Someone on my Facebook assumed these alpacas had recently been shorn and was upset someone would do that in the winter.
They are sheared in May. The babies have never been sheared.
Look how much "fluff" there is! You touch them and your hand sinks it's so thick.
Even if they had been recently sheared, they'd be fine. Many sheep are sheared in winter before lambing. When ewes have full fleeces, they're less bothered by cold/snowy weather and will gladly lamb outside. That's not great for the lambs. Shearing the ewes provides several benefits: the ewes are more likely to seek shelter to lamb, they're less likely to lay on their lambs and smother them (because they could actually feel the lamb), more ewes fit into the same space, and it makes for higher quality fleeces because the stress of lambing/raising a lamb takes a toll on their fiber (causing weakness, breaks, etc).
ReplyDeleteAs long as sheep (or any fiber animal) has shelter, they can be sheared in the winter.
Ok, I just saw your friend's comments on your FB pictures. She is clearly not a livestock person. At least she realized she was anthropomorphizing. Sorry, but animals are not people. Animals handle cold differently, and when you see alpacas/sheep/yaks/horses (insert animal here) with snow on their backs, it means their fur/fleece/wool/etc is holding in their body heat and not melting the snow, which is a GOOD thing. Not all animals need coats in the winter. Clipped horses or ones who can't grow a decent winter coat, sure. Alpacas and other fiber animals do just fine in cold snowy temps. As long as they have shelter from the wind and rain, they're perfectly content.
ReplyDeleteThis does not apply to pigs or dogs or other animals who are sick/old/newborn/etc. Obviously.
Sometimes I facepalm due to ignorant people more often in a day than is really necessary... I'd try alpacas, but getting started seems to be so expensive. I'm more comfortable with veggies and chickens.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love alpacas and when I get started with them I am going for the gelded males aka fiber/pet alpacas, because they are more affordable and I want the fiber more than for breeding.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the all the farm pictures!
We have one for sale...
DeleteThunder River's Cappy
If you are looking for a pet-quality alpaca or a companion for other alpacas, Cappy is your animal. He is very pleasant and is the alpaca that people like the most when visiting the farm. His fleece is a warm medium brown. Cappy isn't registered.
DOB - ?
Color - Medium Brown
Price - $500 OBO
The one listed above him is selling for $7,500. Oy!