Every spring marks the beginning !
Every spring we start the shearing season off with zest. We have several alpacas to shear, trim teeth, and trim hooves on right here on the farm. But wait! It doesn’t end there! I hit the road and help out other farms too!
I attended shearing school several years ago in Cleveland Ohio where I learned to shear using large electric shears but have found out recently I have a love and knack for old fashioned hand shearing. Is it the fastest way you ask, no but it is calming. My main goal is to get off the nice usable fiber and keep your alpaca or llama safe.
In 2019 I was ask to shear Angora Goats and have since been doing that also. I like to do small herds that the larger companies don’t really care to mess with and love the clients ( human and otherwise ) that I have.
Fiber processing is a aspect that comes into play on the farm also. I have my small personal equipment that I process my own , and sometime others, fiber up into bats, roving and yarn so everything is a product from here.
Establishing a great relationship is key.
Sometimes we table shear and sometimes we ground shear. Shearing standing up is a great process too and works well with hand shearing.
Angora goats need to be sheared every 6 months.
The Angora grows 1 inch of fiber a month.