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In our area, alpacas are shorn annually in the spring. Typically this is necessary to insure the quality of the fleece.
Alpacas fleece left on an animal for much more than a year will lead to matted fiber with lots of debris nestled in it.
Most processors prefer fleece lengths that are the equivalent of one year's growth because if it is too long, the fleece is
not handled well by the machines used to process the fiber.
We shear our alpacas annually in April or May to help the alpacas cope with the heat and humidity of the summer months. As
you look at alpaca pictures in magazines or on the web, you might see various "hair styles" on the animals. In some areas
of the country, complete shearing is not necessary to tolerate the warmer months, and breeders will leave some fiber on their
animals to demonstrate the fleece quality. "Poodle" or "lion" cuts, where only the blanket or prime fleece around the trunk
of the alpaca is removed, are fairly popular. Sometimes to provide a window for the heat to escape, only a belly cut will
be done. In this case only the fiber on the abdomen is removed. Shearing makes the alpacas look absolutely silly and it
is always a shock for the first week or two after shearing to see them in the pasture without their clothes on.
Some breeders use air blowers such as this to blow straw and other debris from the fleece before shearing it.
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Dameron Alpacas, LLC |
