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The Angora goat originated in Asia Minor, in what is now modern Turkey and has always been prized for its soft and lustrous fiber. The original Angoras were even smaller than they are today and were crossed on larger, meat-type goats to increase the body size and amount of fiber produced per clip. The fiber from an Angora goat is called “mohair.”
These goats are finely-built and fairly small, the does weighing well under 100 pounds and the bucks up to 120. Both male and female have horns. The horns on bucks can be quite large and impressive, curving up and away from the head and face. The does have nearly straight horns that curve back slightly. Both sexes use their horns to advantage when necessary, so always be cautious when handling them. A friendly goat can hurt you without meaning to. Goats also seem prone to getting their horns caught in fences. For some reason, the head and horns fit nicely on the way out but won’t come back through the hole. A goat stuck in the fence can die of thirst or exposure.
White and Natural Colored
Today it is possible to raise both white and natural-colored Angoras. The colors available range from pale silver and tan to blue, black, and cinnamon-red. Most Angoras become paler as they age and this is a challenge facing breeders of colored goats. The natural coat colors are very popular with hand-spinners and weavers and while this represents a small niche market, it is a significant one. High-quality natural-colored mohair is always in demand and the price is still quite high for spinning fleeces.
Colored fleeces can be any color and still be of value as long as the fiber is soft and silky. White fleeces must be perfectly snowy white with no yellow cast or permanent staining to be acceptable. Most spinners are only interested in the softest fleeces, which usually come from the first and second clips, called “kid” mohair.
Fiber Characteristics
Mohair is very smooth and lustrous, takes dye beautifully, and is hard-wearing. Much of the commercial clip is used in fabrics for upholstery and clothing that get hard use. The scale structure of mohair fiber is smoother than on most sheep wool, however, if handled roughly during scouring or afterwards in a finished garment, it will felt. In fact, it is often easier to felt mohair than some wools.
To be attractive to hand-spinners, mohair must be very soft and curly. The best fleeces hang in tiny ringleted locks over the entire body of the goat and on its legs as well. The lock need to be evenly crimped all the way from tip to skin. The finer the crimp the finer the fleece, usually. Commercial quality goats produce a much flatter, blocky type of lock that is not as soft and sometimes lacks crimp altogether. When selecting animals for breeding it is important to get ones with the very best fiber type you can find. It is possible to improve a commercial flock by using top quality bucks but this is a long process. You are better off buying fewer good quality animals and increasing your flock by keeping the best kids each year.
Clipping or Shearing Angoras
Angora goats must be clipped twice a year or the fiber becomes too long to use and tangles into felted mats. Angoras can be either blade-clipped by hand or sheared with electric clippers. If you have a large flock, it will pay to hire a professional shearer to come and do this job for you. Expect to pay at least three dollars per head or more to have goats sheared. If you have less than 25 animals, the cost can be much higher. If you flock is very small, it will be worth your while to learn to remove the fiber yourself. This way, you will not be at the mercy of the shearer’s schedule and will be able to clip your goats at the right time to get the best fiber yield.
However your goats are clipped, remember that they are very delicate animals and will need protection from the cold for several days after their fleece is removed, especially if it is raining or snowing. Angoras are not robust like most goats and take cold easily. If you do not have a barn or shed to keep them in after shearing, they will need goat covers.
Expect to get two to three pounds of fiber from kids and an average of five to six pounds from adults. The staple length should be at least 4 ½ inches up to 6 inches or even a little more. Fleeces less than 4 inches or longer than 7 will not be attractive to hand-spinners or the commercial market.
Parasites And Your Angora Goats
Angora goats are very susceptible to worms and lice and need to be kept on a strict worming schedule. The more pasture you have the easier it will be to manage parasite control within your flock. If at all possible, the flock should be rotated to new pasture every three weeks to break the worm life cycles. This will also make better use of your forage. There are many excellent wormers on the market. Ivomec™ is especially good and is approved for goats. It comes in oral, injectable, and pour-on forms. Follow the directions carefully and make sure you give enough to do the job. It is dangerous and foolhardy to under-dose when worming as this allows the parasites to build up immunity to the wormer. When in doubt, weigh the goat or err on the generous side. Ivomec™ has a wide tolerance range and you can give a lot extra without hurting the animal. However, the product is expensive and it is more economical to be exact in the dosage.
The active ingredient in Ivomec™, ivermectin, is now available in generic form from many farm stores and for much less money. Look around and you will be able to save substantially by not buying the brand-name product.
Oral or injectable wormers will not rid your goats of all external parasites (lice) and you will need to use a pour-on wormer to do this. Examine the skin along the spine every few weeks. If you see lice, apply a topical wormer according to package directions. It is possible to rid your flock of lice, but you will have to be diligent to do so. Lice and internal parasites can kill a goat very quickly by bleeding them to death. Remember to check the gums and ears of your animals frequently. If they are pale or white, worm immediately and again in two or three weeks. If you are worming regularly and still have white-gummed goats, take a fecal sample to the vet for analysis and get his advice. You may need to change wormers or worm more frequently.
Feeding For Top Fiber Production
Angora goats may be delicate, but they are still goats and will survive on the poorest of forages. However, your aim is to produce top-quality fiber so you will need to provide adequate nutrition. The better you feed your animals the more fiber they will grow and it will be of better quality. Pregnant and nursing does especially, require lots of protein to make enough milk to feed their babies.
If you live in a mild area and are blessed with excellent pasture you may never have to supplement your goats with grain. If, however, this is not the case, plan to feed concentrates at a rate adequate to keep the animals in good flesh. Sixteen to eighteen percent protein sweet feed is generally sufficient for Angora goats. Pregnant does in the last month of gestation might need twenty percent protein feed if they seem to be losing weight (check along the top-line and loin, it should be firm and rounded). Never feed goats (or sheep) feed mixed for cattle or horses. Often these feeds contain copper in concentrations great enough to make your goats sick or even kill them. There are commercially-prepared goat and sheep feeds available at most feed stores or you can have your feed custom-mixed to take advantage of seasonally available grains.
Good-quality hay is also necessary for healthy goats and good fleeces. Depending on the part of the country in which you live, the type of hay will vary. Timothy/clover/alfalfa mixes are wonderful for most animals. Check around and find out what is grown in your area. Never buy moldy or spoiled hay, it is no bargain if your animals become ill and die.
Always provide adequate clean fresh water for your goats (or any other animals, for that matter). They should always have water in front of them so they can drink whenever they want. Keep the water troughs clean and scrub them out occasionally in the summer. Keep the ice broken in the winter or purchase water heaters.
In some parts of the country the rainfall is so high that the soils are deficient in the mineral selenium. All mammals need this mineral, meat-eaters get it from their meat but grass-eaters must get it from their forage. If the soil is deficient the grass and hay will also be deficient. Therefore, it is a good idea to give your goats quarterly shots of a selenium supplement, BoSe™. Purchase this from your vet and get in the habit of injecting ¼ cc four times a year. Do not give more than this or you can poison your animals. Do not use it at all if your soils are not selenium-deficient. Ask the county agent or state agricultural college if you are not sure. A general guideline is that the entire east coast is selenium-deficient and the west had abundant selenium.
Contaminated Fleeces
Fleeces that contain more than 1% vegetation contamination will not fetch top dollar. Hand spinners do not like to pick hay heads and burrs out of their fiber and will not buy from you if your goats get into the cockleburs. Simple dirt will wash out in the scouring. Some fleeces look terrible in the “grease” but wash up beautifully. Lice are also a contaminant. Apart from endangering the life of your goats, lice ruin the fleece with nits, which cannot be removed easily. Hand spinners will not buy fleeces full of nits, no matter how soft or beautifully colored. Keep this in mind when you are tempted to scrimp on pour-on wormer.
Conclusion
Angora goats are the most difficult goats to raise, they need more food and shelter to thrive than other breeds. However, their fiber is very desirable and can be sold for a good price to hand spinners and crafters. The price you get will depend entirely on the quality of fiber you harvest from your goats. The best goat can not produce a fine fleece if she is full of worms and fed on weeds and low-quality feed.
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