Grow, Make, Learn, Thrive: Alpaca shearing

Back on April 2nd, I drove 2 hours north to Esparto to volunteer on alpaca shearing day at Derwydd Alpacas, a large farm. It turned out that they always have a group of UC Davis vet students helping shear, and I was the only non-student present.

The process went like this:
1. Bring a small group of alpacas into a pen at the back of the barn.
2. Consult The List, which tells us which alpaca gets which type of shear. Some owners wanted the legs shaved close, while others like them long. Most of the fleece was bagged for future sale and processing, but there were some exceptions.
3. Separate out the next alpaca on The List. They all had nametag collars on so that the volunteers could identify them.

4. Bring it into a tiny pen where two students vacuum the fleece to get some portion of dust and dirt out.

5. Weigh the alpaca pre-shearing.
6. Bring it to one of two tarps in the shearing area so that it's ready to go as soon as the previous one is done.
7. Sweep all the hair of the previous alpaca away before bringing the next one on, so its fleece doesn't get contaminated (especially important if you're switching colors of alpacas).
8. There are two noose-ropes set up at one side of the tarp and two at the other. You place these around the alpaca's ankles. Then one person uses a winch to pull the top two taut, while three people help ease the alpaca down and onto its side as its legs are pulled apart. Does that sound awful? It kind of is, though it's critical to keep the animal still while it's being sheared for safety. This is the traditional way to do so.

One other common way is to use a table which flips between horizontal and vertical. You lead the alpaca over to the vertical table surface, tie him to it, and then flip it horizontal.

9. Either way, you can trim the alpaca's hooves after it's down and while you wait for the shearer to clean and oil his clippers. This is similar to trimming giant dog nails. This is also the time to check for ear mites, worms in the eyes (EW), or other problems.
10. One person stays by the head of the alpaca while it's being shorn. They hold the head still and, if the alpaca is spitting in anger, cover its mouth with a rag. Halfway through, they lift the alpaca's neck and guide it onto its other side. I spent most of my day doing this job.

11. Once shearing is done, you let the alpaca up and weigh it again, which gives you the total weight of all the fiber that was removed.

12. Any necessary medications are given at this time, and then the alpaca is let loose with its herdmates.

The alpacas ranged from lying totally still (learned helplessness) to non-stop yelling and spitting. Since my approach to animal husbandry and training always focuses on making the interaction as stress-free as possible, I was concerned about this. None of the alpacas were hurt (other than a few nicks with the clippers if someone had a fatty growth hidden under all that fleece), and the process is done as quickly and efficiently as possible so that the stressful period is as short as possible. That said, if I ever do get my mini herd of fiber boys, I plan to do some clicker training to make the process better for them.