Cashmere goats are not a breed,
but a type. Any goat, except for Angora goats, can have cashmere, which is the
soft winter under-coat that sheds out in the spring. But most goats do not have
long enough or sufficient fiber for use. Goats in Mongolia and China produce most
of the world’s cashmere, but we cannot receive breeding stock from that part of
the world. Many cashmere goats in the U.S. are descended from stock originating
from feral goats in Australia. When they were imported to the U.S., they were
very expensive. There are not too many options for processing the fiber, either.
Therefore, a large-scale operation requires an investment to be profitable.
Kelda and I have experimented and found our best way of getting our cashmere.
First, we are selecting goats that have undercoats longer than the guard hair.
In the winter, they look quite fuzzy because what you see is the cashmere. At
the end of January, after the worst cold is over, we start combing. We try to
get the cashmere before the hair starts to shed. We use various dog grooming
rakes and pet and cattle combs. We comb each goat several times over the next
2-3 weeks as more undercoat loosens. I have gotten up to 3 ounces of almost
pure cashmere in a season from one animal. Some hairs do have to be pulled out
of the fiber by hand, but it doesn’t need extensive dehairing. I wash the cashmere
very carefully, dehair, card, and then it’s ready for spinning (very finely,
of course) and you have one of the most luxurious fibers in the world.
We have a small number of various-colored goats. They are small, like the
Shetland Sheep. While does usually weigh under 100 pounds, a full-grown buck
is larger. They are fairly hardy and easy keepers (since they are descended
from feral goats). The baby goats are a real joy and usually are born before
the lambs. The first 2003 kid was born January 18th in weather of 8°F! We may
have some goats available for sale this summer. We have also joined the Voluntary
Scrapie Program.
Click here to see what goats are available for sale
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| Goats for Sale - records
of lineage available |
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Abner Born 2006 Yielded 6oz. of cashmere from combing this spring. $100 |
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Yearling Born 6-2-07 Micron tested: mean fiber 16.3 Sire: Praise Song Abner $100 |
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Buckling Born 2-20-08 Sire: Praise Song Abner $100 |
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Buckling Born 2-18-08 Sire: Praise Song Abner $100 |
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Buckling Born 2-18-08 Sire: Praise Song Abner $100 |
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Black Doe (one available) Born 2-18-08 Sire: Praise Song Abner $150 |
 
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2 Does Born 4-23-08 Sire: Praise Song Abner $150 each |