SHEAR DELIGHT

Alpaca and Llama Shearing Services

WHEN YOU PURCHASE AN ALPACA FROM US WE WILL SHEAR IT FREE FOR TWO YEARS!!!!!!!

After purchasing our first two aplaca and then a whole herd, and having been cancelled by one shearer, we felt it was in our best interest to learn how to do this ourselves. A somewhat daunting task. And even though we had gotten a new shearer through The Cascade Alpaca Breeders Co-op, we still had the fear that we would be cancelled again and then what? With a herd of 20 animals - and growing.

Nancy started hunting around for a shearing school, and found one given by Washington State University, each year. It is a sheep shearing school, which is your starting point for learning how to shear. She signed up, talked with the moderator about what had happened and why she was taking the course, and she was able to get in. One small problem: the course started the day after Alpacapalooza closed. That Sunday was a somewhat hectic day.

Nancy completed the Washington State University Sheep Shearing School couse in April of 2007. Her goal in taking the class was to be able to shear our herd. Having mastered the fine art of shearing sheep, she then felt comfortable turning her attention to our herd.

However Nancy immediately found people asking if she would be doing jobs off the farm, even the local vet. And a business was born!!!

At shearing school Nancy met another Enumclaw resident who was taking the class for the same reason - to learn how to shear her alpacas and llamas. Once back in Enumclaw, they started partnering on jobs, and found they worked like a well oiled machine together. Nancy being left handed and DeAnna being right handed, they gravitate to and are most comfortable on a particular side of the animal. The animal gets shorn within minutes with both of them shearing simutaneously.

Having purchased a flat bed trailer, we transport the shearing chute to you. The chute has been specially designed to handle both alpacas and llamas. Outfitted with a canvas awning for rain and sun shades for our sunny days, neither rain nor shine matters. We do not cancel because of weather unless you have not kept your animals dry enough for us to shear.

By the end of 2007 SHEAR DELIGHT was born.

No job is too big (10 or more animals - we discount the fee by $10 per animal) or too small for them to handle.

The third person who helps on jobs is Nancy's husband, Jerry. He has an MS in Biochemistry and Microbiology. He spent 15 years working with Bristol-Myers in their animal research division. His speciality now is toe nails and shots. And coming soon: teeth trimming.

Llamas can be an extra challenge for the small herd owner. It is important that you shear them once a year, just like the smaller bodied alpaca.

Prices for 2008:
Alpaca: $45 each; 10 or more $35 each
Llamas: $50 each Toe nails: $12 per animal
Need their CD&T shot done? $5 per animal
What do I do with the fleece? We can provide the plastic bags, labels, and fleece weighing $5 per animal
Need your animal weighed? $5 per animal
Sheep & Goats: $20 per animal (Rams,Ewes and lambs) pro-tie method will be used for the sheep.

We do not charge a set-up fee. A mileage fee will be charged for jobs over 25 miles from Enumclaw.