Shearing Day pics

[maystone]

Actually it was two days: Monday went from 8AM to 7:30PM, and Tuesday ran from 8AM to 5:30 PM. It was too busy to take a lot of pictures of the actual shearing and skirting and sorting of the fleece (besides, it was wicked crowded and you don't want to hassle the man with the very sharp shears), but I have a few pics behind the cut. I'll go into the details later; busy day ahead of me today, too.



These are out white Suris awaiting their turn at the shearing table (barely visible in back there.) From left to right: Conchita, Adama, Gertie, Julio (not ours), Iceman.


Conchita on the shearing table. None of the alpacas were happy, and some of them screamed continually through the process. It wasn't fun to be around or watch.


Conchita afterwards.


Adama post shearing.


Gertie post shearing.


Little Delilah afterwards.


Satine post shearing.


And if you think Suris look weird, have a peek at the huacayas. This is 3-week-old Limerick and her mom Lobelie.


A stylish crew of girl huacayas.


Some day I'll figure out how to send you guys to my Flickr account instead of loading everything into LJ.

Comments

[sparky77.livejournal.com]

Wow. They look so naked now.

[maystone.livejournal.com]

That's because they are :) Poor things.

[malterre.livejournal.com]

Hee! The little pom-pom of hair at the top is adorable when looking at the nekkid alpaca. They'll be more comfortable this summer anyway.

[maystone.livejournal.com]

The huacayas especially need to be sheared before the heat hits; the suris not so much because the locks act as insulation. Still, it's important to do every couple of years for the suris anyway.

[petranef.livejournal.com]

Oh, my. :( Now they need sweaters.....

[maystone.livejournal.com]

You're absolutely right given that the temps plummeted and a cold wind with rain is making Gertie and Conchita shake right down to the bone. We have a space heater and a heat lamp going in the barn for them, and we're praying for the warm weather to hurry back.

[vampirefan.livejournal.com]

wow, do they look skinny and naked!

i feel so bad for them though, that they cried through the shearing. to bad it doesn't happen often enough to train them to expect it and not get scared...

[maystone.livejournal.com]

I feel horrid for them; it's a demeaning, very stressful process for them. I'm not sure that putting them through that every couple of months would help all that much, but I understand what you're saying :)

[vampirefan.livejournal.com]

well, i was thinking about it kinda like how showdogs get haircuts (especially poodles) for their shows, and baths and nail cutting, etc... but, yeah, dogs are domesticated so very different.

i don't think the alpacas would have enough hair to try to train them or how long their hair has to be in order to be usefull...

[budclare.livejournal.com]

The huacayas look like aliens.

[maystone.livejournal.com]

They are. Suris are the one true alpacas. Trust us.