Fiber Adventures - In Which The Emperor Gets a Haircut
It was inevitable. Really. My DH has vigorously maintained for some time that it didn't need to be done but after several years I have become more and more convinced it was necessary. The farm mascot, a llama, affectionately named by the children "Kuzco" (after the Disney character of the same species and name) was looking pretty tatty. The only remaining member of the sheep flock considered himself sovereign - untouchable. Friendly and benign to all who carried a pail of oats and loathesome to all wild predatious trespassers, he felt he earned his keep and deserved the respect of all residents. Respect meaning he was fine just the way he was, thank-you - 'live and let live' in his kingdom - except for the aforementioned unwelcome hunters.
The Emperor in all his unrefined glory....
So it was very easy for my DDs to lure him into a small enclosure behind the barn in the evening, where he had access to water and not much else. By morning he was indignant - and hungry.
Bright and early (8 a.m- ish) DD#1 and I made our way out and scuttled him into the cattle chute. This meant safety for me and comfortable restraint for him.
DD was nice enough to snap a few shots while I worked. You can't see his head here because he stuck it between the boards to the left, wondering where his breakfast went. DD was feeding him by hand while I worked. It was a great distraction - once he was convinced we hadn't imprisoned him in order to eat him alive! He is also laying down in this shot - a standard response in frightened Llamas when they think there is no escape so they might as well surrender to the inevitable and let you kill them(!).
In case you didn't know, Llamas are "prey" animals (as opposed to carnivorous hunters). This means they are always on the watch for enemies. Since they can't bite and have only soft 2-toed feet, much like camels, they can kick very hard if pursuing an unsuspecting hunter like a coyote or fox (thus they make marvelous sheep guards) but their primary defense is running. When we sold the sheep and Kuzco was left behind (yes, he was VERY unhappy) we let him graze with the horses. Horses always establish a "pecking order" whenever a newbie shows up in the pasture, usually by biting and kicking (not a pretty sight, but that's nature!). Well the horses got quite a surprise when they approached the Emperor because none of them could catch him - not even the Arab/Quarterhorse cross! We watched as they ran, both flat out and the Llama pulled away as though the Arab/QH was just loping! Truly amazing for an animal native to the mountains! This is also a marvelous deterrent for predators like coyotes because in addition to being fast, Llamas are also agile, turning on a dime and changing direction effortlessly because they are so lightweight - like a greyhound as my DH says.
The fleece from the first side was completely unsalvageable. Kuzco danced around and fussed so much that he trampled most of it so anything that might have been clean enough to keep had lots of dirt and grass ground into it. The outside 2 inches of the fleece was thoroughly matted together and sunbleached which is why it looked brown. I hadn't expected different so it's not like I was disappointed. I have handled too many sheep over the years to have unrealistic hopes with this project - mainly a mission of mercy....
The second side went much faster as I got better with the clippers and Kuzco realized it was making him feel good. In fact it went so much better I was able to salvage several bundles of fleece which were surprisingly clean - mostly because I think he lays down on his other side...
Here's some of the fleece I kept plus a shot of my sheep clippers. They are an ancient design, virtually unchanged for centuries! You sharpen the blades with a knife sharpener. They are lightweight and ultra-responsive. I clipped the whole Llama and my hand wasn't even sore! It took about an hour and a half from start to finish, including iced tea breaks!
Pulling coarse guard hairs from the fleece
The Scene of the Clip!
So much fluff on the ground! After I was done with the initial clip I went back over him and trimmed to make the length of the remaining coat more even about 2" to 2 1/2". It wasn't easy to gauge when I was doing the job! Since the outside was all matted together you couldn't just pull away chunks of it. My biggest concern was not to trim too much and I certainly didn't want to prick him with the clipper tips (which I'm proud to say I never did). I just patiently took my time....
And finally, His Royal Highness, Emperor Kuzco! Looking like a four-year-old that got a haircut from his six-year-old sister with her kindergarten scissors!! LOL!!
Yes sir! Yes sir! 2 bags full... of unuseable filthy llama fiber...
The horses coming to inspect the strange new animal who has come to join them....
Two more shots of the little bit of fiber I was able to keep. I admit I was pretty fussy as I'm not fond of picking out vegetable matter from fleece! I must say that I've handled a lot of sheep fleeces in my day but never anything like this Llama fiber! It is so dense! At first I thought maybe it was compacted from so many years of growth, but then I realized that even close to the skin it was dense. (I deliberately left him about 2" because it is the end of June.) The nicest fleece, over the shoulders, was really really fine but ultra-thick! SO many fibers per inch!! The black fleece I kept came from below his shoulder, near the front leg. Not the "best" but still quite nice! The white came from the hip area so it is coarser but at least doesn't have ground-in veg. I thought I'd mention the staple - anywhere from 8" to 10"! So I didn't have any qualms about cutting off the outside 2" that was sunburnt and matted.
Overall - now I know I can do this again - easily - so it will become an annual event. I'm not sorry there's only a small amount going back to the house - there is a LOT of work ahead to prepare this for spinning - guard hair to remove (lots!) and washing - oh my! how dirty!! Still, the Emperor is comfortable and happy ... romping among his subjects!
The Emperor in all his unrefined glory....
So it was very easy for my DDs to lure him into a small enclosure behind the barn in the evening, where he had access to water and not much else. By morning he was indignant - and hungry.
Bright and early (8 a.m- ish) DD#1 and I made our way out and scuttled him into the cattle chute. This meant safety for me and comfortable restraint for him.
DD was nice enough to snap a few shots while I worked. You can't see his head here because he stuck it between the boards to the left, wondering where his breakfast went. DD was feeding him by hand while I worked. It was a great distraction - once he was convinced we hadn't imprisoned him in order to eat him alive! He is also laying down in this shot - a standard response in frightened Llamas when they think there is no escape so they might as well surrender to the inevitable and let you kill them(!).
In case you didn't know, Llamas are "prey" animals (as opposed to carnivorous hunters). This means they are always on the watch for enemies. Since they can't bite and have only soft 2-toed feet, much like camels, they can kick very hard if pursuing an unsuspecting hunter like a coyote or fox (thus they make marvelous sheep guards) but their primary defense is running. When we sold the sheep and Kuzco was left behind (yes, he was VERY unhappy) we let him graze with the horses. Horses always establish a "pecking order" whenever a newbie shows up in the pasture, usually by biting and kicking (not a pretty sight, but that's nature!). Well the horses got quite a surprise when they approached the Emperor because none of them could catch him - not even the Arab/Quarterhorse cross! We watched as they ran, both flat out and the Llama pulled away as though the Arab/QH was just loping! Truly amazing for an animal native to the mountains! This is also a marvelous deterrent for predators like coyotes because in addition to being fast, Llamas are also agile, turning on a dime and changing direction effortlessly because they are so lightweight - like a greyhound as my DH says.
The fleece from the first side was completely unsalvageable. Kuzco danced around and fussed so much that he trampled most of it so anything that might have been clean enough to keep had lots of dirt and grass ground into it. The outside 2 inches of the fleece was thoroughly matted together and sunbleached which is why it looked brown. I hadn't expected different so it's not like I was disappointed. I have handled too many sheep over the years to have unrealistic hopes with this project - mainly a mission of mercy....
The second side went much faster as I got better with the clippers and Kuzco realized it was making him feel good. In fact it went so much better I was able to salvage several bundles of fleece which were surprisingly clean - mostly because I think he lays down on his other side...
Here's some of the fleece I kept plus a shot of my sheep clippers. They are an ancient design, virtually unchanged for centuries! You sharpen the blades with a knife sharpener. They are lightweight and ultra-responsive. I clipped the whole Llama and my hand wasn't even sore! It took about an hour and a half from start to finish, including iced tea breaks!
Pulling coarse guard hairs from the fleece
The Scene of the Clip!
So much fluff on the ground! After I was done with the initial clip I went back over him and trimmed to make the length of the remaining coat more even about 2" to 2 1/2". It wasn't easy to gauge when I was doing the job! Since the outside was all matted together you couldn't just pull away chunks of it. My biggest concern was not to trim too much and I certainly didn't want to prick him with the clipper tips (which I'm proud to say I never did). I just patiently took my time....
And finally, His Royal Highness, Emperor Kuzco! Looking like a four-year-old that got a haircut from his six-year-old sister with her kindergarten scissors!! LOL!!
Yes sir! Yes sir! 2 bags full... of unuseable filthy llama fiber...
The horses coming to inspect the strange new animal who has come to join them....
Two more shots of the little bit of fiber I was able to keep. I admit I was pretty fussy as I'm not fond of picking out vegetable matter from fleece! I must say that I've handled a lot of sheep fleeces in my day but never anything like this Llama fiber! It is so dense! At first I thought maybe it was compacted from so many years of growth, but then I realized that even close to the skin it was dense. (I deliberately left him about 2" because it is the end of June.) The nicest fleece, over the shoulders, was really really fine but ultra-thick! SO many fibers per inch!! The black fleece I kept came from below his shoulder, near the front leg. Not the "best" but still quite nice! The white came from the hip area so it is coarser but at least doesn't have ground-in veg. I thought I'd mention the staple - anywhere from 8" to 10"! So I didn't have any qualms about cutting off the outside 2" that was sunburnt and matted.
Overall - now I know I can do this again - easily - so it will become an annual event. I'm not sorry there's only a small amount going back to the house - there is a LOT of work ahead to prepare this for spinning - guard hair to remove (lots!) and washing - oh my! how dirty!! Still, the Emperor is comfortable and happy ... romping among his subjects!
Okay, let me get this straight.
1. You have a house full of yarn, fiber and fiber toys.
2. You have a llama AND horses.
3. You used to have sheep.
4. You have lovely daughters that also love to create with fiber.
5. You paint beautiful pictures.
6. I am quite certain there are a multitude of other wonderful things about your life that I have not yet discovered!
I wanna be you when I grow up. (Yes, I am older than you, but I still dream of what I want to be when I really grow up!)
Pinch yourself you lucky girl!!!
I loved the llama shearing adventure! Thanks for sharing it!
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Oh Tamara! You make me laugh!!
Trust me - you don't want to be me!! LOL!! Just remember the old farm saying about the grass being greener over by the manure pile!! LOL!!
Don't get me wrong - I DO count my blessings - but they're what I show off - not what I hide! LOL!!
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I'm sure that Kuzco appreciates the summer haircut very much! Lucky you to have some llama fiber to play with!
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"Lucky" translates into "work", believe me! LOL!!
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