What a Day! One thing is for certain, I definitely do not want to be a shearer when I grow up!
So we got the alpacas shorn today (I'm going to say shorn because I like it better). :) It was a very interesting experience. Our alpacas went from these fluffy adorable animals to skinny wierd looking creatures. We started with B#4's alpaca, Sundance. As it turns out he has the best fiber of the bunch which suprised us because he was always the dirtiest one and he wasn't as fluffy as the others but I guess looks can be deceiving because his fiber has excellent crimp and lots of luster in it. Lancelot, B#2's alpaca was second. He gave us a little trouble because he didn't want to stay still, but we did get him shorn!:) His fiber is second best, it has lots of crimp but no luster to it. Valentino, my alpaca was very interesting to work with. He wouldn't stand still, he kept leaning on everbody and he kept on lashing out and kicking when he was on his side. I thought he was behaving terrible but the shearing people said he pretty good compared to others they had tried to shear. He has grade #3 fiber, barely any crimp and no luster.:( But it is still spinnable and usable so if I don't sell it then I'm going to spin and use it all myself!:)
It was very labor intense work but in all I'd say it was fun, and the shearing people took a kitten home with them.:) But don't worry, you still have nine to choose from.
-B#2
5 comments:
**sings** Little bald alpacas don't got no fur! Little bald alpacas bur bur bur!
It sounds like a lot of fun to watch!
~Krista
Bur bur bur is right! Lancelot was shivering this morning! But luckily the weather warmed up later.:)
-B#2
They look so funny without their fluffy coats! LOL I remember when we had to shear our big hamshire sheep. It was a hard and stinky job and we needed like three people to hold her down. But in the end it was fun! :D
~Kaylee
Wow! three people! We only needed two people to hold them down. I held down their head and neck and Mr. Livingston (the shearing guy)held their body down. I was so sore after all that!
Anybody want to try their hand at spinning? It's actually pretty easy and we have plenty of wool that you can use. Six trash bags full to be exact!
-B#2
Oops, I mean 9 trash bags. I accidently forgot to count B#3's wool.:)
-B#2
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