[laurelrus]

I've posted recently that we're thinking about getting some more goats. We are very fond of our pair of pygmy goats but would like our next ones to be productive in some way. If they covered their upkeep that would be great.
We like the idea of milking but I'm not sure how practical that is. I do think Golden Guernseys look very appealing.
I've also been reading up on Angoras and also Cashmere goats. Hubby is originally from the USA and there seem to be plenty of those where he comes from but I can't see any here.
Are they available to buy and if so, are they a good idea? Just to say, we don't raise any animals for meat so that's why we're thinking about fleece goats.
I'd really appreciate any helpful input!

[Anke]

It is absolutely impossible to give any specific advice without actually seeing your set-up, discussing your management plans (time available, what finances you can put in etc).... and what is it you really want to get from our goats? For fibre goats you will need to develop relationships with other producers to make sure your fleeces get you some return. Wrt housing and fencing you are probably looking at similar set-ups, just take horns into consideration for fibre goats more so than for dairy goats.

Dairy goats in particular need a good daily (365 days per year) routine wrt milking, feeding, breeding & kidding... so unless you can provide that maybe dairy goats are not the answer. Also - what to do with male kids? Any breeding enterprise will need to tackle that problem BEFORE you get any animals for breeding. Even with fibre goats, once castrated boys get to the end of their quality-fleece lifespan they are normally eaten to bring in some profit.

[cuckoo]

Angoras are no harder than any other type of goat in terms of day to day but you need to make some management changes to get the best value from the fibre.  The fibre must be protected from contamination from hay / straw.  The hay mesh racks described in another post recently are best. I have kept angoras for 2 years but have sold them all recently as I don't have the time at the moment to concentrate on them as well as the boers and golden guernseys. Angora horns are not a problem - they curve right back.  Our buck had large horns but was a gentle giant.  The Mohair market is buoyant at the moment and more information can be found on the BAGS website. If you send an email to the secretary she will email members with what you are looking for.  I can recommend Puslinch herd in Devon and Coxworth herd in Cambridgeshire - I am sure you could start with a pair of in kid does.  The Coxworth herd is being disbanded so you may be able to get some does from them.  Angoras have lovely personalities.
We also keep Golden Guenseys - they are lovely too.  We are just getting to grips with the whole milking thing and there is the potential to keep the house in milk etc.  However, milking takes more dedication than the angoras I think.  Welcome to pm me if want more information.

[Tinks]

Hi
I am VERY new but we are setting up our smallholding here, I decided against  diary goats because of the 365 days a year milking kidiing etc, they are a very "hands" on animal.  We are getting Pygmy goats, should be here soon.  But thats just my opinion

[laurelrus]

Tinks = we've decided the same. We've had our pygmies for over a year now and they're adorable. We're getting Angoras now, we realise the commitment to daily milking is too much but Angoras for fibre is very exciting!

[uksfdawn]

My first 2 goats are arriving next week, they have been serviced so fingers crossed they are in kid, we are keeping for meat,  I like the idea of th fiber but its too much work at the moment :-)