SHEARING
It’s never too early to start planning for the shearing of your alpacas. If you’ve just gotten done shearing, start planning next year’s immediately.
The key to a successful and enjoyable shearing is planning ahead. Remember to establish bio-security precautions. This will be covered in another article.
If you are going to use a professional shearer for the first time be certain to get recommendations from others who have already used the shearer’s services and interview the shearer also.
Some questions to ask other breeders:
1. Did the shearer arrive when scheduled?
2. How many people on the shearer’s team?
3. Did they treat the alpacas gently?
4. Was the shearer open to your shearing suggestions or requests?
5. Were you happy with the results?
6. Did the shearer offer suggestions for separating the fiber cuts?
7. Did the shearer bring a number of different shears and cutters?
8. Was your clip contaminated by sloppy oiling?
9. Did the shearer do an acceptable job on teeth and nails?
10. What, if anything, would you suggest be done differently?
When interviewing the shearer be sure to ask:
1. When will the shearing be scheduled?
2. Within reason, how firm is the shearing date?
3. What is the charge per animal and is there a minimum charge?
4. How and when is payment expected? Cash? Check? Credit card?
5. What are the charges for trimming teeth/fighting teeth and/or nails?
6. Will the shearer need lodging? Who makes the lodging arrangements? Is there a charge for lodging? Will they stay with you?
7. How many people on your team?
8. What, if any, equipment does the shearer expect you to supply?
9. Does the shearer need to have an indoor, out of the weather area?
Weather can wreck havoc on shearing plans for both you and the shearer. Stormy weather can interfere with the shearing schedule, causing unexpected delays. The owner should keep their alpacas inside so that they are as dry as possible.
Many breeders use a shop-vac to vacuum or blow out debris before shearing. Do this outside to avoid showering everyone with dust or subjecting all to the loud noise of the vacuum. It’s a good idea to wear hearing protection and a dust mask. If you have enough people to help, this can be done the day of shearing. Pick out as much debris as possible by hand or use a wand to help dislodge dust, etc. The cleaner your fiber is before clipping, the easier it is to shear and process.
Page 2.
Put out your request for helpers far in advance of your shearing day. Plan to have a crew of at least three people, besides the shearers, to help. If you can arrange more people, that’s even better, you can never have too many helping hands! Many farms get a one day insurance liability policy as protection in the event of an unforeseen accident. The cost is minimal and can offer a great deal of peace of mind.
Some farms use shearing day as an “Open-Farm” day and invite the public in to watch the proceedings. While that can be great fun and a good source of advertising, it might be a good idea not to do it on your very first shearing event.
Once you’ve confirmed your contingent of helpers, make a list of tasks and try to match each person to a task. ( If you know Aunt Molly has a bad back, don’t have her sweeping or picking up fiber.) Schedule your helpers to arrive earlier than the shearer so that you can explain to each person what is expected. Remind them to dress for the weather and the dirtiness of the task. Stress the “if you open it, close it” gate rule!
Here’s a suggested checklist of items to have on hand before the scheduled day:
1. A large quantity of large, clear plastic bags plus + small sealable baggies.
2. Large black Magic Markers.
3. Large pad of paper and a number of pens.
4. Bloodstop (seldom needed, but good to have on hand).
5. Sterile gauze pads.
6. Vet’ phone number.
7. Spit mask or a few small cloth towels.
8. Portable/cell phone w/vet phone number.
9. Sharpened nail trimmers.
10. Piece of large diameter rope for teeth trimming, about 18” long.
11. A number of large trash cans, perhaps four.
12. Broom and dustpan and a cans for trash and recyclables.
13. Hand sanitizer and paper towels and/or moist towelettes.
14. Working scale.
15. Heavy duty electric cords.
16. Lighting.
17. Walkie-talkies.
18. Camera.
19. Dust masks.
20. Light cotton gloves.
21. Liquid refreshments. (on ice if it’s a hot day.)
22. A delicious lunch to reward all the participants!
You’ll need a can in which to place the marked plastic bag for each of the first, second and third cuts (or however you decide to separate the clippings). (Some shearers bring small plastic cans for this purpose.) Include a can for plain old trash. Many breeders save the thirds for felting while others just dispose of them.
Page 3.
A day or two before shearing write out a list of the animals in the order in which they’ll be shorn. Usually the lighter animals, pregnant females and cria are shorn first, but ask the shearer for their preference and come to an agreement if for some reason, you’d like it done differently. On this list, make a checklist for each animal for teeth/hoof trimming, noting any abnormalities (scabs or scars not noticed previous to shearing) and include an area on the list to note the weight of the first (blanket) cut.
Have your area set up with good lighting, a table nearby to work on, have the scale conveniently located and the bags marked with alpaca’s name, color, date and # of cut (i.e. #1, #2).Remember to also have marked small baggies for your sample cuts from each alpaca. Place the bags in order of shearing. Have the other supplies nearby and handy.
Put the haltered alpacas which will be shorn first in a pen close to the shearing area. Have the leads nearby. Prepare an area in chich to place the shorn alpacas. If possible, have dam and her cria shorn one after the other so that they don’t stress from being separated for a long period of time.
Don’t let the shearer forget to get that sample cutting first off!
Try to shear females and cria first and then keep them away from the older males. After shearing, the males will probably have to re-establish their dominance order and it can get pretty physical. Watch out for your younger or smaller males being bullied.
To avoid color contamination, have someone sweeping and removing waste fiber to the trash after each shearing. Another person, or persons is needed for removing the clipped fiber and putting it in the appropriately marked bag. A helper is then needed to weigh the clip and record that weight.
Have the next alpaca “on deck” and someone else ready to take shorn animal to it’s holding area.
I’ve helped shear with as few as two people helping (for 10 alpacas) and as many as a dozen for a large herd. You can do it with fewer hands, but having extra help goes a long way to making your shearing day more enjoyable. Remember to communicate with each person exactly what you need and/or expect. If you have someone who just wants to watch, perhaps they’ll be nice enough to take pictures for recording the event.
Plan on taking a lunch break. Keep the food yummy, but simple and easy to eat.
If you are prepared as much as possible beforehand, the day should go smoothly and everyone will enjoy themselves….and hopefully….they will want to return again next year to help!
Alpacas are generally hardy and disease resistant but benefit greatly by preventative medicine and ready access to veterinary services. In area with whitetail dear populations, an inexpensive monthly injection of Ivermectin to prevent meningeal worm is necessary. Essential minerals to the species including, selenium and phosphorus should be provided in a grain mixture. Nail care and trimming is important and should not be allowed to grow long and curl. 
Within the species, there are two types of alpacas, huacayas and suris. Huacayas (pronounced wa-ci-a), comprise approximately 90% of the alpaca population. Their fleece has crimp, is woolly in appearance, and is easier to spin and knit than sheep’s wool. There are only an estimated 20,000 huacaya alpacas in the U.S. today. Suris are born of a recessive gene in the species. They are distinguished from huacayas by their fiber, which is finer and straighter. It tends to fall in locks and part along the length of the spine, much like the hair on an Afghan hound. There are approximately 4500 Suri’s in the U.S. 
moved north through Asia , finding their way into Africa to eventually become the camels commonly thought of today. 
something that would allow the opportunity to enjoy their Catskill country home and be involved with the caretaking of a rare and wonderful type of livestock…the Alpaca!