May 31, 2013

Photography Group

                                                      Shearing At Peerless Alpacas
The animals are kept under cover the night before shearing to keep them dry.Starting with the light
coloured animals so that fibre colour is not mixed,they are walked to the shearing table which is
vertical,restrained so as not to cush.(sit down) The table is then rotated till horizontal,restraints are
put at the animals feet,and someone controls the head with a towel at the ready for the spitters.Only
two at Peerless.The shearing time for an animal is about fifteen minutes.They will also have toe
nails clipped and get yearly worming shots while on the table.The shearer begins at the legs, then on
to the hips,neck,and midsection.The blanket fibre/fleece from the midsection of the Alpaca is of the
number one quality.Wendy will sort the fibres and put them in bins as the shearing is done.When all
the animals are shorn and fibre collected Wendy will send it to a mill to be made into rovings for
spinning,yarn for knitters,batts for duvets,or felted for sewers.


















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