Thoughts upon Winding up the Shearing Season

As we wind up the shearing this year, I realized that we have accumulated quite a bit of specialized stuff that goes with the shearing process and owning alpacas.

We have used the shearing table for at least 9 years. Hundreds of alpacas have been sheared on this table as we sheared for others. It has a couple of dents and scratches, but it works every year. It allows us to shear with as few as 2 people. More are preferred, but in a pinch, 2 can do it. The ability to do toenails without a fuss and trimming teeth makes this a must have in my book.



The chute is invaluable for weighing the alpacas or shearing them if you are alone as I was last year. Most of our alpacas know the drill and will walk on, wait a bit, and then back up. It is comical to watch them when I wasn't quick enough to get the weight and have them get back on the scale. "What, I just did this!" is the look I get. You can also do toenails and teeth in the chute.


MSA makes the chute and the shearing table we use. The customer service has been great. When we loaned out the shearing table one year, the belly band was cut. No problem, they sent us a new one right away with instructions on how to uninstall the old one and put on the new one.

Heininger shears have stood up to many years of shearing. No problems, they always work. While they are heavy, they are workhorses.


The tooth-a-matic is a new item we bought last year. This tool is a fast and easy way to trim teeth. The dremel tool is handy for fighting teeth, but on the larger teeth, it is easy to overheat the tooth. You can find it here: http://www.thealpacarosa.com/toothamatic.html

Those orange toenail snips. Doesn't everyone have those?


First aid kit. I recently attended a class on alpaca first aid. The kit has some handy items in it, and you can buy them from most of the alpaca stores. I added a flashlight among other things. Emergencies seem to happen when you are least prepared. I also added a bunch of stuff that I found while looking at the horse first aid kits. A human first aid kit is a must have too. I will talk about this more in length in a future blog

A blower is nice for a couple of reasons. It blows out the fiber and gunk from the cutter/comb between shearings. You can blow the fleece while still on the alpaca to get out some of the dirt. If you have sand, the shearer will love you if you do this. Do not blow out show fleeces!