Alpaca Fiber Coop

An Alpaca Fiber Coop or Cooperative was created to provide the Alpaca owner with a place to sell his/her fleece.

Coops buy fleece from Alpaca breeders and in turn sell it to mills all over the world. The number of Coops have significantly increased in the past 10 years.

Alpaca Fiber Coops are in business to make money. They do this by buying fleece at a discounted price and selling it for a prime price. You will not get as much for your fleece selling it to a Coop as you would selling to a private party.

If you are unable to tap into a local market for your fleece you may need to sell to a Coop. Many Coops require that you sell them at least half of all your fleece. If you have a large herd it may be beneficial to sell half to a Coop and half in the private market.

Cooperatives charge a membership fee. Fees are around $250.00 at this time. Be careful to note the terms and length of time your fee covers. I have seen the same fee for 1 year, 5 years, and a lifetime membership.

Each Alpaca Fiber Coop has specific qualifications that they require in order to purchase your fleece. It is important to know what they need before you shear.

Your fleece will be docked or discounted if it is dirty. Be sure to clean your Alpaca well before you shear as this helps later. After your fiber is cut and sorted you will need to clean it again.

As you shear you will want to sort your fleece. The blanket always goes into a bag by itself. It is important to keep the blanket whole so you are not docked.

Neck and upper leg fiber can also be sent but needs to be bagged seperately. Any other fiber is not considered valuable and shouldn't be sent to a Coop. Neck and leg fiber from several animals can be combined. Be sure if you do this that you only combine like colors.

Fleece that is less than 1 1/2 inches should not be sent. It should not be shipped if it is longer than 7 1/2 inches. Do not send fleece that is stained. This is mostly a problem with white fiber.

Take a few strands of fleece and holding the ends quickly attempt to pull it apart. If the fiber breaks it is too tender and should not be sent to the Coop.

Molded fleece happens when fleece is damp or wet when it is bagged. It will be refused at the Coop. Matted fleece will also be rejected as well as fleece that is infested with moths or other insects. A fleece will feel crunchy when squeezed if it is full of vegetable matter or other contaminants.

Before you send your blanket fleece to the Cooperative it must be skirted. Skirting is the process of removing sections of fleece which are dirty, coarse, contaminated, or generally unusable.

To skirt a fleece lay the blanket on a large table cut side down as near to its original shape as possible. Shake the blanket to remove excess dust and dirt. Pull form the blanket sections of the fleece which are different in quality, dirty, matted, stained or coarse.

Flip the blanket so that the cut side is up. Look across the blanket for second cuts and pull them out. To do this take an index card or other stiff piece of paper and run it across the cut side of the blanket. Second cuts will come to the surface and stick to the paper.

Fold the blanket in half side to side with the cut side to the inside. Roll the folded blanket from hind end to front end and place it in a bag. Twist the bag closed but do not tie it.

Your fleece is now ready to send. Each Alpaca Fiber Coop will have a specific time frame in the spring when it will accept fleece. Shipping instructions vary with the Coop you are using.

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