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Shearing Alpacas at Tin Dragon Cottages

Three person shearing team shearing our alpacas at Tin Dragon Cottages

Saturday 31st October 2020 was a big day for our herd and for us! We were shearing alpacas at Tin Dragon Cottages.

If you are a home spinner – and there are many of us in Tasmania – you will know how difficult and painful it can be to remove grass seeds from alpaca fibre! So we prefer October for shearing, not just to avoid the heat of summer – but also to avoid the grass seeds and buzzies.

Six black alpacas seen from above as they wait to be shorn.
The waiting room
Cassie and Byron are unpacking the alpaca shearing equipment out of the back of their Mercedes van.
The shearing team setting up
The team wrestle an alpaca on to the shearing table.
All hands on deck!
The alpaca shearing commences.
The first alpaca on the shearing table

Toffeemont breeds alpacas, hosts farm tours and specilises in alpaca shearing and husbandry. Notice how Byron uses a shearing table. Also he doesn’t place a sock over the alpaca’s mouth. This is much kinder on both the alpaca and the shearer.

The year Janelle and Byron drove two of their stud alpacas over to Tin Dragon Cottages.

Doonan and Chicko - two stud alpacas arrive at Tin Dragon Cottages.
Chicko (brown) and Doonan (white) were transported in the back of the air-conditioned Mercedes van.
Doonan the white stud alpaca is mating with Samantha - the brown alpaca.
Doonan with Samantha.

So, when Toffeemont alpacas-shearing team visit next year we are hoping to have four or five crias at foot!

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