Re: [AlpacaTalk] shearing
Alpacas in warmer climates MUST be sheared in the Spring, preferably a full
body shearing. To not shear is risking signing a death warrant, regardless
of fans, misters, sprinkling, etc. It only takes a short period of high
temps with no one there to hose the belly and they're dead. When we find
animals that have not been sheared in the Spring we make sure that the owner
at least gets an emergency barrel cut on the body or we do it for them to
help the animal survive the summer. Many alpacas died this summer in the
Southeast... some because they were not sheared.
Jess
Jess & Cookie Bowers
Acres of Love Alpaca Ranch
Acres of Love Alpaca Transport
11006 N 92nd East Ave
Owasso, OK 74055-6531
(918) 327-3519
Fax (918) 272-0969
WWW.Acresoflove.
----- Original Message -----
From: <houckj@aol.com>
To: <AlpacaTalk@yahoogro
Sent: Wednesday, October 10, 2007 9:21 AM
Subject: 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
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posted by Chaddo at 11:39 PM
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