Alpacas are shorn each spring to harvest the fiber, and to keep them cool in the summer months. Whether or not you are showing your alpacas, you want them to look good for your farm visitors and potential buyers.
A good shearing job will present your alpacas, fleeces, and farm in the best light.
Have a small herd and can't get someone to come out and shear your alpacas? We can help! Shearing available at our farm or yours. Inti offers low stress shearing for small herds or those with a few alpacas 'out back'. Shearing on our table keeps the animals secure and comfortable, and keeps your fiber clean.
Suris Suris can be shorn every other year, but the fiber will be somewhat damaged by an extra year of weathering. If you plan to leave the fleece on a suri for show or because you like the look of their flowing locks (and who doesn't!), at least have the belly shorn to help them deal with the hot and humid days of summer.
Crias Don't forget to have the 'fuzzy tips' shorn off your crias, too! Shearing crias at about 2 to 4 weeks of age will keep spring and summer crias comfortable, and help them to look their best - for the showring or for your fiber buyers. In our area, crias born through mid-September will be shorn. If there is an early cold snap, they can be blanketed to keep them warm until their fleece grows out.
Please have at least two people available to assist with catching and restraining the alpaca and gathering fleece. Three or four helpers will make it easier to skirt and 'pre-sort' your fleeces, and do herd health procedures like routine injections, at the same time.
Foot trimming and teeth trimming (incisors and/or fighting teeth) services are available, and can be done at the same time.
If they are calm, we will also shear llamas. Llamas are shorn standing.
Bring your alpacas to our farm in south central NH, or we can bring our table and equipment to your farm. If you do not have an experienced person to hold the heads and assist the shearer, we can provide one for $10. per alpaca.
Minimum charge $100.
Travel charge from our farm near Hillsborough, NH may apply.
What to do before we arrive:
Being prepared in advance will help your shearing day go more smoothly, and be more fun for everyone:
- Have enough bags for each blanket ("1sts") and neck ("2nds") for each alpaca being shorn. "3rds" can be saved for projects like felting, or composted.
- Label the bags with each alpaca's name and indicate if the bag will contain 1sts or 2nds, or make cards with this info to go inside each bag of fleece.
- If you are having your fiber tested, have baggies and labels ready for a fiber sample from each alpaca.
- Plastic trash cans or large bins to hold the bags will make it easier to get the fleeces in the bags
- Have enough helpers on hand to: catch the alpacas and bring them to the shearing area; assist in restraining the alpaca for shearing; gathering the fleece; trimming feet & giving injections; etc.
- If trimming feet or giving injections on shearing day, make sure you have the necessary equipment ready to go.
Relax and enjoy the harvest of your beautiful fiber!
Shearing sheep
If you have only a few sheep or a very small flock and cannot find someone to shear them, we can help. Call us to set up a time.