feed needs for fiber breeds

It really depends on what kind of Fiber goat you are talking about. A Angora goats feed is totally different them like my Cashmere goats.

 

YOu may want to ask DebMc...I know she had angoras for awhile. I believe hers were fed alfalfa pellets so the hay didn't mat into the fleece.

 

Hi Ohiogoatgirl, I've been away from the forum for awhile, but I check in occasionally and thought I'd slip in my .02! lol.

I used to have a huge Cashmere herd, had to downsize because it was getting to be too much work!

I fed my Cashmere goats about the same as my NDG's. Mostly alfalfa hay. Some sweet feed, mostly for the preggers, and young ones. The bucks got grass hay and minerals. I know the more grain they get the "stronger" the fiber. But, from what I have learned the does need to be fed pretty well. Kids will develop more fiber density capability (help me out here Keren) in utero.

I will say, while I was very good at raising fiber goats, there wasn't much of a market for them. I purchased my first girls for around $125 ea. I paid $200 for my buck, he was a son of a Virginia champion. I managed to sell the herd to a woman that was really into spinning and fiber arts, so I was happy the herd was kept together. But, I did have to sell some of the boys as meat goats, and I didn't want to do that any more. :sigh:

I had an angora doe many years ago, and she was pretty tame. Cashmere goats tend to be a little wilder, but they get tamer after they kid the first time, and realize you really do want to help them. lol. They are pretty quiet, well mannered goats.

Good luck!

 

Its best to maintain angoras on clean pasture, to keep the fleece clean and free of vegetable matter and weed seeds etc. its important that your pasture is really clean. however, if you don't have pasture, you can feed hay (it will really only start sticking in the fleece in the last month or two, and then not really that badly). try to stick to a stalky hay (alfalfa is the worst with the leaves, so maybe a grassy or cereal hay). make sure you feed it in containers on the ground, not in raised hay racks, so it doesnt fall on their necks and backs. if you want super clean fleeces, feed chaff or hay pellets instead of hay. thats what I did with my show kids. also, you want to avoid straw bedding in sheds and while transporting. use rubber matting for transport, and I used just a clean dirt flood in sheds. except when kidding, I bedded the pens down well for kiddos to stay warm (the does were sheared anyway).

in terms of nutrient requirement ... pretty much the same as a dairy goat. the angora allocates nutrients first to her fleece, then to her pregnancy/lactation, and last to herself. so, she essentially has a higher demand than other types of goats. I fed all of mine on a 20% protein pellet along with cereal hay ... if you get really good bloodlines, the high protein wont equal higher micron (stronger and thus less valuable fleece). about a cup full per goat of good grain, plus ad lib hay, more grain for heavy pregnant/lactation/growing kids.

re kids in utero, what deb was talking about, is during the second and third trimester, the fetus develops its primary and secondary follicles. secondary follicles grow mohair, primary follicles grow medullated fibre/kemp (which is a big no no). the better the doe's nutrition at this time, the more secondary follicles will develop, and the less primary follicles, so good nutrition at this stage = high quality kids - kids with denser fleece and therefore heavier fleeces, and with less kemp