Re: [AlpacaTalk] shearing
In a message dated 10/7/07 3:26:38 PM Eastern Daylight Time, Radched@aol.
writes:
> ), or any scissors really - having a spring in them like the Fiskar helps
> because you only have to push them, rather than push and them pull them open
> for the next?cut.
>
This is a helpful explanation of how to do it. I tried one year with some
sheep shearers that I use in the garden for trimming and there was just no way.
I had a preggie girl that summer and she stressed SO bad about being loaded
and hauled off to a strange farm and being put in a chute that I did not want
to chance it for her that year. So I did the best I could with regular
scissors.
I didn't think to do that this year. That year I only had the 2 so it wasn't
so overwhelming; at the beginning of this year I had 7 (only 4 now) so it was
a bit too much for me alone. That year I also had help to hold or lead while
I walked beside and clipped. This year I had/have no help.
But I have a question about this subject. I usually ahve a "poodle" cut done
on mine and every other year or so I will have their necks shaved if they
have become totally matted. This summer as I was soaking them down 2x day and
making mud pits for them to lay in I got to thinking about the fact that they
can only cool off under their armpits and wondering what the purpose of shaving
them all over is (with the obvious exception of wanting the fleece). I
wondered if shaving them really helps to cool them, or if simply taking off fiber
around their armpits (which mine don't have much hair there anyway) would do
just as well? It almost seems as if having all that wonderful insulating fiber
would protect them from the heat and sun.
I have one girl that likes to stand in water. She will dirty up all the
water buckets by going from one to another to stand in. The other don't do that
but I was spraying down their feet and legs anyway as I figured that must cool
them off or Lucy wouldn't be standing the buckets all the time.
<<I create a small pen - maybe 5' by 5', if they are halterbroke I put a
halter on and have my son hold them.? If not, I just grab a chunk of fiber, snip,
and follow them about in the pen until they cush, which they all have so far.?
Once they cush, its easy - just trim away.? I start at the back by the
withers and work my way back and down.>>
This is a good description and I know I could do this. I already have the
small catch pens. I will look at WalMart for these scissors. But before I do
this I want to know if this is going to make the fiber totally useless? I had
one person tell me not to bother collecting all the little pieces the woman
who used to shear for me would leave.....she didn't shear for fiber. But
another person told me it could still be spun, it was just not as easy to work with.
The man who has sheared for me the past 2 times is a sheep shearer and he
knows his fleeces! He definitely shears for the fleece. So I either have 7 yrs
of fiber (fingers crossed) or 2 good years and 5 yrs of trash stored
here :-(.
Janice
************
See what's new at http://www.aol.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch format to Traditional
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe
__,_._,___
posted by Chaddo at 7:21 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home