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April 24, 2008 - Twenty-four alpacas recently went through the necessary ordeal of yearly shearing. At Joanne and Lee Mansfield’s Alpacas 4U2C farm, expert shearer Jamie Jones and headman Matt Stone arrived with the equipment and the experience to get the job done quickly and efficiently.

The process is painless, although a little stressful for the alpacas (and owners). The animals are wrestled to the ground and legs are strapped to pulleys. Jamie removes the alpaca fiber with large clippers, Matt helps handle the animals, Lee clips toenails and grinds down teeth, and others lend a hand wherever needed. Some of the younger animals are micro-chipped. It is a team effort.

Each animal takes about 10 minutes. They come into the barn all fluffy and “hot” then exit with a “cool” outlook for the summer months. Alpacas must be sheared to withstand the summer heat or they will die. Of course, they are also sheared to collect the valuable fiber. Approximately five to ten pounds of fiber is collected from each adult alpaca.

Each animal’s fiber is bagged separately. The fiber is weighed and sent off to a mill in Blue Ridge where is it made into yarn. Some of the fiber is sold raw to spinners or made into other products. Joanne even knits with some of it.

The fiber from the alpaca’s back is called the first cut (blanket cut). It is usually used for high quality yarn. The second cut from the neck is used for felting. The fiber from the legs, fiber that is dirty, and fiber that is too short is thrown away.

Shearers Jamie Jones and Matt Stone leave their Indiana hometowns in early March and get back sometime in late June. Jamie has been shearing alpacas for five years. He says, “I do shearing all over the United States. Most alpacas are in Ohio, Colorado, and Washington State. We are on the road the whole time.” Matt adds, “I send a lot of photos home to my girlfriend.” Jamie and Matt travel from farm to farm and can shear up to eighty alpacas a day. It is hard work but a pretty good way of making a living.

Joanne says, “My baby is Mr. Cooper. His mother died and I had to bottle feed him.” She goes on to point out different alpacas. “There’s Sugar, Dexter, Little Miss Daisy, Abby, Nightingale, and Moorea. We shear the light colored ones and babies first. A full grown female alpaca weighs from 150 to 180 pounds. The males get closer to 200 pounds. They can live for 25 years.” The Mansfield’s business card says it all, “Our alpacas are not our whole life, they just make our life whole!”

Thanks to all the friends that came to help including Larry and Cathi Dietsch from Destiny Alpaca Farm and Brad and Kim Taylor from Duncan Ridge Farm. Having a team on hand makes the process much easier.