Alpacas are generally shorn once a year and with animals of average quality the blanket would be expected to yield up to 2kg in weight, with a staple length of between 7 and 13 cm.  

Shearing alpacas. Photo supplied.

Obviously the aim of the alpaca breeder is to increase the weight of the fleece by breeding for greater density, and at the same time to improve the ‘handle’ or feel of the fleece. A finer fleece would have a better handle than a coarser, or stronger, fleece, but uniformity of micron also affects the handle. 

We’re now into late summer and most alpacas will have been shorn.  Shearing starts in spring and unless animals are to be shown at the summer A&P shows most breeders will have all their alpacas shorn by Christmas. 

Shearing an alpaca is a much slower process than shearing a sheep.  The shearer needs to understand the anatomy of the animal and to take care when shearing close to delicate ligaments in its long legs and neck. 

Those long legs are also strong and, if unrestrained, the alpaca can kick unexpectedly so it is usually restrained, often using a specially designed shearing table.

At shearing, many breeders take a ‘mid side’ sample of the fleece and send it away for testing. A sample taken at this location should be reasonably representative of the whole fleece. 

The diameter of each fibre is measured, and results are returned to the breeder in the form of a graph which shows the average micron of fibres in the sample, the range in micron (i.e. the uniformity of the fleece) and the percentage of fibres under 30 micron (which translates into comfort when the fleece is transformed into a garment).  

So to have a comfort factor of 100% all fibres tested will have a diameter of less than 30 microns. 

There are two types of alpaca fleece – huacaya and suri.  Suri hangs in silky locks whilst huacaya is more akin to sheep’s wool in its appearance.  However, alpaca fibre is lighter in weight than sheep’s wool, and is also warmer. 

Because of the structure of the fibre it is less prickly – the scales on the outside are flatter than the scales on wool, so less scratchy – this is especially true of suri, and also explains the high level of lustre visible in suri fleece.

Fleece colours are also different from sheep’s wool.  Obviously the commercial herd in Peru is white but there are many other colours as well.  Black is a true blue-black which doesn’t fade and definitely doesn’t need dyeing. 

There are both silver greys and rose greys, and browns and fawns can be vibrant and strong or subtle and delicate, and range from almost black through to almost white. 

For many years selective breeding in Peru has improved white fleeces, so white alpacas tend to have better quality fleeces than coloured alpacas.  For those of us breeding for colour our challenge is to improve our fleeces until we reach the same standard as the best whites.