Spring is upon us & it is time to shear!  There are many questions surrounding shearing like Do I need to shear my animal?  How often do I shear?  When is the best time to shear?  Do I need special equipment?  How do you do shear a llama or alpaca?  Can I just hire someone else to shear my animals?  How do I decide how much to shear off?  What sort of pattern do I use?  How much of a staple length do I leave?

I'll provide my thoughts on shearing & show some photos to help you decide what is best for you & your animals.

1) Do I need to shear my animal?

Deciding if you need to shear can be somewhat of a subjective decision.  Pictured below are 3 different types of llamas & my thoughts on shearing each of them.  Keep in mind that the wool on a llama is insulating, both in the summer & winter.  Having a lot of wool, isn't necessarily bad, even in warm weather.

Light wool llama that does not require shearing. 

Medium wool llama that may require shearing the body wool every 3-5 years.

Heavy wool llama that may require shearing the body wool every 1-2 years. 

Alpacas may require shearing the body and neck wool every 1-2 years.

2) How often do I need to shear?

Frequency of shearing depends on many things including your environmental conditions, the animal genetics,  physical condition, nutrition & general health.  Animals in poor health or lacking adequate nutrition do not expend the same resources on fiber production and so will produce less fiber that requires less maintenance.  Animals that live in extreme weather conditions like constant high temperature or high humidity may need to be shorn more frequently.

3) When is the best time to shear?

I prefer to shear in the early spring, April-May.  This allows for plenty of grow out before winter arrives & reduces shearing during hot weather.

4) Do I need special equipment?

Not really.  There are many different types of scissors & clippers that can be used.

The red scissors are regular sheep shears available through most feed or farm stores.  The grey scissors are made by Fiskars and are available through most fabric stores, Wal Mart or llama supply catalogs.  These are great when you have a real jumpy animal or you want to leave a long staple length on the animal.

This is an A-5 Oster Dog Clipper with 3 blades.  A #4 blade is great for leaving a little extra length (~1/4") of fiber on the animal.  A #10 blade provides a clean skin close cut.  I like this for some animals that I take to show.  A #40 blade is a surgical preparation blade that we use in medical procedures like setting an intravenous catheter.  Make certain to have a can of Clipper Lube on hand.  Shearing with the dog clippers is slow, but it provides a really nice finish for the show ring & is worth the effort in my opinion.  Often I will quick shear with either hand scissors or the electric sheep clippers & then use the dog clippers for clean up & finishing touches. 

This is an Oster Stewart Sheep Clipper with a 10 tooth blade.  A 13 tooth flaired & straight cutter works well also.  I like this for the bulk of my shearing.  You can add a guard to leave more wool on the animal if you prefer.  Shearing with either the Oster or the Heineger clippers makes shearing a quick procedure & provides a nice finish. 

5) How do you shear a llama or alpaca?

In my opinion - as quickly as possible!  Preparing the fiber to shear is a personal preference.  One question to ask is what do you want to do with the fiber?  It is far easier to clean the fiber while it is still on the animal.  If I am going to clean the fiber for shearing, I only clean the necessary area, as in the photo below.  For cleaning we generally will use a blower to remove dust & debris from the fleece.  This will also extend the life of your clippers as dirt will quickly dull blades.  Using a brush or hand picking out larger pieces of debris is also useful.  I think it is worth spending a short amount of time preparing the fiber before shearing it.  If you intend to sell the fiber, it is a necessity to groom prior to shearing.

Only the barrel of the animal is groomed prior to shearing.

I prefer to shear all of my animals standing (even the alpacas).  We will halter & tie the animal in the barn.  With a little bit of grain for placation, I can quickly shear 1/2 of the animal before they object.  Some animals do require an assistant to hold them still for shearing the belly & the neck.  I generally start along the top line & work my way from the front to back of the animal & then down towards the ground.  By shearing in even strips I get less cross cutting & fewer second cuts.

6) Can I just hire someone else to shear my animals?

Yes, I would start by contacting your local llama club and asking members if there is a local shearer that they would recommend in your area.

This llama was taken to a professional llama shearer for a show cut.

7) How do I decide how much to shear off?  What sort of pattern do I use? 

Deciding how much of the fiber to remove is a personal decision and aesthetics.  I shear animals for their comfort.  I prefer to select the cut that best complements the animal.  Next I decide the use of the animal & the current condition of the fiber.  If an animal is full of mats & junk, I may decide to body shear & start over.  All of the cuts that I choose open up the belly and increase ventilation under the animal & across the belly.

Barrel Cut - shaved with electric clippers #4 blade & left with 1/4" staple length (sunburn potential)

Modified Barrel Cut - extension to the base of the neck & tail - shaved with electric clippers #4 blade

Lion Cut - full barrel & top part of back legs - hand cut with scissors & left with 3/4" staple length (highly skittish animal & July shearing)

Modified Body Cut - shaved with electric sheep shears to the skin

Modified Body Cut - hand cut with scissors & left with 3/4" staple length (excessive matting, debris & June shearing)

8) How much of a staple length do I leave?

Staple length depends on the amount of fiber an individual has and the time of year that you are shearing.  If I need to shear late in the year, then I leave a longer staple length.  I do NOT recommend shearing a white or cream animal to the skin because they can easily sunburn. 

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Last modified: 07/22/08