Having taken fleece samples from every alpaca on the place when we were shearing the task today was to pack each alpaca fleece sample with a printed sheet of details and send them to the fibre testing laboratories of Yocom-McColl. They will analyse the fibre send me a copy of the results and at the same time submit the data to the University of Massachusetts who are calculating the alpaca EPDs (estimated progeny differences).



Once we had the samples bagged it was a simple task to put them into a used Amazon box and take them to the post office. Aren’t those Amazon boxes useful? I mean whatever did we do before Amazon came along…..I wonder who makes all those boxes for Amazon it must be a very steady business…..maybe some even end up as alpaca bedding.

The IAC software package is pretty neat and prints off a slip for every alpaca to accompany the sample that you submit for analysis. It certainly takes the work out of processing the shearing details and reduces any possibility of error.



As I might have expected the irrigation system failed twice today when a couple of components were showing their age after the winter. One was just a rubber “O” ring that was replaced and the other was a faulty micro switch which must have been triggered when we were fixing the first problem. Isn’t it always the way!!

Adrian Stewart - click here to go to Mulberry Alpacas.
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