Shearing -How hard is it?

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Permalink Reply by Emaly Leak on February 10, 2010 at 9:42pm

I came at shearing from the opposite perspective... I've been shearing our llamas myself since I was 11, but the first time I watched a professional shear my fiber alpacas I was freaked out! The alpacas and llamas just react very differently to the process of shearing.

For the most part, the llamas I've shorn all behave very well for the process. I do use a chute, but most of ours could be shorn just tied to a wall. For some, the lower legs and underbelly are a bit tricky, but having a helper with grain to keep the llama distracted definitely helps. I have a contraption on the front of our chute that holds a hay bucket, so the llama can munch while I shear.

Electric clippers used to scare me, but I found a great pair. They aren't quite as powerful as some, but I can hold them easily with small hands and I never have to worry about cutting an animal. I use Lister Stars, but have also heard good things about Premier. Listers do have guards, but they only work for 1 type of blades (Wizard). Knock on wood, I've never cut an animal (or me) with these clippers.

The clip I give depends on the individual animal. For heavy wools that have heat issues, I do a lion cut (barrel and down the back legs halfway) or a nudie cut. For my breeding animals, I've been doing nudie cuts about every other year. For lighter-wooled animals or those that have cold issues in the winter, I typically only do a barrel cut.

It is a bit of a pain to try and give shots through years of regrowth, but again a helper is beneficial. I often am in charge of holding the fiber parted while my dad gives the shot. Works pretty well.

Even though it's awhile away, good luck! Shearing is always my favorite thing to do with the llamas!

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Permalink Reply by Cathy Bradford on February 12, 2010 at 9:47pm

Hi Lisa!

I pretty much agree with what Emaly has already said! I do want to add that a lot of what determines if you llamas will stand still during shearing or not has to do with how much they are handled and how comfortable they will be with the sound of electric shears. Most llamas stand pretty well. That being said an animal that is not used to beind handled may not stand still when they are being sheared.

We give most of the animals here in the farm a "packers" cut. We take them down to about 2 inches on the body and then blend the neck and legs to look smooth. We do this because our animals do not have enough time to grow back a sufficient coat before winter weather hits us! (We pack our animals in the mountains and can get snow at any time of the year).

If you have a chute available I would suggest using it until you see if your llamas are comfortable standing still. If you are having a difficult time with a llama food (as Emaly said) can often times provide a good distraction for them. If we come across an animal that is having an especially hard time we will shear a small amount, give them a break then bring them back in and start again.

We have used clippers by both premiere and lister here on the ranch, but have not had good luck with the guards for clippers. But with they way in which we shear we are rarely near the skin. I have also show sheared my animals to the skin when I lived in Ohio. In 5 years I only had one small cut on one animals with electric clippers and that was my fault. The gelding had a huge mat of burs and I tried to pull the mat away from the skin to try and get it clean off the body, the boy jumped forward and he got a tiny cut. He seemed more angry about pulling the mat than the small cut. ( I still felt bad!)

Good Luck!

Cathy

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Permalink Reply by Vickie Maris on February 16, 2010 at 1:04pm

Hi Lisa - Everyone is sharing wonderful advice. I will chime in as a newcomer to llamas. I sheared my llama girls for the first time last spring. As Marty McGee Bennett would say, "remember to breathe." She has some wonderful advice about methods for handling and training llamas in her book The Camelid Companion.

On my farm, I started last year with my quietest llama and told myself not to be in a hurry. I knew she would let me practice my shearing technique without getting scared or jumpy. Her name is Velvet. I had her tied to a board fence with a hay bag in front of her. She happily munched hay while I clipped (with big old sheep shearing clippers that I hope to replace since they are too heavy for me to hold for long).

For my first four llamas, I only sheared one half the first day and then came back and did the other half later. That was because I was so slow getting the job done being new to shearing and I didn't want them to have to stand for that long. For my younger gals, I found that I could put them in my horse trailer (as a chute) with a hay bag in front. They seemed to feel safe and didn't didn't wiggle much at all. If they do wiggle or get nervous and push against you, a good thing to do is step back and not give them something to push into. Us humans get inclined to lean into them to "trap them against a wall," where they are tied, but that will make them more scared and more interested in getting away.

Best wishes with your shearing. It can really be a nice time to spend with your llamas.

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Permalink Reply by Krista Lindsey on March 13, 2010 at 11:03am

Yet another adventure I must face this spring. I'm sure as the time approaches I will have a lot of questions!

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Permalink Reply by Cherri Jones on May 19, 2010 at 9:49am

Lisa, my girlfriend and I have a few hard to handle llamas that we sheer, last year I asked the vet for shots that subdue them for about an hour, this works great, gave us plenty of time to sheer and even time for cutting the males fighting teeth.

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