Hello, fine people. I am seriously thinking of investing in some angora goats this year, and would benefit from any experience you might be willing to share. Truth be told, I love my dairy goats, and am trying to direct my caprine affection into a herd that can support themselves. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, and I was inspired anew by Carla Emery

-- Rachel (rldk@hotmail.com), February 26, 2000

Answers

How do you propose to suport your flock of angora goats? The mohair is nearly worthless unless you can do a value added thing--spinning, weaving, or other skill things. The angora goat has little meat on it, it has been bread for mohair. They are cute and can be interesting pets. They can also be a real pain to have around. Want to buy some? cheers, Broom maker

-- BROOM MAKER (elmjem@aeroinc.net), February 26, 2000.

Broom Maker: Yes, I want to buy some. I'm in MN, where are you and your pesky goats? Are they colored (and recorded) or white (and registered)??

Yes, I have a purpose and market for the angora. I will eat the whethers of my DAIRY goats, and sheer the hypothetical whethers of my angora goats. Up here in the northland, we need good fiber for our mittens, don'cha know!

-- Rachel (rldk@hotmail.com), February 26, 2000.

Go for it !I too have looked into angora goats and have the word out but haven't found any yet .Are they any easier to keep in ?One can hope can't they?Hope you have better luck than me .

-- Patty Gamble (fodfarms@slic.com), February 27, 2000.

Hi Rachel,

raising angora goats can be profitable. Sounds like you have done your research and homework. Good luck!!! I too was inspired by Carla Emery. She is a wonderful lady and we had the honor of having her as a houseguest. Take care.

Bernice

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), February 27, 2000.

We are in Northern Illinois. If you need mohair for your mittens, don't ya know, it will be more profitable to buy the mohair. There are warehouses full of it in Texas. If you are serious about raising angoras, you might want to read "Raising Angora Goats the Northern Way". Our angoras are not registered (they couldn't read the papers anyway). You will find that the mohair that is the best quality is only from the younger goats (3 years and younger). Males (bucks) are smelly and gross! Don't ever keep one for more than 3 years. Don't ever make a pet of a male. Always make him remember who owns who. Mohair-wool blends are great to spin and knit into warm mittens. Cheers Broommaker

g

-- BROOM MAKER (elmjem@aeroinc.net), February 27, 2000.

Broommaker, I am sorry that you haven't had better experiences with your angoras. If you offer me a good price, I will meet you in Madison, WI to buy some or all of your herd.

-- Rachel (rldk@hotmail.com), February 28, 2000.

Hi, we have Angora goats too. Our most favorite one is our first buck! My husband wouldn't part with him for anything! My children's favorite is one of last years bucks. They trained him to walk on a leash and he loves to go anywhere or do anything with them on the place. I say this in defense of the breed! :-) They were the first livestock we ever owned, so we learned on them. We shear our own and consider them to be fairly easy to care for. We can process and market our own mohair. We will have some year old bucks for sale later this spring. We are in N IL. BTW, the Angoras are mild mannered for the most part, the bucks do smell but mostly in breeding season and not nearly as bad as other breeds. The book mentioned above is a good one to have. Hope this helps! Ask more anytime. Jean

-- jean (schiszik@tbcnet.com), February 28, 2000.

Jean -- I may take you up on buying a buck this summer. I am excited to announce that I am driving to get 6 angora does TONIGHT!

Thanks to all for the info, from both the positives and negatives. Too much adventure for me to pass up!

-- Rachel (rldk@hotmail.com), March 01, 2000.

Rachel, You are diving right in! Best of luck to you! We had a buck kid born recently (early, we think). He is so cute!

-- Jean (schiszik@tbcnet.com), March 01, 2000.

I love our angoras! We have 2 does, and they are admittedly pets, but paying for themselves. We have little enough mohair that the local victorian santa beard market takes most. I am learning to spin, but doubt will ever produce anything marketable.

I find angoras to be much easier than dairy goats. They still escape, but less often than their dairy counterparts. I do not have a buck, but the experiences I have had with them, they are far less smelly and obnoxious than dairy.

One disappointment has been their use as field mowers. They don't eat enough! I had hoped they would consume more brush in an overgrowing field.

I would agree with the comment that to make any money, you would need to do some value added type of thing, crafts, or spinning.

-- me (gunvora@yahoo.com), March 02, 2000.

Just for your reading entertainment, I am posting to tell you about my morning.

I got these angora goats at a bargain because they got out of their fence last Fall and got into burdock. Lots of it. So the first order of business was to bond with each one and shear.

I spent about two hours shearing the first one. She knocked me down three times, and got loose once and ran about 1/4 mile towards the lake. My husband helped me catch her, and thankfully she got tripped up on the fleece and rope. When we finally got to her, she sat down in the mud and refused to walk. We carried her.

She has lice. Lots of them. I anticipated that. She is now a shadow of her former self, has her hooves trimmed up, her teeth checked and counted (for aging), and I applied pour-on delouser.

I washed and picked the mohair for another hour or so. All said, I threw away about half of what I sheared off of Jane Doe #1. But she is healthy and cleaned up. Tomorrow they all go to the vet to draw for CAE.

One down, five to go!!! Still excited about the whole darn thing, and the locks that I can salvage are very long, very wavy and soft, soft, soft. BTW, I read that book "Angora Goats the Northern Way" and I appreciate the suggestion.

-- Rachel (rldk@hotmail.com), March 02, 2000.

Check out the following URL

http://www.mcsi.net/ssp/mohair/index.htm

These folks raise angora goats for mohair products. They are experts in this area and mighty nice folks. They have been homesteading for over 20 years. They also host a fiber arts webring.

-- the woodwright (the_woodwright@hotmail.com), March 03, 2000.

Congratulations Rachel. Have fun! Gerbil

-- Gerbil (ima_gerbil@hotmail.com), March 03, 2000.

I have had a sweet little angora wether for over 3 years. He is much more docile, and isn't as much of a fence climber as goats I have had in the past. He has a Saanen doe for a pal now.I spin his mohair, and like was mentioned, it makes for great santa beards. He is not gross, but is for sure treated as a pet. They can be really sweet, if you have time for them.I would rather have him than a sheep. Smarter you know. Good luck. Mine is white and not registered.Someday I hope to get more, but for now, My milk goat and he are enough.

-- Jenny (auntjenny6@aol.com), March 04, 2000.

All six are shorn! They are beauties, every one of them! Felt great to take a hot bath, chuckling about all the bruises on my legs. (They have their horns, of course) Thanks to everyone for the encouragement!

-- Rachel (rldk@hotmail.com), March 04, 2000.

It IS hard to explain the bruises on the backs of your legs after shearing, huh?????? I have gotten alot of funny looks at church..about the only time I wear a dress much.

-- Jenny Pipes (Auntjenny6@aol.com), March 05, 2000.

I have a few Angora goats,To me they dont seem as thrifty as other breeds.They need there hooves trimd more often then my pigmy goats and my meat goats.Thay are a real calm goat. I love to just sit in the herd and watch them play and graze.If you where closer,Id like you to see mine, before you bought any.I love my goats,but the Angora are my least favorite.

-- Dennis Carpenter (dgcn2country@aol.com), September 30, 2000.