Soon after birth , however , these living stuffed toys become luxury fiber - producing machine , yielding 20 to 25 percent of their body weight each year in soft , durable mohair .
This gamey level of product makes Angora goats the most efficient roughage - producing animal in the macrocosm and an challenging option for today ’s hobby farmer .
“ Angoras fit perfectly into our life sentence , ” says Sue Ann Nissen , a 20 - yr old hand of raise Angora Capricorn in Marshall , N.C. “ They are fairly easy and their size and temperament allow womanhood and child to exploit well with them . ” Nissen cites personality , square upkeep and diversified income sources as compelling ground for avocation Farmer to take a 2nd aspect at these fuzzed , enamour creatures .
History of Angora Goats
“ I was drawn to these creatures through a desire to utilize their marvelous fibre , ” say Diane Coon , an Angora goat stock breeder in Hamilton , Mont. “ Spinning goats ’ hair is an ancient art even mentioned in the Bible . ”
Angora Goats originate in Asia Minor and other book of facts in Sumerian cuneiform tablets and the Bible escort the origin of the breed to somewhere between the twelfth and 15th centuries B.C. In time , the breed became well established near Ankara , Turkey , from which the name “ Angora ” is derived .
The word of honor “ Mohair ” is derive from the Arabic “ mukhaya ” which think “ to opt or prefer . ” In the fifteenth and 16th centuries , mohair textile began to achieve food market in Europe . need presently outstripped supply and the Sultan of Turkey commit an embargo on the export of unsanded mohair .
Christine McIntosh/Flickr
In 1838 , the first successful importation of purebred Angora goats established the breed in South Africa . Eleven age later , in 1849 , the first Angora goats were imported into the United States , having been find by Dr. James B. Davis of South Carolina as a thank - you natural endowment from the Sultan of Turkey for his assistance in experimental cotton wool output in that area .
Today , South Africa and the United States remain the two large mohair producer , with smaller populations of goats being see in Turkey , Argentina , Australia , New Zealand and Great Britain .
Dying Angora Goat Fiber
The principal product of Angora goats is their mohair fiber ( not to be confused with Angora fiber , which is produce from rabbit ) .
An Angora goat ’s fleece grows at a pace of one column inch per calendar month and they are shorn twice per year , typically in the spring and fall . Each goat yields an average of five to 10 pound of mohair at each shearing .
The fibre from the youngest laughingstock is the finest and most worthful because an Angora ’s wool continually coarsens with eld .
Christine McIntosh/Flickr
“ Mohair has forcefulness and strength unmatched by woollen , and as a dyer and fiber creative person , the beauty of the dyed yarn is 2nd only to silk , ” says yarn designer Sherry Brooks .
Brooks , and her husband Randall , manage a flock of 100 coloured Angoras on their farm in Lancaster , Texas . fibre from their Goat , along with purchase white kid mohair , makes the foundation of their upscale hand - dye yarn line , which is commercialize at fibre festivals across the land . “ Mohair ’s phylogenetic relation for dyestuff produces color with clarity and splendour that stool it singular when used alone or blended with other fiber , ” she says . This luster and brilliance gives mohair its common sobriquet as “ The Diamond Fiber . ”
In plus to its ability to be dyed a vibrant raiment of colors , mohair is strong and durable with a malleable strength for its fiber diam that rivals steel .
Yet mohair garments pack in less space than alike wool garments . snap of the fibers helps garments made of mohair resist wrinkling . Essentially non - inflammable , mohair is also a popular alternative for upholstery fabrics .
For the hobby farmer , a little ingenuity with the vulcanized fiber can yield levelheaded profits to the farm ’s bottom line .
“ The more you put into the fiber , the more you will profit , ” says Coon .
“ Think of it this mode … if you betray one pound sterling of mohair to the commercial-grade market , you may receive $ 3 for that pounding ; if you wash away it and tease it for spinners , you could relegate that up to $ 40 a pound . If you reel that carded fibre into yarn , you’re able to sell that pound for anywhere from $ 80 to $ 150 dollar mark ; or , if you take that yarn and knit a sweater or shawl , you’re able to encounter that quid up to $ 300 to $ 500 . ”
Coon markets all of her fiber as gyrate roughage or as finished garments .
Angora Goats Have Many Colors
To satisfy the requirements of the textile industry for a fiber that will take dye in a uniform personal manner , Angora goat in the United States have traditionally been selected for a pure white wool .
Mohair buyers at the gravid Texas wool warehouses that handle this country ’s commercial mohair clipping will not accept colored hair’s-breadth , but this has not deterred the hobby - farm - drive ontogenesis of dark varieties .
At different point in chronicle Angoras have been crossed to domestic butt of various colour to increase the universe of mohair - produce caprine animal . Thanks to this mixed background from hundreds of years ago , occasionally a colored “ atavism ” will pop up in otherwise all white purebred flocks . Breeder interest in these colored animal has led to the cultivation of colored Angora stooge in a wide miscellanea of shades .
From dark to brown to red , the fiber from these colorful goats satisfies a corner food market need for naturally colored fiber that do not require dyes . This niche requirement avail breeders command premium terms for both breed stock ( $ 300 to $ 600 per head ) and fiber ( $ 10 to $ 24 / lb . ) and compete favorably with other recess stock pick , like alpacas .
While Coon has both bloodless and colored Angoras , the non-white fauna prevail special appeal for her . “ They are terrible animals that exhibit wonderful variety , ” she explains .
Proper Feeding Helps Mohair Growth
Angora have a gamy nutritional requirement due to their rapid mohair growth . Without proper nourishment Angoras are rob of the fuel required to give rise mohair . “ A well - balanced diet beseem to your domain and fresh , sporting water system is indispensable to their well being , ” says Coon .
Roughage is significant for proper wellness and rumen function , so good timbre grass or hay is the foundation of any solid Angora feeding program . Goat are good forager and eat a extensive variety of weeds , woody plant , shrubs , horse brier and pot . Because of their taste for eating brushing and weeds , they are excellent at reclaiming state that may be too weedy or brushy for other stock species to apply .
During growth , facts of life and kidding , grain is supplemented to meet the energy and protein requisite that the Goat are unable to get together with uncommitted forages . An Angora goat ’s protein requirements deviate between 12 to 16 percent dry matter of the sodding ration , depending on the goat ’s stage of production . A costless - pick mineral mixture formulated for stooge ( which may include atomic number 34 if your area is deficient , and salt ) , and sassy , white water supply should be provided at all metre .
Shearing Angora Goats
bound and fall shearing are the most significant clip of class for Angora goat breeders , as a large percentage of farm income come from the sales event of properly prepared and sheared mohair .
Hay or bits of chaff in the mohair can downgrade the value of a fleece or make it unsaleable , specially to discriminating fiber creative person . “ Feeders build with a plywood trough , only overt at the bottom for the last six in , with a nice tray below works well for the Capricorn the Goat . Having the manger made of mostly plywood keep hay from falling onto the backs and necks of the animals during feeding which keep the fleece unobjectionable , ” advises Coon .
The shearing process is straightforward , although it does take a unassailable back . Breeders with just a few animals can use pair of scissors or non - electric bridge player shears if a Moira Shearer is not willing to get to the farm for just a few animals . For larger flocks , a good Moira Shearer release up the flock owner to decoct on preparing the sheared fleeces and doing the legwork to stay organised on shearing Clarence Shepard Day Jr. . Ambitious breeder who want to shear their own beast can empower in electric sheep shears and qualify them for mohair shear with a 20 - tooth goat coxcomb .
Preventing fleece harm from outside parasite is also an important part of direction between shearings . “ It is crucial to keep the goats dewormed and devoid from external parasites . Lice can be a literal enemy to these animals , ” counsel Coon .
laughingstock are usually deloused with a pour - on product ( such as Permethrin or Pyrethrin ) a few weeks after shear to prevent insect and tick . Shearing is also a good time to give the mint their annual guesswork for overeating ( enterotoxemia ) and tetanus , and to take the opportunity to trim foot . Most stock breeder trim foot three to four times a twelvemonth and deworm on a similar schedule , depend on clime and forage - rotation practices .
Adequate shelter after shearing is key . In the four to six hebdomad following shearing , Angoras are susceptible to becoming chilled if subjected to a dusty rainfall . With shelter , however , shear even in the most frigid conditions is a thing of mundane and introduce few problem .
How to Prepare for Shearing
Breeding Angora Goats
Angoras cover seasonally , usually from August through January . Does are induce into estrus by the presence of a buck and round every 19 to 21 twenty-four hours until meaning . stilted insemination in Angoras is not common , so most breeding is done by a live buck that run with the doe herd for the two or three months of breeding season .
Recommended pre - breeding management of the doe flock admit shearing , delouse and increase the plane of nutrition several weeks in advance of training . supplement the dieting with additional provender in the hebdomad introduce nurture , a process yell sluice , encourage multiple births . In some herd , twinned birth are very mutual , in other stack , single birth will tower . The two large factors influencing multiple parturition in Angora Goat are pre - breeding nutrition and soundbox size . Larger , hardy she-goat that have been flushed prior to breeding are more probable to have matching nascence than those that are smaller incarnate or that have not been flushed prior to breeding .
“ Your does can live to be 16 and still be fat at 12 , 13 and even 14 yr old , ” says Coon . “ That is why salutary conformation is such an essential trait along with beautiful roughage . ” loosely , nannies postulate to weigh 60 pounds to breed , which have in mind most female person are engender as toddler and minor for the first prison term as 2 - year - old goats .
Kidding Issues with Angoras
“ Angoras have few breeding or kidding problems , ” says registered white Angora goat stock breeder Sue Ann Nissen .
Newborn tike are delicate , however , especially in cold atmospheric condition and can chill well in temperatures below 40 degree F if they do not nurse quickly after birth . breeder who show early in the year and those in milder climate generally kid in the early winter months ( January through March ) . Many hobby breeders choose to forego harsh wintertime weather condition for a later kidding . “ April kidding has cultivate well , commit us healthy robust kids , ” enjoin Nissen , who compensates for her late spring pull the leg of by showing her goats later in the year .
Angora are leaven by their dam and wean at three to four months of age . provide a creep expanse where the kids can eat without competition from adults helps to increase the kids ’ rate of growth and most stock breeder include a coccidiostat in the kid ration to prevent coccidiosis ( a leech common to goats ) .
After ablactation and shearing breeders start out evaluate the kid crop , a process that usually extend through until the fountain of the stooge ’s tot year . If kid do not show breeding or show - stock potency , breeders can market these fauna for meat or keep them for fibre output .
Showing Angoras
Angoras are show - closed chain natural , being well-disposed , sensible in size and involve very little show preparedness . Unlike sheep , you do not wash or trim an Angora ’s tomentum before entering the show - band ( a procedure called fitting ) . In fact , trimming tomentum , washing the goat or adding products to the mohair can get you quickly disqualify at most appearance .
This easy show training makes the breed a popular choice at specialty roughage festivals around the country and at county and state fairs in Angora - populous regions . These same trait also make them a pop 4 - H undertaking . “ They ’re more like pet when they are handle , ” say Roy Sanders , a stock breeder and president of the Texas Angora Goat Raiser ’s Association , from Harper , Texas . “ Children like playing with them because they are so sonant and cute , ” he says . That , coupled with several significant scholarship programs in his area , make them a pop juvenility selection .
The breed ’s natural kinship for the show - ringing also supply an excellent marketing avenue for stock breeder . The need for show goats is strong says Sanders . “ Show quality Goat are where the profit is for sell rearing stock . ”
Starting Your Own Angora Flock
Nissen apprize beginners concerned in Angoras to chance the right breeder and ask lots of enquiry . “ From that person you will get all the assistant you want . portion out your ideas and info with that soul . The amount of farming you have will be authoritative , your personal schedules , fencing requirements , housing for the goats , et cetera . Your own post and goal will establish how you set forth with Angoras , ” she enjoin .
drum sander concurs , and emphasizes the importance of timber over measure when starting a flock . “ Get some high - lineament goats to begin with , maybe two or three does and a really good buck . It may not be the measure you need , but expend the same money on better quality so that when you get your numbers up you could use what you have and avoid heavy culling to better . ”
Ease of sidereal day - to - day management , firm requirement and creative marketing option make Angoras a popular and potentially lucrative hobby - farming option . However , most small Fannie Farmer like Nissen are simply take out to them out of a inscrutable appreciation of the striking elegance of the breed as a whole . “ There are few other plenty as beautiful as seeing a small troop of Angoras out in the hayfield , ” she says . This article first seem in the August / September 2003 military issue ofHobby Farmsmagazine .
