Make the most of your alpaca's precious fleece

Joy Whitehead of Bozedown Alpacas says you need to start long before shearing day

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Are you planning to use your alpaca fleeces for your own use or to sell to a mill for processing? Whatever you decide you will need to understand how to sort and evaluate your fleeces. If you don't have alpacas yet then right from the start it would be sensible to invest in the animals most suitable for your future plans. There are two sub-species of alpaca, the huacaya and the suri. The huacaya has a 'teddy bear' type fleece and the suri has the long flowing fleece. Density and fineness are important in both fleece types, and in general terms the huacaya fleece is used more to produce woollen yarns while the suri fleece is used more for worsted yarns.

The prices paid for fleece vary according to fleece weight, fleece fineness and cleanliness. So you should breed your females to density, fineness, good length, while also bearing in mind good conformation. It may take several generations and layering of genetics to achieve your goals, depending on your starting point.

KEEPING THE FLEECES CLEAN

The aim is to have clean fleeces for shearing, and the best way to achieve this is to clean your pastures! Before you put alpacas (or any other animals) onto new pasture you need to inspect it thoroughly in case there are any 'traps' - hidden badger or rabbit holes, old fencing buried in the grass, broken wires with sharp ends. And you need to check that the fencing is complete - alpacas love brushing themselves on hedges, and if that hedge has a gap in it, your alpaca will be through it before he even realises what's happened. While you are checking your fencing, look out for any old wire lying around: remove and dispose of any you find.