fit at least 3 people in the area too: one person to shear, another to hold the head of the alpaca, and the third to sort fibers from firsts, seconds, and thirds.
• Make sure the shearing equipment is clean and sharp.
• Have your fiber and fiber sample bags ready.
• Know where you left your record-keeping book.
• Be prepared with vinyl tablecloths or sheets for your show fleeces. You need to assign them to the different colors of alpacas you have. The goal is not to color contaminate the fleeces whether for show or the ones being sent away for processing.
• Clean your alpaca fiber as much as possible while it is still on the alpaca. The more you get off the alpaca prior to shearing the less time you will need to spend on the skirting table picking out excess vegetation. There are different ways this can be done. You can wand the alpaca, you can blow out your alpaca with a vacuum cleaner, you can suction the dirt out with the vacuum cleaner, or you can simply use your hand as a wand to clean the fiber. When using the vacuum cleaner please remember that if you are cleaning show fleeces and blow or suction too much you may ruin the character of the fleece.

During

• Each person should be assigned a task. The person sorting needs to know the difference between firsts (blanket), seconds (leg and neck) and thirds (belly and apron). Each of these groups should be placed in a separate bag that is labeled with the name of the alpaca and whether it is firsts, seconds, or thirds. The 2-inch fiber sample can be placed in a Ziploc bag to be sent to one of the testing laboratories such as Yocum McColl.
• The best way to shear will be from darkest alpaca to lightest. This will help in the way of not color contaminating your fleeces.
• For show fleeces use the tablecloth or sheet you have assigned for the alpaca color. Slide it under the alpaca a small portion. As the shearer begins to cut gently grab the fiber underneath and roll it onto the sheet. Do this same process for the entire blanket. You can then take it straight to the skirting table or place it aside to finish sorting the other fibers.
• Cleaning the area is a necessity before bringing the next alpaca in. The fibers should be vacuumed or swept up. This is also to assure you do not contaminate the color of your fleeces.

After

• Skirting your fiber includes removing any fiber that is less than 2-inches long, removing all guard hairs, and all second cuts.
• Show fleeces should be turned upside down so that the shorn fleece closest to the alpaca skin is facing down. This way when you roll the fleece the softest, cleanest portion of the fleece will be the first seen and felt by the judges.
• Do not forget to weigh your fleeces by alpaca and record along with staple length.