There are two Alpacas at the Fat Ewe Farm, Dwayne and Ethel, named after my cousins. Although Dwayne is technically in tact, he is not a breeder due to some details that make him not interested, so he lives in harmony with his sister, Ethel. The alpacas are timid, shy and slow compared to the primitive sheep. They can run fast, but they have no idea where to go or why they are running most of the time. They do not follow the flock of sheep that they have lived with the past two years, but wonder where they went when they detour and take a wrong turn themselves. I guess you could say that these two alpacas are not the brightest tacks in the box, but there is room on the farm for the great and the small.
Dwayne and Ethel were acquired for their fleece, which is pure white and quite lovely. The shearer did not do them when he did the sheep and although he did come back, I was not 100% ready. The misunderstanding was mine. The shearer had indicated to me that his son would be with them as he works with his wife and that his son was young and fast and could easily catch and round up animals. I took that to mean that he would help me catch the alpacas and llamas, since I am here by myself the majority of the time. Anyhow, they did not get sheared.
I have noticed that their fiber is parting and appears to be coming away from the new growth, so looked up rooing alpacas. Rooing is a process where the old fleece can be combed with the fingers to release it from the new growth, thereby shearing without shears. I did that last year to Crystal, the beautiful Icelandic sheep and the wool was lovely. She was not left naked either, so rooing could happen later in the year without worry that the fleece would not grow in enough to provide winter warmth.
The problem on the farm with the fiber animals is keeping the animal clean. Sheep are bad because they pull the hay down on themselves and the other sheep who are smaller while eating. The alpacas are worse though. They roll in dirt and debris quite frequently and are never clean. In the picture Dwayne is sitting in the mud. Gee! Ethel is covered with hay too, but the parting of their fiber is visible and they appear ready to be rooed. I will have to catch them, tie them up and try it. In the meantime, I wish they would try to stay a little cleaner at least.
Dwayne and Ethel were acquired for their fleece, which is pure white and quite lovely. The shearer did not do them when he did the sheep and although he did come back, I was not 100% ready. The misunderstanding was mine. The shearer had indicated to me that his son would be with them as he works with his wife and that his son was young and fast and could easily catch and round up animals. I took that to mean that he would help me catch the alpacas and llamas, since I am here by myself the majority of the time. Anyhow, they did not get sheared.
I have noticed that their fiber is parting and appears to be coming away from the new growth, so looked up rooing alpacas. Rooing is a process where the old fleece can be combed with the fingers to release it from the new growth, thereby shearing without shears. I did that last year to Crystal, the beautiful Icelandic sheep and the wool was lovely. She was not left naked either, so rooing could happen later in the year without worry that the fleece would not grow in enough to provide winter warmth.
The problem on the farm with the fiber animals is keeping the animal clean. Sheep are bad because they pull the hay down on themselves and the other sheep who are smaller while eating. The alpacas are worse though. They roll in dirt and debris quite frequently and are never clean. In the picture Dwayne is sitting in the mud. Gee! Ethel is covered with hay too, but the parting of their fiber is visible and they appear ready to be rooed. I will have to catch them, tie them up and try it. In the meantime, I wish they would try to stay a little cleaner at least.
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