Alpacas from across the Lower Mainland will be getting haircuts this week at 91原创鈥檚 Kensington Prairie Farm.
On Friday and Saturday, the public is welcome to come and watch as the alpacas get professional shearing and lose anywhere from five to 10 pounds of fibre.
There will be 85 alpacas coming to Kensington Prairie, said farm owner Catherine Simpson.
鈥淥ur farm makes up 45 of them,鈥� she said.
The remainder are from eight different nearby farms.
The shearing started on Wednesday, and Kensington鈥檚 alpacas will be sheared on Friday and Saturday. They鈥檙e halter-trained, so it鈥檚 safer for the public to be around them, Simpson explained.
Simpson has been raising alpacas for 20 years. She and her husband bought Kensington Prairie and wanted to add some animals. They were advised to get alpacas instead of llamas because alpacas are better tempered 鈥� they don鈥檛 spit at people.
For shearing, the animals are briefly strapped down to a table to keep them immobile, and a shearing team will apply the electric razor.
鈥淭hey feel pretty good when it鈥檚 gone,鈥� Simpson said of the newly-sheared animals.
The fleece is then sorted by colour, length, and grade. A single alpaca can provide several armfuls of fibre.
Simpson said it鈥檚 an opportunity to see where the yarn that becomes a baby blanket or a scarf originally comes from.
This weekend鈥檚 event takes place April 6 and 7 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the farm, located at 1736 248th St.
Refreshments will be available by donation, with funds to go to support Quechua Benefit.
