Sabah's fleece
We hock the alpaca out when shearing for the safety of the alpaca, shearer, and handlers.
Alpacas have very quick responses, and so could kick out and in doins so could tear tendons on himself or the shearer.
Shearing takes approx 5 minutes, and when they are let off the table, they walk out as if nothing dramatic has happened, and within two minutes are grazing happily, because they do not have that thick coat on.
By the time we start shearing, the alpacas have already been so hot, they would have been sweating, which can spoil the fleece. (this is called squinting), and as we shear generally late Nov, Dec, (Melbourne, other states will shear earlier), before the real heat of summer.
You can see all necessary care is given to the alpaca whilst shearing
Thanks Adam for helping
Sukiyaki's fleece 15 Oct 06 2nd fl
Seduction fleece 15 Oct 06 2nd fl
One very necessary consideration when shearing is to make sure you have enough shedding space to cater for your whole herd in case the weather turns nasty.
Many breeders do not take this into account, and can loose alpacas if they are not shedded when shorn alpacas are exposed to bad weather.
Please make sure you do have adequate shelter, from both wind and rain. Remember we are taking off on the average 2-3 inches of fibre, sometimes more, and they are taken down to just above skin level, they do need a few weeks to aclimatise to adverse weather conditions.
