Category: Goat Care

Angora goats produce the lustrous fiber called mohair (not to be confused with the fiber called Angora, which is produced by Angora rabbits). The use of mohair is mentioned in texts dating to 1571 BCE. The breed was developed in what is now Turkey and was exported to France and Spain during the sixteenth century, followed by South Africa in 1838, and the United States in 1849. Today, the United States, South Africa, and Turkey lead the world in mohair production. Within the United States, Texas produces 90% of the total volume of mohair, and is home to over 200,000 Angora goats.

Angora goats are often mistaken for sheep because they are similar in appearance. Angora goats can be distinguished from sheep by the distinct ringlet formation of their mohair and their pendulous ears. Mature does typically weight 70 to 110 pounds, while mature bucks can weight up to 225 pounds. Goats of both sexes are horned, although bucks tend to have larger horns that are quite impressive in appearance with an outward spiral away from the head. The ideal goat has a thick covering of mohair on the head and legs as well as on the body. Goat Breeders Association. Although smaller than other goat breeds, Angoras produce a good quality carcass. Their meat is marketed as chevon and is quickly growing in popularity.

On average, American Angora goats produce 10.6 pounds of mohair annually, with a staple length of 12 cm to 15 cm. Mohair takes dye easily and is widely used as an upholstering material due to its durability. The finer hair of young goats is preferred. Mohair is sold in large quantities through cooperatives or fiber warehouses, or it can be sold directly to independent spinners and crafters, or processed on the farm.

Angoras thrive on dry rangeland. They are susceptible to illness and may die if exposed to cold, wet conditions. In climates like ours, indoor housing is required during the coldest months of the year and may be required during the six weeks following shearing, when the goats are most sensitive. Like other goats, they prefer browse to grass, making them an excellent animal for management of brush and invasive species. They will often eat as high as they can reach when standing on their hind legs. Angoras are not the most prolific and grow more slowly than other breeds of goats. Consequently, they are rarely large enough to reproduce as yearlings. Does typically deliver a single kid at two years of age, although a higher plane of nutrition and lower stress levels can increase the incidence of twinning.

Like other goats, Angoras require routine hoof trimming and vaccination. Goats living in selenium deficient areas may require oral or injectable selenium supplements. Angora goats need to be shorn twice per year; this is typically done in the fall and in the spring, just before kidding. Shearing is done by the owner or by a professional shearer that the owner hires. In either case, care must be taken to avoid cutting the animal. Angora goats are said to be more difficult to shear than sheep because of their loose skin. Angora goats are particularly susceptible to both internal and external parasites, and require careful monitoring to prevent infestation. There is even a louse species referred to as the Angora Goat Biting Louse (Bovicola limbatus).

For further reading about the Angora breed, visit:

http://afs.okstate.edu/breeds/goats/angora/index.html/

https://goats.extension.org/goat-breeds-angora/

https://www.mohairusa.com/

http://www.aagba.org/AAGBABreedStandard_110630.pdf

https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/lice-what-they-are-and-how-to-control-them

First thing’s first: I need to apologize for the delay in making this post. Earlier this year I wrote about the importance of sanitation and testing when it comes to raw milk, and then I never got around to writing about what we do on our farm.

Let’s talk about sanitation!

• We use a closed milking system to prevent dirt, hair, feces, and insects from contaminating our milk. 
• During milking, we wear gloves, use teat dip, and use a clean towel to wipe each goat’s teats.
• After milking, we bottle and chill milk immediately. Milk is poured into glass bottles that have been sanitized with diluted bleach.
• We wash all of our milking equipment with soap and hot water, followed by an acid rinse, after every use.
• We soak all of the critical components of our milking system in a chlorine sanitizer solution before every use.
• We regularly clean our goat’s pens so that they’re always laying on clean bedding. This helps to prevent mastitis as well as fecal contamination from dirty animals.

I’ve spent the past few months brainstorming the best ways to aggregate and present all of our milk test data. We run standard plate counts and Coliform/E. coli tests on a bi-weekly basis. I decided that, for simplicity’s sake, I am going to make available the averages for each test that we run. The numbers for the current year are a rolling average, updated in real time: Milk Test Averages

So what do these numbers mean?

The standard plate count (or aerobic plate count) is a quantifies the amount of bacteria in our milk. This test counts both beneficial and potentially harmful bacteria. Although the state limit is 30,000/mL, we aim to keep the overall bacteria level of our milk under 1,000 cfu/mL to reduce the likelihood that harmful bacteria may be present.

A Coliform count lower than 10 cfu/mL is indicative of excellent sanitation. While we always strive for excellence, our average may not fall below 10 this year, as we had a few slightly elevated Coliform counts at the beginning of the milking season. We’ve since made adjustments to our sanitation procedures to meet our goal. 2020 is our first year testing and selling milk, so we are still learning!

We also use a weekly CMT (California Mastitis Test) to monitor the SCC (somatic cell count) of each of our does throughout her lactation. An elevated SCC indicates the presence of mastitis (an infection of the mammary glands). If one of our goats tests positive, we can immediately begin milking her separately and discarding her milk until we are certain that the infection has cleared.

It is possible to test for specific pathogens, such as Salmonella, Campylobacter, and Listeria. However, doing so is usually unnecessary so long as the APC and Coliform counts are consistently low.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year: kidding season! While our does aren’t due until mid-April, we’ve noticed a lot of babies being posted for sale by farms throughout NY, VT, and PA. As breeders, we believe that we have a duty to educate future goat owners about the best practices for raising happy, healthy kids. For this reason, I spent the winter creating a comprehensive kid care guide (PDF download) that I’d like to share with you, covering the following topics:

• Housing (Fencing, Shelter, Toys)
• Feeding (Bottle-Feeding, Grain, Forages, Minerals)
• Health (Vaccination, Hoof Trimming, Disbudding, Castration, Detecting Illness)
• Socialization & Companionship

I referenced a few helpful resources at the end of the guide, but I’d like to take this opportunity to list several more that I consult regularly.

Books:

The Dairy Goat Handbook: For Backyard, Homestead, and Small Farm by Ann Starbard

Small-Scale Livestock Farming: A Grass-Based Approach for Health, Sustainability, and Profit by Carol Ekarius

Websites:

Maryland Small Ruminant Page http://sheepandgoat.com/

ADGA Knowledgebase http://adga.org/knowledgebase/

The Goat Spot http://thegoatspot.net/

Dairy Practices Council http://dairypc.org/

Other:

Cornell Cooperative Extension http://cce.cornell.edu/

I wanted to keep this guide short and simple, while still touching on all of the critical aspects of kid care. I am by no means a goat expert; our family began raising goats in 2018, prior to then I worked with dairy cattle, and I studied animal health while completing my Agribusiness degree. If any more seasoned herdsmen have any changes to suggest, I would welcome them to share their insight and I will certainly take it into consideration as I revise the guide in the future.