Shearing the Suri Alpaca

Christine Perala Gardiner

The locks of suri fleece have “drape”, with greater density generally than huacaya fleece. Suri fiber is a bit slippery, more like silk than wool. It has no crimp, so it has different shearing and processing needs from sheep wool or even huacaya alpaca. For this reason, shearing the suri needs a different shearing technique. Where merino or huacaya fleece stands up perpendicular to the skin, the shears pass easily along the skin surface and under the fiber to cut each fiber only once. It’s important to minimize “second cuts” because this practice wastes your primary crop, that lovely fiber.

Because of suri drape, using a standard sheep shearing method of starting along the spine it’s very easy to cut the same suri fibers several times during shearing. This problem renders the suri fiber potentially ruined on the shearing floor, where it may be cut so many times that even long staple suri becomes too short to process to anything more than felt. This is a common problem with economic impacts to the producer.

At Suri Futures, we are developing a suri shearing method using tie-down restraint for optimal control in the shearing process. We have a handler dedicated to managing the alpaca’s head, providing comfort during shearing that seems to really reduce the alpaca’s stress level. Once restrained, the shearer has safe access to the whole fleece including the legs. We like shearing days when no one gets hurt.

I use electric shears, primarily Heiniger shears using the 13 tooth camelid comb and Jet or Cobra cutters. I start at the belly to remove coarse fiber before starting into the prime blanket area. The early blows or passes start along the lower sides from shoulder to hip, then work upward toward the spine. By lifting the fiber with my left hand, the shears held in my right hand pass along the skin, to cut each strand only once. I like to leave about 1/4” to 1/2” of fleece on the alpaca to reduce temperature shock and prevent sunburn. This leaves enough fiber on the skin that a suri still looks like a suri after shearing.

I take the whole blanket from the first side and stop when the fiber quality changes at the margins of the blanket area. Once the blanket is collected, I change to shearing the neck fleece, collected as a separate grade.

We shear leg fiber about every other year, depending on the suri, its age and the length of leg fiber. Leg fiber that is consistently between 3” and 6” in length can be processed for either warp yarn or rug weft yarn. Longer fiber is nearly impossible to process without hand cutting it in half; a real waste of time! Leg fiber more than 6” in length causes problems for health management, especially during the wet season on our farm.

After shearing the first side completely, then we turn the alpaca over just once. Some shearers take the blanket on one side, turn over to finish removing the blanket, then shear the other parts. I feel this is more of a huacaya technique, and doesn’t seem necessary for the suri fleece type.

Finally, I like to trim the sensitive area at the top of neck and the base of the head more carefully. I switch from the more powerful Heiniger shears to the quieter Premier for the upper neck. Then I trim the jowl area with hand scissors, which is less scary for the alpaca, and gives me greater control in the final appearance. It takes some time, but a few more minutes more makes such a difference in how nice the alpaca looks all summer and fall. I always trim around the eyes on a heavy topknot.

On our farm we say, “If we can’t see the eyes clearly, the alpaca can’t see out”. Alpacas are a prey species without fangs, claws or horns; they depend on their excellent vision for their safety. Trimming the heavy eye wool is critical to the feeling of security for a calm, well-behaved alpaca.

Shearing the suri correctly starts a chain of processing that fiber using its remarkable qualities. The next step is to grade or sort the fiber by average micron and staple length. Correct shearing to minimize second cuts is an essential step in the process of creating outstanding textiles that display the magic of suri fiber.

Christine Perala Gardiner