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Does Your Llama Need to be Shorn?
(This article first appeared in Llamas Magazine in May, 1995)
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Imagine that
it's a beautiful, warm, late-spring day. You're out with one of
your llamas, conditioning and training for summer activities.
After jogging across a field, jumping several logs and going up a
hill, you're perspiring and pushing damp strands of hair away to
cool your skin. The longer and thicker your hair, the warmer you
are, even wearing a hat. Your llama, with its hair fiber coat,
feels the same way. This is because hair is made of protein, and
protein fibers are known for their ability to retain body heat.
It's the reason we wear wool in winter and other mammals grow
heavier coats each fall. However, not all animals shed that
extra protection in the spring. Humans have intervened and
developed species that can be shorn to provide fiber or wool for
a multitude of uses, primarily clothing.
For over 5,000 years, alpaca and llama breeders in South America
have shorn according to fiber length, individual growth rate and
the season. Today, fiber is a cash crop and the animals are
regarded as a commodity. Mills and markets have been developed
to utilize the literally tens of thousands of fleeces produced
each year. Most North American alpaca breeders shear each animal
in their herd when the fleece reaches marketable length, in
spring or summer.
Why are the majority of North American llamas exempt from this
history of camelid shearing? For over a decade, the emphasis has
been on placing more fiber on our animals, in the name of
aesthetics. The llama industry hasn't worked at creating
processors and markets as alpaca breeders have done. And,
perhaps we've oversold ourselves on the "easy care" aspect of
llama ownership: it's acceptable to have a field full of
ungroomed animals and not make the effort required to shear
them.
The consequences, for many North American llamas, range from
discomfort to misery, and in some cases, death. To appreciate
how these unshorn animals must feel, try buttoning yourself into
your longest, heaviest wool coat in May and wear it 24 hours a
day until October. It's not pleasant to even imagine carrying on
all your normal activities under these conditions. There's some
insulation value against external heat sources in protein fibers,
but even those heavy woolen robes worn by nomadic Arabs are only
one layer thick.
How do you know when enough is enough and your llama needs to be shorn?
By the age of 2, a llama will usually have grown its full coat.
At that point, if not stimulated by shearing, fiber growth stops
or slows considerably. From then on, the fiber just hangs there,
matting and collecting debris. Llamas perspire, and that
moisture, combined with body heat and normal activity, is enough
to turn the undercoat into felted mats.
The majority of llamas shed, but not always in the spring.
There's one theory that, since it takes about 2 years for the
fiber to reach full length, the first shedding will occur around
the llama's second birthday and every second year after that.
Whenever it happens, a natural break point forms in the fiber.
This allows the shorter lengths on the neck and legs to fall or
to be rubbed off. (Break points can also be caused by severe
stress, inadequate diet, birthing or illness.) When you notice
your short to medium wooled llama starting to shed, you can use a
brush or a wool rake, with a single row of 1 inch long teeth
spaced at least 1/8 inch apart, to gently remove the loose
fibers. But, if the undercoat has already felted, the mats will
be held by the fibers which are still attached to the skin.
Attempting to remove them by brushing will pull, or even rip out,
the attached fibers. If your llama has reached the point where
it appears to have been attacked by an enormous moth, the most
humane way to correct the situation is by trimming off the mats,
or a complete shearing.
A thorough brushing will help keep a short wooled llama
comfortable during the summer. This article defines short wool
as less than 4 inches of undercoat on the body - a length that
should brush out easily when coordinated with shedding.
Now, let's consider several points that apply to llamas with more
than 4 inches of undercoat:
In addition to protecting the animal from the elements, the fiber
is there for functional, rather than decorative purposes. Both
hand spinners and commercial mill operators will tell you that 3
to 6 inches is the prime length for spinning. If it's any
longer, or shorter, it will require special handling.
The ability to shed any of their fiber has been bred out of most
heavy wooled llamas. As a general rule, you are risking serious
health problems by leaving 8 inches - or more - of undercoat on a
heavy wooled llama when the daytime temperature is 80 degrees
Fahrenheit or more. High humidity, warm nights, breeding,
pregnancy, lactation, and obesity compound the situation. Also
remember that dark colored fiber absorbs more heat than light
colored fiber.
The logical conclusion to these points is: any spring that your
llama's undercoat is more than 4 to 5 inches long, it should be
shorn.
If you decide to keep long fiber on a llama, for decorative
purposes, you should provide it with an air conditioned barn. If
you're still not convinced, consult one of the medical studies
that have been published on the many adverse effects of
hypothermia in llamas. These effects include loss of fertility
and even death.
Use your own good, common sense to adapt these ideas to your
circumstances and climate. The main point to remember is this:
due to human intervention, most llamas can no longer completely
shed their excess fiber. Therefore, shearing is often required
to keep them comfortable and healthy during the summer.
If you've read this far, you're possibly ready to consider which
new style your llama will be wearing this summer.
Go to Giant Cria Cuts and Arm Pit Trims.
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