The girls’ field is definitely beginning to look different now, with more and more shorn alpacas wandering around looking just a little smaller, a little sleeker, and a whole lot more comfortable. Every shearing season, it’s funny how quickly the herd changes appearance. A few days ago everyone looked extra fluffy, and now it’s starting to look like summer around the ranch.
We shore 11 alpacas yesterday, and we’re hoping to get more shearing done today before the rain arrives later on today. Wet weather and alpaca shearing do not make a very good team. Alpaca fleece cuts best when it’s dry and clean, because the shears glide smoothly through the fiber. When fleece gets wet, it becomes heavier and tends to drag or pull instead of cutting cleanly. That pulling can tug the alpaca’s skin upward while shearing, which increases the chance of accidental nicks or cuts from the shears. Since nobody wants an unhappy alpaca—or a stressed-out shearer—we always try to work around the weather whenever possible.
The alpacas themselves are already enjoying the difference. Even on cooler mornings, freshly shorn alpacas seem more relaxed and comfortable once the daytime temperatures start warming up. Of course, the newly shorn members of the herd also tend to stand out a little more for a few days, looking suspiciously surprised that all their fleece disappeared overnight. Around here, though, that’s just another sign that spring is turning into summer on the ranch.
