Appalachian Custom Shearing

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Appalachian Custom Shearing Appalachian Custom Shearing is an alpaca shearer who provides shearing services to the entire east coast and Appalachia.
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It is operated by Neil Kessler, who specializes in shearing alpacas and llamas. Neil Kessler is the owner and alpaca shearer at Appalachian Custom Shearing. He is a Maine native, but his shearing journey started in North Carolina. Earning a degree in Agriculture from Warren Wilson College, the first job he took was as a head guy for a shearer in the Carolinas. Neil now shears alpacas for over 300 farms from Florida to Maine. We specialize in providing alpaca shearing services (as well as llamas, sheep, and goats) to small farms in the Appalachian region. Neil builds his shearing schedule prior to hitting the road every spring, and prides himself on his communication skills. If you are interested in getting onto Appalachian Custom Shearing's 2022 schedule, reach out over facebook, call/text (207) 239-1441, email at [email protected], or fill out the convenient request form on his website at www.appalachianshearing.com

07/05/2026

Shearing An Alpaca

Alpacas are shorn once per year. Their fiber is removed to keep the animal cool for the summer, and to harvest it to be spun into yarn. One alpaca can produce up to 10 pounds of fiber per year.

This process is inherently stressful to them, so our job as shearers is to limit that stress as much as possible. The whole process takes only five minutes, and they feel better almost instantly. They’re relieved of their luscious and warm blanket, and can finally feel the breeze on their skin. Without shearing, the animals suffer greatly.

Shearing them does not hurt them, if done calmly and properly. The animal is gently restrained during the shearing process to keep the animal and the shearer safe.

06/25/2026

Popping a sebaceous cyst on an alpaca episode 2

06/24/2026

Featured on UNILAD!

05/30/2026

Shearing an Appaloosa alpaca blanket

To safely shear an alpaca, we lay them on their side and gently restrain them to keep them still during shearing. The process only takes about 5 minutes, and after that they’re quickly back out into the pasture enjoying their summer haircut! The animal is not being hurt, and they are not sedated. Every alpaca needs to be shorn every year to prevent heat stroke and to keep them happy and healthy.

05/08/2026

Shearing Wet Llamas

When we pulled up to this job, every llama was standing outside in the rain. It had been raining all morning and we instantly thought we would be driving away. Not only is it hard to shear wet animals, it’s very difficult to catch them up once the shearer arrives!

Luckily, the team at got the animals under cover quickly and we got to work on the first animal. To our surprise, not only were the animals dry enough to get the job done, they were incredibly well behaved. Typically animals that are at a zoo and are caught up last minute tend to be very challenging to work with. But these llamas were calm, and happy to have their fiber off. It was raining on shearing day, but it has been super hot this spring.

Glad we got it done, and looking forward to next year!

05/07/2026

Quick announcement! Effective tomorrow, May 8th I will unfortunately have to temporarily raise my travel fee from $110 to $125 per farm for the remainder of the season due to the increase in the price of gas. I was hoping to avoid this, but with the price now being well over $4 a gallon it needs to be done. I hope my clients understand, and I will be reminding people of this change during my normal confirmation texts prior to your shearing appointment. If this change is not possible for anyone, please contact me directly and we can work something out. Cheers!

05/04/2026

Shearing An Alpaca

Alpacas are shorn once a year in the spring to harvest their fiber and to prevent heat stress. This process is inherently stressful for the animal, so as professional alpaca shearers our job is to decrease the stress on the animal in every way possible.

It is key to shear quickly and efficiently while maintaining focus and prioritizing the safety of the animal throughout the shearing process which takes roughly five minutes per animal. We take great care to handle each animal with the minimum amount of force needed, while ensuring we get the job done.

04/17/2026

This sweet cria was born just before we arrived to shear the herd, she was alert and well so we brought her to hang out by mom while she got shorn for the summer to keep them both calm!

04/15/2026

Shear an alpaca with me!

04/11/2026

The ONLY WAY to shear llamas correctly 😂

Address

Scarborough, ME
04074

Telephone

+12072391441

Website

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