Cluckin A Critter Farm, LLC: Mon May 18th... We’ve Recovered from Shearing Day... A Good Day...

Yesterday we started out early for Isabelle’s farm along the Hudson River, to join in on the Alpaca shearing day scheduled to begin at 8:30. We arrived to find Isabelle and Wendy, her friend of many years, from Scotia busy making ready for the other alpaca owners to arrive. There was coffee and doughnuts for those of us needing a kick start in the morning, and these staple items were well received by all. There were ten alpacas and one llama on the list for shearing and all the owners were present at some point in the day. John, owner and operator of Schoharie Llamas, from Schoharie, NY was the shearer and when he arrived the program got underway. The previous year, John had sheared the alpacas on the ground, which was an arduous job, to say the least, but this year, he had a table. All went well and we finished around six in the evening or so. Our contractor friend Jeff, had brought his daughter, Christa to see the event, so when it ended, we took her to her house in Westerlo and then returned home ourselves, to await the arrival of Isabelle with our alpacas. When she arrived with the boys, Isabelle’s husband Ralph, Wendy and Ashley, the fifteen year old helper, accompanied her and we lead a short tour of the barn and bunny brothel for Isabelle. We also invited them to join us for dinner at the Wayside Inn near Oak Hill, or perhaps, still in Durham, as I never know where one town stops and another begins. Anyway, they accepted and we all dined and chatted about the days events. Wendy commented that using the table slowed the cutting process substantially, making it almost twice as long, but sure saved your back and knees over the course of the day. Vicki and I couldn’t imagine being on the ground, holding alpacas down for the shearer, as they kicked and fought to regain their feet again. That would be brutal for both the animal and the people. All in all, I’d say the day was a successful adventure with little injury to anyone involved except the people. I had a few bloody scrapes and others nursed a few bloody spots too. John the shearer, was kicked in the face during the next to last animal, which gave him a red scrape mark just above the eye and bent, broken glasses, but he was ok after a few seconds to gain his bearings again. It was an exciting, long and tiring day for all and we slept fine all night. Today the boys are running around in little coats to keep warm. Below are pictures of the event and the boys today.