Posted by: Charity_Maness on 07/22/2010 05:01 PM
Updated by: Kim_Hamilton on 07/22/2010 06:23 PM
Expires: 01/01/2015 12:00 AM
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Shearing Time for 4-H Alpaca~by Charity Maness
Copperopolis, CA....Though a little late in the season Thursday was shearing day for some unsuspecting Copperopolis alpaca. Shearing is not as easy as the shearer, Steve from Sandy Acres Alpaca’s, makes it look The first requirement is to catch the alpaca that instinctively knows something is up. While this year’s Calaveras County Fair Grand Champion arrived in style, driven by his human, his head hanging out the window, the wind blowing through his Mohawk type hairstyle, the other’s had to be caught.....
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The normally friendly and easy going alpaca began to whine, dance around a bit and duck their heads with each attempt at haltering. When one was finally caught he was led to a clean area where soft ropes were placed around each of his four quickly moving legs. Those ropes are attached to pulleys that are then attached to fence posts approximately 10 to 15 feet apart. The ropes are pulled and the alpaca finds itself quickly lying on its side on the ground. One alpaca took this all in stride, the others were none too happy, spitting, whining, and letting loose of their bladders. The assistants, Levi Rollings and Marshall Maness, were not happy with the release of bodily fluids, especially after discovering that the spit is actually bile from the alpaca’s stomach.
Once the alpaca is on the ground the shearing can begin. With great skill, Steve would effortlessly sweep his shears through the thick fiber creating a pillow like blanket of fiber to roll from the animal’s body. After a close trim over the whole body, including the face and chin, the nails are clipped…with sheet metal shears no less. Leaving a beautifully clean shaven alpaca, that some would easily mistake as a deer with a long neck.
The “blanket”, the area from the shoulders to the hip, is the preferred fiber for spinning. Spinning fiber is an age old art form, its actual date of origin lost in time, but with some archeologists finding evidence of string type skirts from the Upper Paleolithic Era some 20,000 years ago. Spinning of alpaca fiber has been on the rise since the introduction of alpaca to the United States in 1984. By 2004 raising alpaca represented the latest speculative bubble in agriculture. With alpaca fiber being softer, more pliable, and just as warm as wool, it has quickly become the fiber of choice for the sweater industry. Though much more expensive it seems to be more desirable.
For more information on local alpaca ranches visit www.ranchonc.com or www.sandyacresalpacas.com. For information on spinning and or weaving visit www.gilmorelooms.com.
By, Charity Maness
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