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I'm sitting here in Tennessee on a cloudy rainy morning that makes me feel tired and sleepy. It would be a great day for a cup of tea, a blanket and a good book but I have too much work to do.
We had the 4 boy alpacas for a couple of weeks before shearing and had a bit of time to get used to my dad but the girls arrived the day before shearing. There are 25 girls for a total of 29 alpacas here.
We had a shearing crew based out of New York. We had never used them before. The shearing crews that we use in Minnesota typically stay in the Midwestern states so we had to find a different shearer. They were fantastic!
My dad was worried about not having enough helpers since my husband was supposed to be here but had to go back to Minnesota for work. My aunt and cousin came up from Alabama to help. It was nice to have them out for a few days!
The shearing process with alpacas is different than sheep. With alpacas they get stretched out and tied down on the ground. This is not painful for the alpaca as long as it is done properly. The reason is that alpacas have delicate skin and there are folds in their skin which makes it very easy for them to get cuts from the clippers. We aim to protect the alpacas as much as possible.
While they are tied up they also get their teeth checked, their toes trimmed, and shots that they need. These guys received Ivermectin (a dewormer), a CD&T vaccine and since no one was pregnant and they arrived on the thin side they all got Valbazin (another type of dewormer).
We don't know names so as they were shorn I took a picture of each alpaca and we tracked their fiber by the number order. We also are unsure exactly when they were shorn last year but it was definitely summertime. The alpaca's hair was all too short to be spun into year so this year's fiber will be roving or felt and next year they will have a full year growth so yarn will be an option.
The alpacas took a couple of days to adjust to their new home and explore their whole pasture and get to know their puppy friends
The first 2 days they only would venture to the shade of the big tree straight out from their barn. I was cleaning up the fence line at the bottom of their pasture that had wild blackberries, roses and other brush growing along it. I brought the goats with me because they like to eat brush and especially the blackberry leaves. The alpacas were afraid of the goats and when my dad came out to the barn to paint the siding the goats ran up to him (the goats love my dad!). Anyway, the alpacas who had been up by the barn ran away from the barn since the goats were there now and they realized that their pasture was much larger than just the tree and they have been going out to the other side of their pasture ever since.
That's all for today. Until next time
Dani
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