By Cecilia Nasmith
Amy Kung-Oliver of Old Mill Alpacas will spend the Victoria Day weekend tackling one of the most important tasks of the year – the shearing of the alpacas.
And her research into current provincial guidelines (including queries to the Haliburton Kawartha District Health Unit) has indicated she can welcome visitors, as long as there are no more than five at a time.
The thinking is that, since it's just a matter of people coming to watch a unique and fascinating process – as opposed to the guided tours of the operation that she might normally offer – that will be allowed within appropriate numbers and appropriate social distancing.
“Nobody's taking anyone anywhere,” Kung-Oliver said.
There would be no one available for tours anyway, she added, because shearing is an all-hands-on-deck operation.
“It's a very important time that lots of things are done – information gathering, fleece preparing, animal husbandry,” she listed.
“It's a very intense time.”
Professionals do the actual shearing at $48 per animal, which includes trimming their toenails and checking their teeth. They also have a retired vet on hand in case they nick one of the animals, but vet care is rarely necessary – they have only had one nick in the past 11 years.
Each alpaca is led to the shearing area and placed in what she called the Superman position, its feet secured and its body cradled as the work goes on. Someone else will gather up the fleece and bring it to Kung-Oliver for processing – “shredding it, dividing it, grading it, marking it, whatever.
“We go till we drop,” she said.
“We will continue shearing until we say, 'OK, I can't stand.' And probably the next day, we'll start right at 10.”
The farm located at 13854 County Rd. 2 in Cramahe is home to 86 alpacas who must be sheared at about this point each year, or else they run the risk of heat stroke.
If you drove past Old Mill Alpacas recently, you would notice the animals are starting to look a little fluffy. If you drop in during the shearing, you'll see so much more.
“You'll see them at their fluffiest, and you'll also see them at their skinniest. We call it our Honey, We Shrunk The Alpacas event,” Kung-Oliver said.
“You'll really get the idea of how much fibre is on each animal.”
Old Mill alpacas have pretty dense fleece, she added.
“After a whole shearing, I will have at least 800 lb. of fleece. I have to check it, divide it into different grades, examine it, pick all the vegetation off and divide it into different bags for different products in mind. All that will be washed, dried in the sun, and then go into the mill for different processes.”
Some might be carded and made into yarn, for example. Some might be made into batts for duvets and insulated wear.
Old Mill Alpacas also allowed people to come watch the process last year, Kung-Oliver said. They approached the barn to within a certain distance and they could see everything.
“They could see the shearing, they could see us moving the fleece over, they could see us sorting it into different bags – and I could talk as I sort,” she recalled.
This year's shearing will go on throughout the holiday weekend, probably from about 11 a.m. Saturday through about 4 p.m. Monday. If you're in the vicinity of Colborne, it would be a chance to see something you don't see every day – literally.
