Before and After...Shearing Season at HPF!

Federico ("Rico") was the first to be shorn this past Sunday at the farm. We hesitated to shear because it was very chilly that morning. After we got started though it seemed to warm up.

Rico wasn't extremely excited about the shearing but he's feeling very comfortable now and about 8.5 pounds lighter. We also trim toenails at shearing time. Rico's toenails didn't look too bad but they still needed some trimming.

Our nephew Noah and brother-in-law Rob were there to witness their first alpaca shearing. Rob was kind enough to snap a couple of pictures for the blog. I decided to use the one below with me (Elizabeth) at Rico's head and Rick starting the shearing. That's Rene's arm holding onto the back legs. And, of course, Noah giving a two thumbs up!

Black sweatshirts and flannel were not the best clothing choices for shearing -- we all ended up full of white fiber. Hopefully, we'll have warmer weather these next couple of weeks so we won't have to dress as warm.

Rico was our "practice run" to help us get started. I can't remember how long it took us, but it was not our fastest time. Once we get into the rhythm of shearing, we can usually get each alpaca shorn and toenails trimmed within a half hour.

If you ever have a chance to see a professional shearing demonstration done at an alpaca show, I highly recommend it. We watched a demonstration at the show in Madison. The professional shearers were able to completely shear one alpaca in about six minutes! Of course they had several people helping and they didn't have to worry about toenail trimming either. Two men would hold up the alpaca while two others would place the feet in ropes. Then the alpaca would be lowered to the floor and stretched out. As one man sheared, someone would collect the fiber off the alpaca and bag it up for the owner.

Personally, I'm happy getting them done in 30 minutes. We usually have about three people -- one to shear and one at each end of the table holding down the feet and head. We'll stop every few minutes to gather up the fiber and place it in bags. The shearing table makes it a lot easier on our backs, too.

So this is what we're up to lately at Hidden Pond Farm and most every alpaca farm across the country at this time of year.