WHAT IS alpaca SHEARING?

Shearing: An Alpaca Haircut

Alpacas don't have fur; they have fiber. Shearing the fiber is important so the animals don't get too hot during the Kansas summers. We shear each alpaca every May. We shear a little later then some alpaca ranchers because we want minimal regrowth by the hottest part of summer. 

Shearing is also how we harvest the fiber to be used in making garments. Alpaca fiber is considered a luxury fiber due to its soft, silky feel, and it's hypoallergenic and water resistant.

Shearing Is a Multi-Step Process

• The first step is weighing each alpaca. 
• Then the alpaca is gently immobilized on a tilt-top table and we shear their sides. That fiber goes into one laundry basket. 
• Then we shear their neck, shoulders and back hips; that fiber goes into another laundry basket. 
• When the belly and chest are sheared, that fiber goes into a third laundry basket. 
• The last step is trimming the topknot — the fur on the very top of their head.

Time for a Health Check

After shearing, we give the alpacas any necessary shots, check their teeth and trim their toenails. The whole process takes about 30 minutes per alpaca. 

Each alpaca is then weighed again to see how much fiber has been sheared. Depending on nutrition, genetics and weather conditions, an average alpaca can shear six to eight pounds of fiber! Males tend to shear more than females. We have one male alpaca who shears around 12 pounds!

Final Steps

Once the fiber is collected, it's cleaned, sorted and graded — all by hand. This is meticulous as it involves shaking the dust out and picking out bits of debris. 

The fiber is then sorted by color and grade, boxed up and sent to our industry partners to be processed into the luxurious products we sell in our retail shop.