The world is beginning to give goats - nature's best
herbicide
- more attention. Leafy spurge - poisonous to some
animals - is
causing even people who laughed about goats to take a
more serious
look. When some Nebraska goats were taken on a
demonstration tour,
people could hardly believe the sight of goats walking
through high
brome grass to select out spurge heads!
But while most goats go for spurge, only cashmere
goats also
have the fiber of kings. And their owners know better
than to
cross them with Angora producing goats. (Angora hair
is another
important fiber.) Australia and New Zealand breeders
experimented
with a cross to try to develop heavier fleeces. It
proved to be a
mistake. The crossed goats produced cashgora with
limited uses and
characteristics of neither cashmere nor mohair.
Demand Exceeds Supply
Demand for cashmere, the fine underdown from cashmere
goats
that has long been preferred by royalty, has always
exceeded
supply. Garments made of cashmere are prized for their
unique
feel. Cashmere is very soft, warm and long wearing. It
feels much
softer to the skin than wool, and while not as strong,
cashmere
outwears wool!
Cashmere goats are a type, not a breed. Most goat
breeds,
except Angora, can produce this down in varied
quantities and may
be called cashmere goats. There is no such thing as a
"purebread"
cashmere goat.
The fleece consists of the very fine, crimpy down and
the
usually longer, outside, coarse, straight guard hairs.
A goat that
does not display both types of fiber should be
avoided.
Cashmere fibers must be separated, either by combing
out the
down or by using a commercial dehairer on sheared
fibers. The
longest, finest down is used in knitted garments and
the shorter
down in woven fabrics. The separated guard hairs go
into rugs or
hair canvas used in tailored garments.
The majority of the world supply of cashmere has come
from
Afghanistan, Iran, Outer Mongolia, India, and China.
In recent
years, when these countries' political disarray
disrupted cashmere
supplies, manufacturers began looking for more stable
sources.
New Zealand and Australia have been producing cashmere
for
more than a decade. Breeding selection began even some
years
earlier with captured feral (wild) goats.
Selecting Breeding Stock
Prospective herd members can be selected from either
dairy
goat or meat goat sources. Cashmere down growth begins
on about
the longest day of the year and stops about the
shortest day.
(Shortly after down growth stops it will be shed
naturally if not
combed or sheared.) Best time for goat selection is in
the latter
part of growth-stopping period; down quality can be
easily
assessed. The guard hair is parted to determine
whether there is
down underneath.
If the goat carries the gene for down, it can, over
time, be
developed into saleable amounts. The crimp is called
the character
or style of the fiber; a very tightly crimped down is
most
desirable. The diameter (measured in microns) of the
fiber must be
under 19 microns to be labeled cashmere. Select goats
may have
fiber as fine as 14 microns. The usual range is 16 to
19 microns.
A yield of at least 30 percent down is desirable, but
is not
the average by any means. Buyers pay on the down
weight or weight
of dehaired fiber, not the weight of the entire
fleece. Prices
vary over time.
Goats come in many colors and combinations of colors,
but
solid colored goats are much preferred. Cashmere down
is either
white, brown, or gray in solid colored goats. The less
desirable
down from mixed colored goats is classed either as
white with color
or mixed color.
Some U.S. growers have imported goats from Australia
or New
Zealand as a herd of as breeding stock to improve
selected native
goats. This might produce greater return more quickly
than would
native stock alone.
Some Natives Are Good
There are, however, many very good goats among native
breeds.
Their fiber's diameter is apt to be smaller, but the
length and
yield of fiber are much less. The aim through
selective breeding
is to keep the finer diameter and increase the length
and yield.
Dramatic results in fiber are shown in crosses of
imported bucks
and native does, these crosses are FI or bred-on
crosses.
The Spanish meat goats from Texas and the Southwest
provide
cashmere breeding stock that also produces big meaty
goats. Of the
dairy breeds, Toggenburg, Saanen and Nubian are being
used with
good results. Pygmy and Fainting goats are being used
by some
growers.
Large goats with wide, thick, meaty bodies bring in
more
income when sold for meat or culled. Large bodies can
also produce
more hair if they also have dense hair follicles.
The gestation period for goats is usually 150 days,
but it can
vary several days each way. The fist kids can be
expected 156 days
after the buck goat is turned in the does. Kids are
usually
"dropped", as the term goes, from late February
through April or
early May.
As noted above, goats are browsing animals can be
pastured
with sheep and cattle, since each species prefers
different plans.
Goats prefer brush, tree leaves and rough plants. They
are used
for pasture improvement and in reforestation areas.
Ranchers in
the high plains find them most useful in controlling
leafy spurge.
Goats will also destroy multiflora roses and red
cedars.
Breeding Does Need Extra Feed
When growing plants are not available, goats will need
to have
supplemental feedings of hay and, perhaps, grain. Does
also need
extra feed prior to breeding. Pregnant does need good
feed in
order for the fetus to develop hair follicles. To
assure big
growthy kids, nursing does need good feed.
In does, poor nutrition is the leading cause of
abortion and
poor mothering, with younger or lighter weight does
most likely to
abort. Stress from disease, moving long distances, or
cold wet
weather also can cause abortions.
Does should be in good condition and gaining weight at
breeding time. Young does should weigh at least 55
pounds and
mature does at least 75 pounds sheared weight at
breeding.
During pregnancy and lactation, does need almost 1/2
pound of
crude protein daily. Supplement feeding must be
started as soon as
the goats begin to show a loss of top condition and/or
weight. The
rewards of improved nutrition are more and better kids
and heavier
fleeces. However, overfeeding of protein can cause
fleeces to
coarsen prematurely.
Goats should be given adequate nutrition both before
and after
shearing. Goats have neither the layer of body fat nor
lanolinladen
wool that sheep have. So, goats sometimes need shelter
from
cold rains and chilling winds. If shelter has not been
provided,
goats may even die. Depending on weather variations,
goats may
need shelter for 4 to 6 weeks after shearing.]
Not Many Triplets
Twins may account for 10 percent of births, most
commonly in
older does, with a much lower percentage being
triplets. With
proper management it is possible to get three kid
crops within a 2-
year period.
Does may be bred to kid when they ar ea year old if
they have sufficient growth. Since male kids usually reach
sexual maturity
at 4 months of age, they should be removed from the
herd to prevent
accidental breeding.
Kidding problems are nothing any experienced livestock person would find unusual. Unless it is a breech deliver or a
tough sack
that does not break and allow the kid to breath or the
doe is too
small, there usually are no complications.
Due to lack of labor and facilities, large usually
kidded on
the range, while many small herds use a more intensive
confinement
system to handle to goats. For open kidding, small
pastures with
some sort of shelter, centrally located watering and
supplement
feeding area, and a bedding area are required. This
arrangement
reduces the number of kids that get separated from
does.
On the range, does and kids should be left undisturbed
for
several weeks, since the does may abandon the kids.
When goats are
moved, pastures should be rechecked for kids that have
been left
behind.
A more intensive kidding system makes use of
buildings, small
individual stalls, heat lamps, and feeder space. With
this type of
system kidding can be done earlier in the year.
However, such a
system is much more labor intensive and therefore more
expensive.
A larger kid crop can be realized if the facility is
well managed.
Before kidding, the does should be outdoors - except
in cold or wet
weather or at night; this helps keep bedding clean and
dry and
encourages the does to exercise.
As does kid they should be moved into stalls and the
kids'
navels treated with 7 percent iodine. C and D
antitoxin should be
given. Cold kids will not try to suck and a heat lamp
may be
needed; they will usually suck by themselves when they
are warm.
Some kids may need help to begin to suck if does'
teats are not
adequately open. After identification with matching
paint or ear
tags, does and kids can be moved into group pens or
holding areas
after the kids are well established. Twins and
triplets should not
be grouped with singles since stonger kids often rob
from the
usually smaller multiple-birth kids. Likewise, the
groups should
contain kids of similar age.
Maintenance Pointers
As with sheep, internal and external parasites and
pneumonia
are a major health problem with all kinds of goats.
Lice can be
controlled by spraying after shearing. Coccidiosis is
a threat to
kids, both before and after weaning, and any kid not
growing
properly is probably infected.
Their hooves may need to be trimmed, depending on the
walking
conditions, but wear from rocky ground sometimes helps
take car of
this problem.
Working with a veterinarian, a grower should establish
a good
health care program that includes vaccination for most
diseases.
Goats need special 4-foot-high fencing both to keep
them in
and predators - always a threat to kids - out. Goats
like to go
under or through obstacles. Five wire electric fencing
constructed
with three hot wires and two grounded wires work well.
Existing
fences can be used with the addition of a 12-inch
outrigger
electric wire located about 12 inches above the
ground.
Horns Handy, Sometimes!
Other types of small-mesh fencing may be used. Horns
caught
in the fence or the crotch of a tree become
life-threatening, not
only because of predators but also because of other
goats. While
most goats are not aggressive toward humans, they are
not always
kind to other goats who cannot defend themselves. They
can quickly
do serious or lethal damage with their horns.
A goat raiser soon discovers that horns are useful -
as
handles! A goat without horns is hard to control; some
shearing
stands even depend on horns when securing the goat for
shearing.
Unlike Angora goats, cashmere animals are sheared
standing.
Care should be taken not to damage a young goat's
horns by
rough handling. A frightened or startled goat is apt
to jump or
flail around and handlers should always use caution to
prevent
injury from the horns - especially to eyes. For
safety, both for
other animals and the handler, sharp points of horns
may be clipped
off using a bolt cutter or similar device.
