Angora

The Angora is a medium-sized goat raised mainly for mohair, the soft, lustrous fibre that grows over its entire body. The breed originates in the Angora region of Turkey, the area around present-day Ankara, and takes its name from that region. A single animal grows a dense coat of long, curling ringlets that must be sheared off rather than shed naturally.

Unlike goats kept for milk or meat, the Angora has been developed over centuries for one job only: fibre. The fleece grows without pause and is usually clipped twice a year. Adult animals are lighter in the bone than most other goat breeds of similar height, and a good part of what one sees standing in front is fleece rather than muscle.

The breed carries a calm, undemanding nature. Angoras stay reserved around handlers and are quieter than dairy goats, which suits a keeper who wants a fibre animal that does not create daily fuss. That said, they are not as hardy as meat or milk breeds and need closer shelter and management, especially around shearing time, a point that matters a great deal in India's humid, monsoon-prone tracts.

Who it suits

The Angora suits a keeper who wants to produce fibre and can commit to shearing twice a year plus the extra shelter the breed asks for. It is not the right choice for anyone after milk or meat, or for a low-input backyard setup, since a freshly shorn Angora feels cold and damp keenly, and kids are more delicate than those of hardier breeds. Owners with an interest in fibre craft, or running a small mohair operation, get the most out of this breed.

The Angora goat takes its name from the Angora region of Turkey, the area around the city now known as Ankara. Herders there raised the breed for its mohair fleece for many centuries, and for a long stretch the Ottoman authorities kept a tight hold on the export of breeding stock so as to protect the local mohair trade.

During the 1800s, Angoras began leaving Turkey and were established in several other countries. South Africa received its first Angoras in the mid-nineteenth century and went on to build a major mohair industry. The United States imported the breed around the same period, and Texas became the centre of American mohair production because its dry climate suited the goats well.

Australia took up Angora breeding too, and between them South Africa, the United States and Turkey have long been the leading mohair sources. Breeders in each country selected for fleece weight, fineness and density, gradually raising the amount of fibre a single goat could produce each year.

Through the twentieth century the breed stayed a specialist fibre animal. Mohair demand has risen and fallen with fashion and textile markets, and Angora numbers have moved along with it, but the breed has kept its defining trait: a full, curling fleece grown over the entire body.

The most obvious feature of the Angora is its fleece: long, glossy ringlets of mohair that cover the body, legs and much of the head and face. The fibre falls in tight curls or wavy locks and can grow to a good length between two shearings. Under the coat, the frame is comparatively light and fine-boned next to meat or dairy goats.

Both does and bucks usually carry horns that sweep back and outward, with the buck's horns heavier and more spiralled. The face is narrow, with a straight or slightly dished profile, and the ears are broad and drooping.

Coat and colours

The classic Angora is pure white, the shade most valued because undyed mohair takes dye evenly. Selective breeding has also given rise to coloured Angoras in black, red, brown and grey, kept by hand-spinners after natural-coloured fibre. A good fleece is judged on lustre, fineness, density and an even lock structure. Fibre from younger animals, called kid mohair, is finer and softer, and it coarsens somewhat as the goat ages.

The Angora carries a gentle, docile temperament. It stays calm and quiet for the most part, far less boisterous than dairy breeds and less inclined to test fences or challenge whoever is handling it. Many keepers find the breed a bit reserved and shy, more comfortable within the safety of the herd than in close human contact.

With family members and regular handlers, an Angora settles into routine and can turn friendly once it trusts a person, though it rarely seeks out attention the way some dairy goats do. With strangers it keeps its distance. Among other goats it is a placid herd animal, usually sitting low in the pecking order rather than trying to dominate.

Since the breed is not naturally tough or self-reliant, Angoras depend on steady, gentle handling. Rough treatment leaves them more nervous and harder to shear and manage, while a calm, predictable routine brings out the best in them.

Looking after an Angora comes down mostly to its fleece. Mohair grows without a break and must be sheared, usually twice a year, since the breed does not shed its coat on its own. Between shearings the fleece needs to be kept reasonably clean and free of burrs, straw and bedding that would otherwise lower its value.

Grooming

• Shear roughly twice a year, once before the summer heat builds and again once the monsoon eases, ahead of matting or contamination
• Arrange feeders and bedding so as to limit vegetable matter catching in the fleece
• Check the coat regularly for tangles, parasites and skin trouble hidden under the curls
• Handle the animal gently and often, so that shearing and inspection stay low-stress

Exercise

• Give the animal daily access to a dry paddock or pasture for browsing and movement
• Allow free-range browsing on shrubs and rough forage, which matches natural goat behaviour
• Keep fencing secure, since goats will test boundaries even when otherwise calm

Environment

Angoras need dry, draught-free shelter at all times, and especially just after shearing, when they have almost no protection against cold, rain or a sudden change in the weather. A clean, well-ventilated shed or three-sided structure, dry flooring and shade through the hot months are essential. The breed does best in mild, dry conditions and struggles once the heat and humidity of an Indian summer or the heavy rains of the monsoon set in.

Angoras are browsers and do well on a base of good-quality forage: pasture, browse and hay. Since they put a large share of what they eat into fibre, they need enough protein and energy to keep producing mohair, and any shortfall shows up quickly as thin, weak fleece. A concentrate ration is often added during pregnancy, lactation and the cooler months, along with free-choice minerals formulated for goats rather than sheep.

Treats and supplements

Small amounts of safe produce, such as carrot or apple, can be given now and then as an occasional treat, kept to a minor share of the diet. Clean, fresh water should be available at all times, along with a goat-specific mineral mix, with particular attention to copper and selenium, which goats require and which sheep minerals do not supply in the right amount. Adjust supplements to local soil and forage conditions, ideally with a veterinary doctor's advice.

With good management an Angora goat lives about 10 to 12 years. The breed is reasonably healthy but less tough than meat or dairy goats, and much of its veterinary care centres on the consequences of its fine frame and heavy fibre demand. Cold stress after shearing, internal parasites and reproductive losses are the most common problems, and good nutrition matters a great deal because the constant drain of fibre growth leaves an underfed animal exposed.

Preventive care

• Keep to a routine hoof-trimming schedule and see that bedding and paddocks stay dry
• Follow a parasite-control programme with faecal monitoring rather than dosing blind
• Keep up with vaccinations as advised by your local veterinary doctor
• Feed according to body condition, with extra support during pregnancy, lactation and the cold months
• Time shearing to miss cold, wet weather and provide shelter once it is done

Angora goats breed seasonally, coming into heat in autumn, with kids arriving the following spring. Does typically reach breeding age in their first to second year, though many breeders wait until a doe is well grown, since the breed already puts so much of its energy into fibre. Gestation runs to about five months.

The Angora usually gives a single kid, and twins are less common here than in many other goat breeds. Kids are born small and somewhat fragile, and they feel cold and damp keenly in their first days, so warm, dry, draught-free shelter and prompt nursing matter a great deal. A doe that is underfed or under stress may abort or produce weak kids, which is why good nutrition through pregnancy stays a priority.

Kids grow their first valuable fleece, known as kid mohair, the finest and softest fibre the animal will ever produce. They are weaned at a few months old and need careful management through their first cold season, when their light frame and growing fleece leave them exposed.