cashmere?

[sgian]

I found out last night that Spanish goats are used for cashmere. I have two Spanish mixes (although I'm waiting for test results on one to see if he has CL). I got them around March IIRC and wasn't looking for cashmere so we didn't brush them when they blew their coats (we only brushed a Kiko who has since passed and a Boer with a thick coat to see if their undercoat was spinnable since we didn't realize that cashmere is from some goats). Is there anything to look for in the summer coats that will indicate the quality of their undercoat?

How do you dehair and clean the undercoats? How much does it cost to send it off for this service? How do you measure the micron thickness to determine if it is cashmere?

And don't anyone worry, we are not going to nutritionally deprive any goats in order to get better undercoats. I might however go to the sale barn during the winter and look for good candidates to try to rescue (and keep them isolated from my healthy herd until I know they are healthy) since I've noticed that some people sell sick and starving goats there cheap during the winter. What would I look for at the sale barn to find a good candidate for cashmere?

[Sweet Goats]

Well, Yes the Spanish goats are used for Cashmere but that is not all, it takes a lot of other things to be good quality Cashmere.

First of all, if you go to my web site look under the fiber tab you will get all the Cashmere info that you are looking for (I hope), other then the place to have it tested. I send mine to Yocom McColl in Denver Co. I also have where I get my fiber dehaired and cleaned. It is Georgia Mountain Fiber. If you go to my site, I have a link to them.

To look for a good cashmere goat you want a goat that has LOTS of coverage, from head to butt and down the legs BUT you also have to be able to see the fiber and KNOW how to look at it. Just about any goat can grow a fine under coat but is it cashmere, or more Cashgora, that is what you have to be able to look at and decide, plus it has to be long enough to be called cashmere.

[crazygoatgal]

Sweetgoats-- I want one!!!!!!!!! Oh my gosh, your chocolate and blacks just blew me away. I have never owned Cashmere before, but have wanted one forever! That pic with "that face" is soooo precious. What does a good hair goat go for? It is mohair right?

[sgian]

I was looking around a little at your site last night, when I did a search on this site and it pulled up probably every post you've made (probably your sig ). You and your goats are beautiful. I found a lot of useful information there.

My wife used to spin and she has been skeptical that our goats might have nice spinnable fibers. The only thing she knew about spinning goat fiber is that someone had brought some goat hair to my mother-in-law's guild or group or something and they had trouble spinning it (I'm guessing they brought the guard hairs). Our Kiko had a clear distinction between guard hairs and undercoat, but the undercoat seemed to be short. When my wife's mom was here, they brushed a boer who hadn't blown her coat yet, but her mom took the undercoat with her to try out and I haven't seen it. Our spanish billy looks like he has already blown his coat, and he might have CL anyway so we haven't been spending much time in the poor guy's pasture until the test results come back. We also have a young spanish mix who is perhaps half a year old, but we think her fluff is still her baby coat. We plan to try brushing her tonight if we can find a brush.

Are your goats pygoras?

[Sweet Goats]

Originally Posted by crazygoatgal

Sweetgoats-- I want one!!!!!!!!! Oh my gosh, your chocolate and blacks just blew me away. I have never owned Cashmere before, but have wanted one forever! That pic with "that face" is soooo precious. What does a good hair goat go for? It is mohair right?

thank you. we are really proud of them. I just posted the results of the show we just showed in over the weekend, I have to say we are REALLY proud of them now.

No They have Cashmere. It is the Angora goats that produce Mohair, and Angora rabbits produce angora.

It depends on the goat but MOST of my baby does I sell or $200.00 and the bucks about $300.00 just as babies, as they they all get older then the price goes up.

There are several Beautiful farms in your area that nave some of the nicest goats. They sell for a lot more, but they have the people out there that are starting herds and they are REALLY nice goats.