Shearing Clinic
On Saturday, March 31st we woke up bright and early to attend a shearing clinic at Fireweed Alpacas. I took two of the boys, Speed and Cloud Walker. In the morning we went over the equipment, resources for buying shearing equipment, and places to send fiber. We learned the difference between shears and clippers and how to put on blades, combs, and cutters. There were many makes and models of shears and clippers. Then we broke for lunch and visiting. After lunch we hit the barn. There were two set ups- one with a mat and floor tie down and another with a tilting shearing table. We veiwed both in action, but spent most of our time at the mat and floor set up because that is the set up we will be utilizing at our place. After some demonstration, Teri and her helpers let us try our hand at the shearing process. We worked a great deal with Linda and she was an awesome mentor and teacher. Below is a picture of Cloud Walker being shorn. He was very sweet, relaxed, and content.
Ben, Patty, Cloud Walker, Linda, and Veronica
We worked quite a bit with Ben, Linda, and Veronica through out the day. We worked well together. Linda is from King William Alpacas and Veronica is from Mada Vemi Alpacas.
Ben, Patty, Cloud Walker, Linda, and Veronica
We worked quite a bit with Ben, Linda, and Veronica through out the day. We worked well together. Linda is from King William Alpacas and Veronica is from Mada Vemi Alpacas.
I liked your comments and am glad you feel the class was helpful. Quite often we dont get a lot of feedback on these classes. I know we enjoyed working with everyone and the smaller class size this time may have been a good thing.
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Hey! wow wat a scary pic of me! hahaha I hope everything is going well with eveyrone there i was reading ur blog and found this and i had to comment u guys did so well at the clinc.. Hope everyhting is well there.
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Veronica,
It is good to hear from you! We had a great time learning to shear at that clinic. I am so glad we learned to do our own shearing - especially when I hear of the troubles other farms have getting a shearer sometimes. Our herd doubled in size this year so that makes it even more economical to be more self sufficient. This year we added a blade sharpener to our shearing set up. It took awhile to get the hang of it, but that too was a good investment that I think will save us money in the long run.
Best wishes to you and your mom,
Patty
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