Cria Shearing

Friday we got our first crop of cria sheared.  They ranged in age from just over 2 months old to just shy of 3 weeks old.  We like to do this around 3-4 weeks old, but then waiting for a group to all get done together some do get older then the ideal.  The purpose of shearing the cria is to get the tips of the fiber that have been touched by amniotic fluid off.  These tips tend to get a bit like split ends and will end up collecting bits of hay like Velcro.  If we wait until the following year for the first shearing to be done with the rest of the herd, it is not unusual for a not "tip sheared" alpaca to become rather hay encrusted.  This virtually ruins that first fleece from an alpaca, which is generally the softest and finest of their fleeces.

Cria are shorn using a table and are very gently restrained~

This is Monique, she may not be too sure about what is happening, but she
is safely secured to minimize any risk of getting hurt during her haircut~

Getting these tips shorn off will help their fleece remain relatively vegetation matter free as adults.  Most hay or leaves or grass will easily dust off the cut ends of alpaca fleece.  It also ensures a much nicer product when processing the shorn fleece from next year's shearing.  This first fleece is so fine and soft, it is the fineness that will be referred to as royal baby fine and is the most exquisite to wear next to your skin.

This is Klondike, he handled his haircut with ease~

For final touches and trimming up chest hairs, they need
to be up on all fours to make sure everything is even and
no wild hairs are left behind~

During cria shearing is also when we'll insert microchips for identification and take blood draws for DNA testing for registration into the Alpaca Registry, Inc.

Monique, Golden Treasure & Klondike all showing off their
new haircuts~

We sheared 5 cria and they all handled it wonderfully.  Our friends Gina Martin from Mak-Ky Corral Alpacas and Kelli Cronn from Four Seasons Farm Alpacas do a awesome job!  You wouldn't think these young cria would have that much fleece, but some are born with an amazing amount of fiber.  During this warm weather they have been pretty warm in their alpaca coats and I think very much appreciative of feeling the cool breeze once it was cut off.