breed Library > Goat > Angora

Description

The Angora goat is a goat from the Angora region in Asia Minor, near present-day Ankara. Sheared Angora goats were first mentioned in the time of Moses, roughly 1500 B.C. The first Angora goats were brought to Europe by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, about 1554, but, like later imports, were not very successful.

The fleece taken from an Angora goat is called mohair. A single goat produces between five and eight kilograms of hair per year. Angora goats are more susceptible to external parasites (ectoparasites) than similar animals, because of the density of their fiber. They are not prolific breeders, nor are they considered very hardy, being particularly delicate during the first few days of life. Further, Angoras have high nutritional requirements due to their rapid hair growth. A poor quality diet will curtail mohair development.

For a long period of time, Angora goats were bred for their white coat. In 1998 the CAGBA, Colored Angora Goat Breeders Association, was set up to promote breeding of colored Angoras. Now Angora goats come in white, black (deep black to greys and silver), red (the color fades significantly as the goat gets older), and brownish. Today the United States, Turkey, and South Africa are the top three producers of mohair.

Background

Goats seem to have been first domesticated roughly 10,000 years ago in the Zagros Mountains of Iran. Ancient cultures and tribes began to keep them for easy access to milk, hair, meat, and skins. Domestic goats were generally kept in herds that wandered on hills or other grazing areas, often tended by goatherders who were frequently children or adolescents, similar to the more widely known shepherd. These methods of herding are still utilized today. Historically, goat hide has been used for water and wine bottles in both traveling and transporting wine for sale. It has also been used to produce parchment, which was the most common material used for writing in Europe until the invention of the printing press.

Things to Note

Goats are reputed to be willing to eat almost anything. Many farmers use inexpensive (i.e. not purebred) goats for brush control, leading to the use of the term "brush goats." (Brush goats are not a variety of goat, but rather a function they perform.) Because they prefer weeds (e.g. multiflora rose, thorns, small trees) to clover and grass, they are often used to keep fields clear for other animals. The digestive systems of a goat allow nearly any organic substance to be broken down and used as nutrients.