Shearing Services
At Suri Futures, we've developed a shearing technique specifically for the suri alpaca. We use the tie-down method for one important reason. Although it looks like a form of torture, actually a restrained alpaca is more able to relax, especially with a handler comforting the animal during the scariest day of its year. When tied down by ropes, the alpaca endures much lower stress than an animal that can jump and inadvertently cause harm to itself or to the shearer/ handlers.
Our approach to shearing started with learning from shearers Ann Keizer and Kim Rooney, who mainly shear huacayas. Ann and Kim showed us sound basic techniques for shearing the huacaya using electric shears such as Heiniger and Premier. We saw how suri fleece hangs differently on the alpaca and how difficult it is to remove without second cuts. That's a second cut to groups or bundles of fibers, which throws away some of the prime value of the fleece crop you've worked so hard to grow for a year.
We took our time to learn the basic shearing method, and began to explore an approach that maximizes the value of the suri fiber in the bag. We found that shorter blows or passes that follow more closely the contours of the body reduces the number of second cuts, and also reduces cuts to the skin. Alpacas have thin, delicate skin and are easily cut.
Early results showed us that taking more care when shearing a suri yielded great benefits. We get more useable pounds of fleece in the bag with few second cuts. We can leave just a bit more length on the suri to help prevent summer sunburn. And by taking more time and care, we work respectfully with each alpaca to minimize accidents to the alpaca and to us.
This approach takes longer, about 1 hour per alpaca. But we’ve found it to be worthwhile and cost effective. Shearing doesn’t need to be the worst day of the farm year, and we don’t have to wrestle them to get that fleece off the animal as fast as possible. Shearing suri fleece more carefully increases staple length and total fleece weight, making the show fleece more competitive just by changing the way shearing is managed. Our show winnings reflect this increased value of our fleeces.
Complete body shearing means removing fiber from the legs as well as blanket and neck. By practicing this method on each alpaca each year, we're increasing the total fiber production of our farm. Leg fiber has a valuable market for carpet yarn, and removing it annually makes herd health care easier. On older alpacas, we sometimes leave the shorter leg wool to grow another year, to make sure the fiber has reached 3 inches in length before removal. But suris often grow lots of fiber on their legs, and generally it needs to be shorn before the 3"+ leg fiber is ruined by matting and other damage.
Our shearing services are available to other farms in our area. We don’t aspire to compete with others who think speed is the most important factor in shearing. We treat each animal with respect for their needs, and take the time needed for each fleece to present its optimal best in the bag for either show or processing.
We charge $45/ hr plus setup and travel costs. A proper shearing team needs at least 4 people to work smoothly. We're willing to teach our shearing technique to others interested in suri fiber production. For more information about our shearing services, please contact us.