Champion Angora Goats

Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.
The hay appears and the tender grass shows itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered.
The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of the field.
Proverbs 23,25,26

Our Stock Feeders

Here are a few photos of the feeders I have made and have used for many years. One can greatly cut their hay loss percentage by utilizing a good feeder.

The other very important reason to use a good feeder is to keep the goats' fleeces clean. Eight feet long, four feet high, and thirty inches wide. With a solid manger, the goats do not get alfalfa in their fleeces. They can just pull out a bite at a time and clean up the base feed tray. Makes a good grain feeder as well. I use most of my own mohair and like it to be clean. I also prefer the use of alfalfa hay, as it often offers a better nutritional value. I shear for many other folks and am shocked at the amount of hay and grain in the necks of their goats and sheep....it could be avoided with good feeders. Most of the feeders are against a fence which makes it easy to fill the manger without going through the goats. A wheel barrow works nicely for transporting hay to the manger in a pasture. Avoiding hay loss and chaff in the mohair is a good management effort and is financially rewarding.

Make sure you keep your watering trough at least fifty feet from the feed area and resting area. This helps to keep the water clean. If the goats need to walk a short distance for their water, they will drink and then go back to feed or rest.

Angora Goat Diet and Care

An angora goat is a high production domestic animal. This animal requires an appropriate intake of quality high protein hay, grain, and a good source of essential vitamins and minerals. Good quality alfalfa hay is ideal. A nice mixture of alfalfa and orchard grass is good too. A suitable amount of grain is a usual daily supplement needful to meet the basic eighteen percent protein diet required by these goats. One can change the quantity of grain and hay levels according to the goats' needs at the time of year.

A young growing goat will need proper levels of nutrition for growth, so I always offer a free choice high protein feed for them in their creep feed area. A creep feeding area for kids is an indispensable and necessary requirement. This is an area that only the kids have access to that offers choice fine hay and pellets containing essential vitamins, minerals, and grain. A doe that is pregnant, lactating, or out in the summer pasture with no kids, will require different amounts feed according to the season of her life.

A lactating doe can always benefit from extra protein if she is to be in proper condition and raise nice healthy kids. Lactating does get free choice high-protein hay and a generous portion of grain, while a mature doe out in summer pasture with no kids may just need a handful of grain for conditioning. So, keep in mind their needs will vary according to the demands on them as well as the type of pasture offered and feed availability. If high quality feed is not available, one might feed more grain to balance out the feed requirements .

The use of kelp or a quality vitamin and mineral supplement is needful to supply the demands of an animal that produces such a large quantity of hair. Sea Kelp is an excellent source of vitamins and minerals as it provides 14 vitamins, 11 amino acids, 36 minerals, 24 trace minerals, and is an excellent source of carbohydrates. Sea Kelp is also easily assimilated. The goats are capable of regulating their intake of free-choice kelp according to their need.

Feeding an appropriate diet will assure your goat of good health, beautiful fleece, and healthy kids. In a practice of conscientious husbandry, your livestock will excel and flourish under a diet provided that meets the challenge of their production.

A properly maintained Angora goat that is free of internal and external parasites will be a productive and beautiful animal. Keep a close vigil for lice which will deplete your goats of nutritional needs and ruin a lovely fleece. The permectin pour on products, as other choice de-lice products, can be administered at any time, so do not just wait for shearing time. Have a consistent worming schedule using good oral drenches which work best for the goats.

A Shepherd's Notes

A Value Added Principle

I was drawn to these creatures through a desire to utilize their wonderful fiber, an effort to enrich my life with what I feel to be valuable essentials. Spinning goat hair is an ancient art even mentioned in the Bible. Exodus 26:7 tells us that the famous tabernacle made for the Lord was made of eleven beautiful curtains produced from goat hair. And, for the creative woman...Exodus 35:26, "And all the women whose hearts stirred them up in wisdom spun goat hair." In 1 Samuel, pillows of goat hair are mentioned.

I sell no mohair to commercial warehouses or in raw form. I much prefer to provide my own market, as the end results are a world apart. The more you put into the fiber, the more you will profit . I sell approximately thirty percent of my mohair in washed or roving form to hand spinners, with the remainder going into finished products for sale and for my personal use. The more you put into the fiber, the more you will profit. Think of it this way, if you sell one pound of mohair to the commercial market, you may receive three dollars for that pound. If you wash that pound and sell it to a hand spinner, you could get anywhere from twenty to sixty dollars for that pound, with consideration towards the color of the mohair. There is the fascinating world of dying the fiber, which also increases the value. If you wash the fiber and card it for spinners, you can bump that pound up to forty or sixty dollars a pound or more. If you spin that carded fiber into yarn, you can sell that pound of yarn for anywhere from ninety to one hundred and fifty dollars or more. Or, if you take that yarn and knit a sweater or shawl, you can bump that one pound up to three or nine hundred dollars. The sky is the limit. Personally, I would prefer to stay in my home and knit or weave than go to a dismal forty hour a week job where someone else is going to run my life. It is exciting to realize what an individual can do. Never sell yourself short! There is an ever-present demand for quality hand made items such as hats, mittens, scarves, sweaters, jackets, throws, blankets, pillows,rugs, etc. Then there are the hides, chaps and felting projects. There are endless possibilities that expand before the creative talents of an Angora goat breeder.

Look at what one doe could produce with a view towards a financial gain principle. If you have a good quality doe, being the sound basis for production.......you should have twins born that would sell at four to five hundred dollars a piece or more. I am referring to a nice colored doe that was bred to a quality colored buck. She also produces at least ten pounds of mohair a year. Look to the Value Added Principle concerning her mohair and see how far you can take that ten pounds. Your personal ingenuity, vision, and ability is your gage. Then, before you let the kids go, if you wait until they are five to six months of age,...shear them before they leave. When a producer grows the fleece, the fleece is theirs. That would be another five to eight pounds of premium kid fiber to work with.....do the math. If your goats are registered AAGBA white, and are again of 'in vogue quality', the same applies. One doe can produce several thousand dollars a year in the hands of an aggressive entrepreneur.

So, the key question is what do you want to do? How are you stirred? What is motivating you? If your desire is to make your own business from your goats, then go for it! Life is full of challenges that can be quite exciting. Your efforts can be incredibly rewarding.

Helpful Kidding Need List

1. Baby monitor for the barn. These are under twenty dollars and very helpful for hearing the precious outburst from a new born kid or a doe in labor. The TV monitors or under one hundred dollars and give a nice visual of your kidding pen.
2.Blow dryer and towels. It is important to dry off your kid as soon as possible. Remember to keep the dryer a foot away so the babies' skin does not burn.
3. Iodine. The next step would be to cover the navel cord with iodine and tie and cut a cord that is too long. (an inch or two of cord is fine). This keeps the area from getting infected and supplies a small dose of iodine.
4. Blunt scissors and thick dental floss to tie and cut the cord.
5. A suction bulb for sucking out extra mucous from the mouth or nose.
6. Propylene glycol or nutri drench for a mother that is low on appetite a day or two before kidding. Also for a weak kid.
7. A weak kid syringe for feeding colostrum to a weak kid.
8. A frozen source of colostrum in case a dam is short on colostrum or you need to bottle feed your kid. Kids should get some colostrum within the first hour after birth, if not sooner.
9. Heating pad in case a kid is very cold and needs to warm up in the house.
10. Keep a small bottle of mineral oil handy for your hands in case you need to assist with a birth.
11. A clamp on heat lamp to keep the kid warm in a cold climate. Make sure this is four feet or so high and secured safely.
12. A draft free and cozy birthing spot.
13. Extra pen to separate a new mother with her babies. Give your new mothers and babies a chance to be alone for a few days, as this helps a first time mom not be confused with other nannies and kids around. This is important for the babies as they will wonder around and get close to other nannies and may be butted away. This helps to guard against confusion and is a nice protective measure.
14. Prepare a creep feed area so your kids can take a nap under a heat lamp (if needed) and get something to eat without the interference of the big goats.
15. Extra time on hand to hug your new kids...to 'smell the flowers' along life's way.

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