Are you in need of a caring and reliable shearing for your alpacas?

We offer gentle shearing geared towards a stress free experience.

We are not the fastest. We do, however, care.

In the spirit of Camelidynamics, in which Jay is a practitioner, we will respectfully and kindly handle your alpaca, gently placing them on a padded mat minimizing their stress level. Our own roping system allows us to shear late pregnant females as, unlike some shearers, we do not roll them completely over and, depending on your alpaca, can shear them stood up with the minimum of restraint. However, we do reserve the right to refuse to shear any alpaca that we feel would suffer more as a result, but we will always do what we can to make the alpaca comfortable until it can be shorn.

Due to the nature of our shearing style, we have to place a limit of 35 alpacas per day to be shorn. Should you have a herd that numbers more and you must complete in one day, it can be done as long as no extras are required and you are very organised. Please take that into consideration when booking.

We are alpaca breeders and know from experience the frustrations of finding a reliable shearer. That’s why we got into the shearing business, frustration and to provide our own alpacas with a quality shearing job. From there we were asked to shear clients’ alpacas and have subsequently advertised, being very busy last year and looking forward to being even busier this year. But, the resounding comments have been how calm the alpacas and the day was, how the owners felt more involved and how many observed that the alpaca who had previously “mis-behaved” on the mat didn’t!  

We process our own fibre so we understand how shearing can affect the end product, let alone ease the skirting, and so we try our best to avoid as many second cuts as possible.

As an apprentice BAS judge, awaiting certification, Jay, and Garry, who is also well on his way to becoming a judge, are uniquely positioned to provide input and evaluation of your alpacas with regards to fibre quality, conformation, etc should you wish to seek our opinion.

Having to manage our own herds mean that we can also offer additional services at shearing time, just see our menu.

So, we promise;

• We will treat your alpacas as we would treat our own.

• We will do our best to arrive at the agreed time on the agreed date.

• We will call you the day before to ensure that everything is still in order.

• We disinfect all equipment between each job to prevent any possibility of cross contamination from farm to farm.

• We will try our best to ensure that everyone enjoys the day.

Preparation for Shearing Day 

It is important that you and your alpacas are prepared for us as this will lead to the day going as smoothly as possible. So,

Please clear your paddock about a week before shearing to avoid twigs, burrs etc becoming entangled in the fleece. If you can keep your alpacas from rolling in their dust bowls this would be appreciated as the dust, sand etc really wrecks the blades.

Unfortunately we do not control the weather. If it looks like rain, where possible, try to keep your alpacas shut in a dry, clean place as it is difficult and not very pleasant to shear a wet alpaca. In addition, if the fleece is wet, it needs to be dried before storage or the fleece will begin to deteriorate immediately.

All that we need is a large flat space on the floor. It should be at least 4 metres long and 2 wide and shaded in hot weather.

If outside, we can use posts or improvise; we have used our vehicles, a tractor and various agricultural implements.

This is an ideal; we have shorn on some very steep slopes and in some very awkward places, so we use 4x4’s, bring our own generator and are pretty versatile but please, tell us so that we can come fully prepared, we don’t like being surprised.

Menu

Shearing 5 or less alpaca                            £80 flat fee

Shearing 6 – 20 alpaca                               £15 each

Shearing 21-50 alpaca                               £12 each

Shearing 51-100 alpaca                              £10 each

Shearing 100+ alpaca                                 Negotiable

Toe nail trimming                                      £2

Other services, drenches, tagging, etc.             By request 

Bags for fleece (paper)                               £1.50

Pregnancy Scanning                                    £10

   Travel (Split where possible)                     £0.32 per mile

  Accommodation (Where necessary)                        At Cost  

      Herding and/or catching                          £15 per 15mins