Raising angora goats

Listen to this radio show (MP3 download) or read below.

Radio interview source: John Frett, owner, Pinxterbloom Farms

Fall is definitely settling in and I've started digging out the sweaters. One of my favorites is made with mohair. It's light, silky, and warm. Mohair comes from Angora goats. Clothing is made from the fine hair of young Angoras, and carpet and upholstery is made from the hair of older Angoras. Folks who raise them either use the fiber themselves or sell it to a mill.

John Frett raises Angoras, and says these friendly and inquisitive creatures are easy keepers because they're not escape artists like other goats. However, he uses high-tensile electric fencing around their pen mostly to keep predators out.

Although Angora goats will eat poor quality shrubs, bushes, and woody plants, Frett says their health and coat production is better with the good stuff.

"All summer long they're on pasture, so they're just eating good pasture, which is better nutrition for them," Frett says. "In the fall prior to breeding season, I start my does back on a grain feed, which is a supplement. It's not their primary source; it's just a supplement for them. And then through the winter months I will also feed them that supplement as they feed hay through the winter."

Photo: Pinxterbloom Farms