angora goats

[1sttimemom]

So my mom is big into fiber arts, all kinds of needle work and buys some very costly yarn from specialty shops at times. Sells some of her items and has made a small profit but mostly is a big hobby. I mean this woman is CONSTANTLY got a needle project going. She has always, ALWAYS wanted to try spinning but just had no access to the fleeces and such. She has been asking me for last couple yrs to get a couple angora (or whatever else fiber goats) and/or sheep for fiber to spin. I know nothing about the care of these type animals. Can anyone give me some basic pointers or guide me to a web site? What is the care like, do you have to constantly brush them, shear yearly, or ??

[aart]

There are places online to get fleeces for spinning, look in the Country Homemaking>Fiber Arts forum here at homesteadingtoday. I think that forum is very active and I'm sure there's someone there who could help get her started.

I'd suggest she get the spinning gear and try it before getting a fleece animal.....unless you just want one anyway ;-)

Good Luck!

[madness]

We have sheep and angora goats. No brushing required! The sheep are sheared in the spring, the angoras in the spring and fall. Otherwise their care is quite similar to any other goat.

For high quality fleeces either find a professional for the shearing or REALLY learn to do it yourself. Of course anyone can do it but there are obvious differences when I do it and when the pro does it. We go pro for now!

[mygoat]

They can be pretty hard to find that are disease free, at least around here. The fleece market in the US for angoras dropped and everybody sold out of the commercial herds pretty much - hobbyists seem to have most of them now. I've tried to help someone find some once and couldn't find an abscess free herd. Another time someone tried to give me a wether and a doe but upon questioning they had both had prior abscesses so I didn't chance it... not saying there AREN'T disease free out there, just ask questions.

Professional shearers for sheep travel herd to herd and is a way to bring in disease, too. Most shearers are pretty professional and sanitize equipment etc between herds, but make sure the ones you find will do angora goats and that their equipment/trailer/setup is up to your cleanliness standards.

They are sheared 2x per year as stated, and if you breed them you'll generally want them clipped pre-kidding, or at least crutched (baby shave - udder and rear end essentially, just like a dairy clip) pre kidding to reduce kid loss from not finding udder. Their fleece isn't as thick as sheep but another consideration for unsheared animals is that they lay on their kids and due to fleece, they cant' feel them to know to get off of them.

[raccoon breath]

Colorado is a great place to find beautiful and healthy angora goats. Check at this link below for some breeders in your state.

http://www.cagba.org/cgi-bin/breeder.cgi?x=197&y=162

Here's another angora goat organization that can help you find breeders in your area..

http://www.aagba.org/

Also, you have the Estes Wool Market! Its already over but here's what that's about..

http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite.../1251609816602

Being in Colorado, you and your mom have some wonderful fleece opportunities. Plan on the Estes Wool Festival, Estes Park, Co, next year. I'll be there

I raise colored angora, Navajo angora goats and other fiber animals. I also spin and have a great time with it.

[raccoon breath]

The book along the right side of this website below is the book that got me started.

http://www.angoragoat.com/showing.html

[Tex-]

We are in NE Wyoming and we have a daughter who lives in Denver, so we are down that way fairly often. For a while, we had the biggest herd of Angoras in Wyoming, but have sold way down. We still have a few though and we have some fleeces. Atleast I think we do, I would need to check with the Hostile Native to make sure. We will have some good young stock to sell soon and could also be talked out of some fleeces if we can make the logistics work out. We've got some colored and white goats. If you are interested, shoot me a pm.


Tex