Alpaca Shearing is only needed once a year, yet good cutting is essential for being able to market your fiber as the highest quality. If you are a new alpaca owner, you will need to balance the need to be frugal with the need to offer a quality fleece cut in the way that mills or artisans need in order to spin strong yarn.
First off, shearing is done in late spring, this allows the alpaca to stay cooler as summer comes along and to have the fleece growing in by the time colder weather comes. If timing allows, one of the best investments of your time and money would be to attend a shearing workshop. Nothing beats seeing and hearing actual shearing going on. Many farms offer workshops as a way to supplement their farm income. Once you become an expert, you could offer workshops as well.
Good equipment is key. If you have dull blades or do not have them set correctly, you will be hacking up your good fiber as well as building up your frustration. So the shearing blades you use should always be cleaned and well oiled. You also need a well sharpened comb to use with your shears. When you first place your comb onto your shears, let the shears run for at least 30 seconds. The vibrations serve to actually settle the comb into line with the blades and your first cut will be sharper. This is one area where you really should buy the best of the best, as low quality and low powered shears will clog, dull and rip up your fiber.
If your new blades won't cut, then the blade set is not correct. The tension needs adjustment or the protective coating is still on the new blades.
You should have a nice thin but strong bag to put your fleece into. Use one bag for each alpaca. You should have index cards, or tags or something to use as a label for each bag. You should put the date, the name of the animal, and the quality of the fleece as a first or second. You should never mix the two. Also write any other notes you want to know or your buyer may want to know about your fleece. Try not to bag your fleece if it is damp. Simply let it air dry before you bag it.
You can shear using a mat on the ground, standing or a shearing table. If using a mat, it can be very hard on your knees and back if you are doing multiple animals. If using a table, it can be difficult to secure the animal on to the table. A tilting table may be the solution. The key to shearing no matter what position you are going to use is control of the legs. Alpacas can and will kick and depending on their temperament may struggle and even scream. If you are using a table, the leg restraint cords will be positioned well. The rope should be above the first joint, not too tight to hurt, not too loose to allow slippage or escape.
If you stand your alpaca, it is helpful to secure the head and to position it against a wall to help you keep it in one spot. Alpacas will often drop down to the cush position at some point, so be prepared to follow it down and perhaps up again. If shearing on the ground, two strong helpers taking each end are invaluable.
For any position of shearing, you will want your cuttings to be as long as possible. This means you will want to be as close to the skin as possible. A comb with more teeth will allow you to cut closer to the skin as it lifts and separates the fiber. Placing a tarp on the ground under the shearing table or alpaca will help you to keep your fiber cleaner and allow you to collect all as quickly as possible. Clean your area after each animal to keep the fiber pure.
Long and smooth cuts will give you the best fiber. Start with the upper part of the rear leg, pull the skin slightly toward the outer leg and cut up and then toward and then along the belly. This will be considered thirds, but will allow you clean access to the more valuable fiber. Then you repeat with the front leg, cutting up the leg and then along the belly toward the cut you just made. Now you can finish the tops of the legs and you can bag these as seconds. You should have cut up to and maybe a small way into the blanket area. Now cut from the top of the hind leg forward and up over the whole blanket.
Start your cuts from the belly area and working your way up to the spine. The longer you can cut the fiber and the smoother you can run each cut the better. This can be bagged as prime or first cut if you are able to cut it long. If you cut it shorter and have to go back and make another cut, then you should label this as seconds.
You can now shear up the neck. Take care here as well, as the legs are prone to being nicked. The chest area of the alpaca is very easy to nick, and your best technique is to shear upward. This may be seconds or thirds, depending on how many guard hairs and how long the fiber is. Now you can trim off all the rest. It is customary to leave a puff of hair on the crown of the head and to just trim the tail a little. Repeat on the other side. Note some shearing professionals call the cuts "blows".
Here's a good tip. In order to have as little contamination in your fleece as possible, it's a good idea to shear from light colors to darker colors and from fine fiber animals to the coarser fleeced animals.
If you go into your first shearing knowing you will bungle the cuts, you will trip over your cords and all sorts of other little mishaps. You need to be relaxed and the alpacas will realize you are relaxed. They will be easier to work with and less stressed.
Your first shearing may take up to an hour. That's ok, as you go along, you will be able to knock this time down to 5 to 10 minutes for an alpaca. Alpaca shearing on your own can be a struggle at first, but it does get easier with each animal.
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