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SHEARING (as recommended by CANCAM
Fibre Co-Op)
The
production of great fleece starts long before shearing day.
Please consult the Fibre Production Guide: General Information
document for points and tips on maximizing fleece production
before the actual shearing process takes place.
PRE-SHEARING
PREPARATION – ANIMALS:
Place
animals in clean pastures free of brush, debris, dusty or muddy
areas and other fleece contaminants such as polypropylene twine,
for two or three weeks prior to shearing date. Avoid supplementary
feeding from above the animals as this places debris in the
fleeces.
Fleece
must be dry for best results so keep animals under cover if
snow, rain or heavy dew is likely, for several days prior to
shearing date.
Clean
as much dust and debris from the fleece as possible just before
shearing by:
*Blowing
across fleece with a livestock blower (Circuiteer, etc.), leaf
blower or shop vacuum. Do not blow directly at or into the fleece
as this may push debris deeper into the fleece instead of removing
it.
*Combing
or flicking contaminated locks with dog brush or comb.
Sweeping
gently across and against the direction of growth the fleece
with a stick (approx. 2-3 feet long, 1/2 inch in diameter).
Sweeping
gently across the fleece with a narrow, short handled leaf rake.
This can be done prior to blowing the animals to remove the
worst of the surface contamination or just on its own.
Hand
picking as much debris as possible.
*These
methods tend to temporarily remove crimp and change the structure
of the staples/locks. If the fleece is to be hand processed
and hand spun after shearing or is to be entered in a fleece
competition, hand picking is preferable even though more labor
intensive. Blowing an animal before shearing can reduce the
weight loss experienced in processing. A "dirty" fleece
weighs more than a blown fleece containing an equal amount of
fibre.
Decide
shearing order for the animals before hand to ensure the right
animals are ready for shearing at the appropriate time. If you
have current histograms, the shearing order can be worked out
on paper based on this information.
Plan
to shear in an order that will prevent color contamination,
ideally moving from light to dark. Multicolored animals can
be shorn with rose grey (if the animals are predominantly brown
and white with some black or other colours) or with silver grey
(if the animals are predominantly black and white). These multicoloured
fleeces can be separated into their different colours if that
can be accomplished without contaminating each colour. The other
option is to combine the colours of a multicoloured fleece and
treat it the same as a rose grey or silver grey fleece, as the
case may be.
If
shearing a number of animals of each colour, plan shearing order
based on fibre characteristics as well as on colour – shear
fine whites before coarse whites before moving to the next colour.
If
shearing stud males, shear either before or after all of the
females to avoid stress.
Females
can be shorn at any stage in pregnancy but if shearing in the
last month of pregnancy, plan extra time for handling these
animals so they can be restrained and moved very gently to reduce
stress as far as possible.
If
shearing both llamas and alpacas, finish shearing one species
before starting on the other.
Any
contamination - whether vegetation, insect infestations, dirt,
other foreign material, different color or quality fibres -
has an impact on the value of the fleece and so should be reduced
as far as possible. The amount of contamination that is acceptable
may vary depending on the end use of the fleece. For example,
fleeces going to commercial mills may contain some vegetable
matter without having an adverse affect on the quality of end
product but any polypropylene content will be heavily penalized,
as it can not be removed and will cause a problem in the finished
product.
PRE-SHEARING
PREPARATION - SURROUNDING AREA
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The
shearing area should be large enough to accommodate several
people and the animal to be shorn, at the same time. Shearing
under shelter is advisable to prevent problems with contamination,
snow, rain and wind.
If
a stretcher or other method is to be used to restrain
prone animals, make sure there is enough room to stretch
the animal out and to turn it over. Make sure that the
stretcher can be easily fastened to walls, fences or other
solid objects.
If
a chute is to be used, make sure it is placed to allow
the shearer easy access without crowding walls or other
building or fence features.
Remove
all sources of contamination from the shearing area and
the areas used to prepare animals or sort fleeces. Contamination
may come from: polypropylene feed bags or twine, hay or
other food sources, straw or other bedding materials,
spit, manure, gravel, sand, small objects of any type,
food wrappers, scrap paper, cigarette butts, other animal
or man made fibre.
Make
sure there is adequate lighting, electrical outlets and
ventilation.
The
flooring in the shearing area should be easy to keep free
of contamination but not slippery as that may cause either
animals or people to fall. A large sheet of plywood may
be placed on the ground or floor to provide an appropriate
surface. Old mattresses or gym mats can also be used.
Remove
or pad protrusions or sharp objects to prevent injury
to either animals or people.
Organize
an area close to the shearing area to use for weighing,
skirting and sorting the fibre and recording information.
Organize
an area close to the shearing area for preparing and holding
animals prior to shearing. This area should be large enough
so animals will not be crowded, provoked into spitting
or subject to additional stresses.
Organize
an area close to the shearing area to hold newly shorn
animals. Newly shorn animals will need shelter from bright
sun and inclement weather until they get some regrowth
to protect them.
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SHEARING
DAY SUPPLIES:
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Animal
halters and lead lines.
Spit
bag (should not obstruct breathing) to place over nose
and mouth of spitting animals. An old, clean sock works
well.
Blower
(optional), narrow leaf rake or dog brushes.
Brooms
or vacuum cleaner to clean shearing area of any stray
fibre and second cuts before shearing each animal.
Stretcher
or other restraining device (optional).
Table
for skirting and sorting (1 or 2" wire mesh hardware
cloth or stucco wire stretched over a frame made from
two by fours and set up on saw horses works well). 3’
x 6’ is a good overall dimension.
Scales
for weighing fleeces.
Ruler
for measuring staple length.
Individual
fleece collection bags for each fleece.
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Breathable bags that do not shed any foreign fibre onto
the fleece work well - such as old pillowcases.
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Clear plastic bags may be used but care must be taken
to allow the fleece to breathe if it is to be stored in
plastic for any length of time. Fleece that is damp should
not be put into plastic bags.
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Avoid polypropylene bags of any type.
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If there are at least two bags for each animal, the blanket
portion of the fleece can be kept separate from the coarser
portions. Three bags or one bag with three compartments
is better yet.
Weigh
bags beforehand so that this weight can be deducted from
the total when weighing the fleece in the bag after shearing.
Labels
for fleece bags.
Garbage
cans or other containers for refuse and discarded fleece.
Small
ziplock bags and small elastic bands (optional) for fleece
samples, if to be taken during shearing.
Shears,
extra blades, lubrication (if a shearer is coming, check
with them before hand for their specific requirements).
Recording
books or sheets and pens for recording information about
each fleece.
First
Aid Kit:
Wonder
Dust or other blood stop powder.
Disinfectant.
Vet
wrap.
Disposable
surgical stapler for closing long wounds or Suture Kit,
check with Vet for availability.
Animal
coats in several sizes for newly shorn animals that may
be exposed to inclement weather shortly after shearing
(optional).
Band-Aids
(for nicks to people).
A
sufficient number of helpers to prepare animals, restrain
animals for shearing, weigh, sort and skirt fibre and
record information. If shearing a small number of animals
with no time constraints, two or three people can manage
all the jobs. If using the services of a professional
shearer to shear a large number of animals, it is useful
to have more helpers so that the shearer is not kept waiting.
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SHEARING
DAY - GENERAL:
Plan
well to reduce stress to the animals and the people!
Schedule
breaks for refreshments at the convenience of the shearer.
If
shearing in hot weather, make sure everyone has access to shade
and lots of liquids.
Make
sure newly shorn animals have access to shelter from bright
sun (especially important for white animals) or from inclement
weather for at least several days after shearing.
SHEARING:
Halter trained alpacas may be shorn standing up while being
held by a handler, depending on the temperament of the animal
and the amount of time available (this method may take longer
than shearing prone). Depending on the temperament, a blindfold
or covering over the head may be useful.
Alpacas
may be shorn lying down while restrained or stretched out. If
shorn lying down, the alpaca will have to be turned from one
side to the other. Allow for this when planning the space. When
lowering or turning the animals, care should be taken to avoid
physical and mental stress. Turning them from one side over
their stomachs to the other side may accomplish this quickly
and safely. If using restraining straps or stretcher straps,
care must be taken to place straps correctly to avoid potential
injury to animals. Avoid placing straps on joints.
Llamas
may be shorn either standing in halter, depending on temperament
and time available or shorn in a chute or other restraining
device. Again, depending on temperament, a blindfold or covering
over the head may be helpful.
Hand
shears or electric shears may be used but care must be taken
to avoid second cuts in the fleece and to avoid cutting the
animals.
Second
cuts occur when a portion of the fleece is actually cut twice,
creating very short fibres that reduce the overall quality of
the fleece. It is preferable to leave small ridges of short
fibre on the animal than to take a "second cut" to
remove it. Alternatively, patches or ridges can be removed from
the animals in a clean up shearing after all the fleeces have
been removed from the shearing area.
Any
second cuts that do occur should be swept away from the shearer
as he/she works and away from the newly shorn fleece to prevent
contamination. A small whiskbroom works well.
Sweep
up and discard or vacuum all stray fibre and second cuts in
the shearing area before going on to shear the next animal.
CanCam
recommends taking fleece samples prior to shearing but fleece
samples may be reliably taken during shearing if not taken before.
It is useful to mark the sample before shearing. One way is
to wrap the handful of fleece, which is to be the sample, with
a small elastic band. This bunch of fleece held by the elastic
band can then be plucked out from the remainder of the blanket
once it has been shorn.
The
blanket portion of the fleece is the prime quality fleece and
should be shorn and kept separate from any coarser portions
of the fleece early in the shearing process. Some shearers start
with the belly, move to the blanket, then do neck, apron, hind
end, and legs.
Neck
fibre may be close to prime quality but is likely shorter and
may have more guard hair than the blanket. It is often placed
with other portions of the fleece of the same length and quality.
Keep
portions of the fleece of similar quality together to go to
the sorting table. For example, the neck and middle leg fleece
of an animal may be coarser than the blanket but finer than
the belly, lower leg, hind end (britch) and apron fleece. If
so, keep the middle leg and neck fleece of that animal together,
separate from the blanket and separate from the belly, lower
leg, hind end (britch) and apron.
All
fleece containing second cuts, urine, dung, mud, insect infestations
or excessive vegetable matter must be removed and discarded
as soon as possible to avoid contamination of the rest of the
fleece. This is especially true of any Bird’s Nests.
Each
fleece can be sorted as it comes off the animal into the categories
mentioned above. It can be stored in the collection bags until
a secondary farm sort and classing at a later time or the secondary
farm sort and classing can be done at shearing time as well.
This will depend on the amount of help, experience and time
available. Please consult CanCam's Sort/Grade/Record document
for further details.
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