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| Before: Rafael, "Mom I can't see why I need a haircut?" |
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| After: Me, "Because it makes you look so youthful!" |
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| Before: "Are you sure?" |
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| After: "Yes, I'm sure!" |
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| Comanche before. |
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| Comanche after. |
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| Comanche was a little unsteady on his feet afterward but he quickly recovered. |
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| First Up: Rafael. He was such a good boy. That's Jeremy and Hannah observing. |
Our shearing crew ended up being a four man crew. They did all the hard stuff. Each alpaca was guided or carried to a red mat. The crew had set up two mats. Then ropes with padding were attached to each alpacas front and back feet and they were gently stretched out. This prevents the alpacas from moving, protecting both them and the shearer. Then Micah the head shearer went to work. He started just below the neck and clipped in one continuous cut across the alpaca to the rump. Then back up to below the neck to repeat the process. This is called the blanket or prime cut. The finest fleece is found here. If you send a fleece to a fleece show this is what you would send. This also makes the finest yarns. The prime is laid out on a plastic sheet (cheap tablecloth) and then rolled up inside to preserve the integrity of the "blanket".
The next cuts were the neck, and upper legs. This comprises the 2nd cuts. These cuts are good for socks and rug yarns.
The last cuts were the 3rds, which includes the lower legs, the face, and a general cleanup of anything that was missed. This fleece is good for batting, fleece balls, and anything not requiring a fine fleece. Each alpacas' fleece is bagged separately, except for the 3rds which all went into one bag.
I will send out Daisy Mae's and Rafael's fleece to the Suri Fleece show in August to see how it stacks up against the competition. Last year in the senior white fleece category Twizzler received a 2nd place!
All of the fleeces will need to be skirted which is a tedious hand process performed by yours truly to remove as much of the large vegetable matter such as hay, straw, burrs, etc. along with any other foreign objects from the fleece. Once that is completed and I have the fleeces back from the show in August I will take them to the processing mill to be made into roving and yarn. I am just getting back last years fleece now! It takes so long because of the lack of fiber mills. They are overwhelmed.
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| Still working on shearing across Rafael's back for the "blanket" fleece. |
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| Rafael getting a face and forelock trim. |
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| This is Andraya looking a little worried. She kept up a running commentary informing us about how unhappy she was with the whole process. |
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| Andraya getting her legs trimmed. |
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| The finished look! My how nice it is to see your eyes Andraya! |
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| Bo's new look. |
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| Twizzler looking a tad grumpy.
Each alpaca's toenails were trimmed and if needed their teeth were filed. Sometimes an alpaca's teeth get too long. In their native habitat the teeth would be worn down along with the toenails naturally.
I have to say I was anxious about our first shearing but the shearing crew did an outstanding job not only shearing and handling the alpacas but in answering all of my questions with patience and grace and guiding us newbies through the process. Hannah and Jeremy were essential in handling the shorn fleece while Jeff weighed each fleece and recorded all the details. Thank you to all of you!
Parting shot!
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| The chicks looking very hen like. Next week they will be eight weeks old. Big enough to join Dolores and Winifred outside their rapidly shrinking pen. They got to spend today outside in the chicken run, which they were quite excited about. When I put them in for the evening they quickly huddled together for a much needed rest. |
