Shearing Service
Each year, in conjunction with Kobler Alpacas we offer a shearing service to our existing customers and to alpaca owners across most of South Australia.
Shearing is provided either on our farm or (subject to you being able to meet certain conditions) or at your location.
Your best value option will always be to bring your alpacas to us.
Working through the following questions and answers will help us to help you:
Q. Do you just shear or do you offer any other services?
A. As well as shearing, we will, if requested, as part of the service:
- Check and cut toenails;
- Check and (if needed) trim teeth;
- Administer routine injections. Please note though, that we are not vets, we do not prescribe, we only give any medication on your behalf.
- Notify you of any health or welfare issues that we become aware of when dealing with your animal.
Q. How much will this cost?
A. The base price for 2015/16 is $30 per animal. This price reduces for larger numbers (contact us for a quote) and increases for small numbers. It may also increase as a result of any of the following factors:
- Travelling. We will work with you to reduce this by trying to schedule your visit with others in the area or for a time when we are close by. You can minimise these costs by cooperating with other owners and organising a group event. With sufficient animals this can easily result in a reduction in base price as well.
- Excessive fleece. We expect to shear an animal with just a year's fleece growth (up to two years for a suri). We will shear animals with more fleece but, as they tend to take a lot longer and substantially increase wear and tear on equipment, there will be an additional charge.
- Catching or managing your animals. We like to arrive to find animals penned in an area adjacent to the place where we will be shearing. Catching, penning or moving animals across yards or paddocks are not included in the basic price.
- Difficult or time-consuming set-up.
- External parasites (thankfully, extremely rare in alpacas). We reserve the right to charge for fumigation or disinfection of our equipment if we consider it necessary.
Q. What do I need to provide?
A. The following will help us and keep your costs down:
- Alpacas, penned in an area close to where we will be working, an area that is easily accessible to our van.
- Bags for fleece (you do not need special fleece bags, plastic rubbish sacks are fine).
- Power - we can bring a generator if the shearing area is a long way from the supply, but we need to know in advance.
- Helpers. Help with fleece collection and with loading and unloading animals is always appreciated.
Q. What do I do with the fleece that comes off?
A. Never an easy question - there is a growing market for commercially produced alpaca fleece but it can be difficult to sell small quantities. Some options include:
- Use it yourself. Alpaca fibre is rewarding to work with and you can either spin it yourself or send it to a mini-mill for processing.
- Give it or sell it to a local spinner, knitter or weaver - try putting a card in you your local shop
- Sell it direct - many of our clients have successfully sold fleece on EBay or Gumtree
- We can take it. If you really don't want it we can take it. We hope to turn this into a viable option that will allow you a few dollars off your bill, but the market is not quite there yet.
Q. How do I make a booking or get a quote?
A. Contact us for more details