When we had our llamas sheared recently (barrel cut) the shearer was hesitant to do anything more. He said that he had been told that llamas who are sheared all over can become depressed and either have illness or actually die as a result. I have not heard this anywhere and could not find reference to it on-line, but would be interested to know if anyone has heard of this. I have certainly seen pictures of fully sheared llamas, so this seems inconsistent with what he'd heard.
Thanks for any info.
Claire
Llama shearing causing illness/death?
I'm guessing that was someone's projection when their animal died due to other causes... I'll try to remember to ask up at the alpaca ranch when I go by in a couple of days. But my gut reaction says that's silly.
What's a barrel cut look like?
Barrel cut is just shearing the llama mid-section, so basically from the back of the front legs to the front of the back legs. That sounds more confusing than it is. I have pictures at home I can post later. There are some example pictures on this site: http://www.krmllamas.com/shearing.htm
I have found several llama sites that say that different cuts are done depending on your summer temps and also depending on the heaviness of the llama's fleece. Nothing (so far) says they get depressed from over-shearing!
OK, if a llama is going to die from embarrassment, it's going to be from one of those other cuts! LOL
Hellooooo?! I'm not a poodle, for pete's sake!
Oh poor critters.
I have not been here much because of dental work.
You are way too funny Jay!
Sounds to me like the barrel cut is a simple cut, no major curves or bones poking out to nic..... hmmm.. an easy money maker from a newby??
To be serious, to die of embarrassment would require a level of self-awareness and self-obsession that few animals are capable of. It's a higher primate quality, most fully expressed, to a depressing degree, in Homo sapiens. Chimpanzees do recognize themselves in a mirror, but the level of neurosis embodied by "dying of embarrassment'' is probably the sole provenance of humans.
Otherwise, show poodles would never come out of their cages.
Lucky us.
=0)
The only thing I ever seen on shearing was on Dirty Jobs and if I remember correctly the whole animal was sheared.
Normally it should not be dirty unless the llama spits, which they do when they are mad.
How far can a llama spit, anyway?
Clair excuse me for jumping in here. Are you still interested in my saving the dog hair for you. I have not been up to grooming much lately but hope to be able to catch up on it.
Not very far. It's sort of a widespread spray, more than a blob of spit. If they are marginally annoyed, they will spray a mouthful of whatever they are eating (hay, grain, etc). If they are very mad, they can regurgitate stomach matter in a semi-digested liquid form and will liberally spray it in a fairly wide pattern, sort of like if you put your thumb over a hose that was on full blast and it sprayed out around your thumb.
Wren, I would be more than happy to crochet something for you from your dog hair! I can blend it with llama if you like!
That would be great but it will take some time to get enough "fur" for you to use.. But I will start working on it.
On the spitting Back when I did voluntary work at the zoo the wild Vicuna would spit at any one with a hat like the keepers. The camels would too but they liked me.
And if you hang a hanky over their nose they won't spit? That's what a vet told us, but sometimes these old guys will set you up...
I get sprayed all the time by my donkeys when they blow boogers, but I suppose it's not quite as saturating as an annoyed llama. LOL
The only times our llamas have ever spit at us are:
1) shearing
2) loading them into the livestock trailer
They spit at each other all the time, especially when one gets in the way of another's "feeding space."
Wren - no rush - it'll give me some time to learn if there are special requirements for dog hair spinning. I know lots of folks do it so I am sure it will work.
Which spits further, a vicuna or a camel?
I have heard you can buy a llama/alpaca/vicuna/guanaco spit shield, but have not looked into it.
Now that's a question for google, Jay!
Sounds like Wren has on the job experience!
Claire, I was checking on goat shearing and came across this site.. I like the pictures..
http://www.spinderellas.com/skirting.html .. scroll down and it will map a llama.
BTW, you taight me how to spell llama.
The camel is a lot bigger but the one I dealt with was a lot nicer that the Vicunas, that boy was bad!!!
Vicunas have never been domesticated, that probably has something to do with it. Whereas camels, alpacas, and llamas have all been domesticated, so the more mellow dispositions have been selected for... which begs the question of what they were like BEFORE! LOL
Yelp I did have to doge a few spit balls. The camel and I were buddies. But if anyone came between him and the treats I had for him there was hick to play. He picked up a pygmy goat and shook it.
Guanacos spit like crazy--and they are not domesticated either. You may have something there Jay.
I forgot about guanacos...
Do you suppose old cowboys come back as vicunas and guanacos? =0) Spittin' and NOT domesticated...
LOL
Funny!!!!!
I was at the zoo with my ex. The llama was very interested in me. Spit on the ex.
Goes to show, huh?
And now I'm wondering how you know about guanaco spit, Catscan?
LOL about the ex...
This message was edited Apr 1, 2009 12:48 PM
That's a great link Fran - thanks for that. We need to build a skirting table.
The Catholic University Station in Pirque, Chile, where my previous employer ran tomato variety trials, was working on domesticating guanacos.
The had lovely, warm, long lashed, brown eyes and soft camelid muzzles. They would stand by the fence to lure you over to admire them and their babies....then SPLAT!
The researchers eventually gave up on domestication.
LMAO..
"BTW, you taight me how to spell llama"
you just forgot to "taught" me to spell..
and yep.. I kind of liked the info on that site too.
Here is a picture of Cabernet, sheared with the barrel cut.
poor fellow!!!!
Here is a fellow from the pet forum who had to be shaved-he is a Maine coon cat.
Oh Wren, she would absolutely die in the summer heat without the shearing. They can get a form of heat stroke. It is very important to shear them for their own health and comfort, even if it looks a bit funny!
His person keeps him in side. But there use to be a chow that lived in our area that was shaved every years and have you ever seed a Old English sheepdog shaved? There is not much dog under all that fur. LOL.
Oh, I was referring to my llamas....sorry for the confusion. I cannot keep them inside, unfortunately. :-)
C, you're going to have to change the name of that llama! LOL
That's a haircut to die for... LOL
Here in New Mexico, it's a kindness to sheer a heavy coated dog... between high heat and fly strike, they can be pretty miserable. I used to get my lab/retriever cross clipped every spring; he liked to swim and I didn't want to have to worry about maggots or dermatitis.
An adult camel can hawk a 1lb loogi up to 10 ft accurately....Gross.
Why do I know these things? I am a corporate trouble-shooter...
Someday I might have to deal with a runaway herd of angry camelids..and I must be prepared.
Ok.. I watch a lot of documentaries...
So far the ones dealing with sneaky vipers are serving me best.....
Ginger
I think we're going to give them a little extra shearing to clean them up a bit. They were a bit cantankerous about the whole experience. We need to make a llama stantion.
Ginger....that was the most interesting factoid I've learned in a long time! Go camels go! 1 lb??? Ugh...