Shearing and weaving | ‘No comparison’ to alpaca wool, says owner
EDMONTON — The exotic livestock business may not be what it once was, but there is still a market for alpacas and their fine fleece.
“A lot of people who are trying to do the 100 mile diet are trying to do the 100 mile garment,” said Laurie Peeters of Namao, Alta.
She has been in the business since 1999 and has 30 alpacas. She processes her wool at mills experienced in handling exotic fibres and sells it locally from the farm or at farmers markets.
A shearing demonstration was part of the Northlands Farm and Ranch Show held April 4-6 in Edmonton.
Read Also
Agriculture ministers agree to AgriStability changes
federal government proposed several months ago to increase the compensation rate from 80 to 90 per cent and double the maximum payment from $3 million to $6 million
Shearing requires skill and strength to lift a wiggling 150 pound animal onto a special shearing table. The alpaca is strapped down on its side and shorn with specialized clippers to remove the valuable fleece.
The result is seven to eight pounds of fine fleece that is sorted on a mesh covered table so the small bits fall through. Some spinners take the product directly to the spinning wheel while others send it to a commercial mill.
Shearer Denise Gamroth used to clip up to 1,100 alpacas per year, but she has cut back to 500 because she finds it physically taxing. She can clip four to five per hour.
She learned the specialized technique at Olds College and had some practice on sheep, although the clipping process is different because of the nature of the fleece.
Gamroth said fibre quality has improved since she got into the alpaca business 20 years ago when the first alpacas came from South America and Australia. She has 60 at her Battle River Alpacas ranch at Galahad, Alta.
“There is no comparison,” she said.
“The fibre is so much nicer and crimpy with more luster. The fibre is 100 times better.”
For good quality fibre, each single piece needs to be finer than a human hair with a crimp to give the finished yarn body and memory so that it returns to its original shape after stretching.
The average fibre is 20 to 36 microns, compared to more than 100 microns for a human hair.
There are 15,000 alpacas in Canada with the majority in Alberta.
There are two types of alpacas: huacaya and suri. The suri has long flowing fibre that curls into ringlets while the huacaya is more commonly seen with a thick, fluffy coat.
