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Published: Thursday, July 5, 2012, 12:01 a.m.

Alpaca shearing is a team effort at Granite Falls ranch

  • Self-described alpaca whisper Neal Pulham calms Remington as he goes through his first shear at Paca Pride Guest Ranch on Sunday.

    Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald

    Self-described alpaca whisper Neal Pulham calms Remington as he goes through his first shear at Paca Pride Guest Ranch on Sunday.

  • Co-owner of Paca Pride David Capocci (left) and Randal Potter (right) work on shearing Cusco Neal Pulham calms the alpaca. In the time-lapse video below, Paca Pride Guest Ranch shows how to shear an alpaca.

    Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald

    Co-owner of Paca Pride David Capocci (left) and Randal Potter (right) work on shearing Cusco Neal Pulham calms the alpaca. In the time-lapse video below, Paca Pride Guest Ranch shows how to shear an alpaca.

  • Freshly sheared alpacas hang out in the pasture at Paca Pride Guest Ranch in Granite Falls Sunday afternoon. In the time-lapse video below, Paca Pride Guest Ranch shows how to shear an alpaca.

    Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald

    Freshly sheared alpacas hang out in the pasture at Paca Pride Guest Ranch in Granite Falls Sunday afternoon. In the time-lapse video below, Paca Pride Guest Ranch shows how to shear an alpaca.

  • David Capocci (left) and Randal Potter (in green) work on shearing Cusco the alpaca while Jennifer Estroff (far right) does a little trimming and Neal Pulham whispers to Cusco at Paca Pride Guest Ranch. In the time-lapse video below, Paca Pride Guest Ranch shows how to shear an alpaca.

    Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald

    David Capocci (left) and Randal Potter (in green) work on shearing Cusco the alpaca while Jennifer Estroff (far right) does a little trimming and Neal Pulham whispers to Cusco at Paca Pride Guest Ranch. In the time-lapse video below, Paca Pride Guest Ranch shows how to shear an alpaca.

GRANITE FALLS — Last weekend, a herd of 14 alpacas had their annual haircuts during a public shearing event at Paca Pride Guest Ranch in Granite Falls.

Each alpaca takes about 45 minutes to shear and, depending on the side of the animal, can produce between 2 and 6 pounds of fiber.

A portion of this year's clippings is to be turned into yarn and rovings at Superior Fibers mill in Edmonds.

The finished materials will be returned to Paca Pride this summer to create products sold in the ranch store.





Story tags » Granite FallsAnimalsFarms
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