Cashmere

The Cashmere goat is not a single closed breed the way most dairy or meat goats are. The name simply describes any goat that grows a workable amount of cashmere, the soft fine down that develops as a winter undercoat beneath the coarse outer coat. Goats of this type have been kept across the high plateaus and mountain ranges of Central Asia for hundreds of years, in places where cold winters push the animal to grow a denser undercoat.

A Cashmere goat has two coats. The outer layer consists of long, straight guard hair that sheds rain and shields the goat from the elements. Underneath is the down itself, a layer of very fine fiber usually measuring under 19 microns across. Keepers gather this down once a year, in late winter or early spring, through combing or shearing. One goat produces only a small amount, often just 100 to 200 grams of clean fiber, which is a big reason cashmere costs so much.

Aside from its fiber, the breed is prized for being hardy. These goats withstand cold, browse well on rough ground, and require less intensive care than most production breeds. They stay calm and alert, a trait well suited to extensive, low-input grazing setups such as those common among smallholder raisers.

Who it will suit

The Cashmere goat is a good match for smallholders and fiber raisers who can commit to an annual combing or shearing routine and who have access to cool weather that encourages down growth, something harder to come by across most of the lowland Philippines outside the highlands and the cooler months. It works well for those who want a low-input grazing animal with a secondary fiber product rather than heavy milk or meat output. Raisers in warm, humid lowland conditions should expect a much lighter down harvest.

Goats that grow fine down have been raised across Central Asia, Mongolia, and the western part of China for a very long time. The cold, continental winters of these areas naturally favored animals that developed a thick, insulating undercoat. Herders kept these goats for milk, meat, hides, and the down, which was spun into warm cloth long before it reached Western markets.

The English word cashmere traces back to Kashmir, a region in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. Kashmir became known for weaving fine shawls out of goat down, and traders eventually carried both the woven cloth and the name westward. Much of the raw fiber itself, though, came from goats raised farther north and east, later worked into cloth by Kashmiri weavers.

Cashmere shawls arrived in Europe in real quantity during the late 1700s and early 1800s, where they quickly became fashionable and pushed up demand for the fiber. That interest eventually led breeders to try raising cashmere-producing goats outside the animal's home range.

China and Mongolia remain the largest producers of raw cashmere today. Smaller fiber herds also exist in Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and parts of Europe, usually built from imported or selectively bred stock chosen for down yield and fineness.

The Cashmere goat has a sturdy, medium build made for grazing rough, uneven terrain. Its most telling feature is the double coat. What shows on the outside is long, straight guard hair that can look somewhat shaggy, while the prized down stays hidden underneath. Many animals, both does and bucks, carry horns that usually sweep back. The ears stand upright or sit slightly to the side, and bucks commonly grow a beard.

Coat and colors

Coat color differs widely from one animal to the next because what makes a goat a Cashmere type is its fiber, not its looks. Processors often prefer white animals since the down can be dyed to any shade, but gray, brown, and black goats are just as common and yield fiber of equal use. The down itself is graded by fineness, length, and color. The finest grade measures well under 19 microns, far thinner than the guard hair around it.

Cashmere goats are, on the whole, calm and even-tempered, which makes the yearly combing or shearing much easier to get through. They stay alert and aware of what is happening around them, useful for animals that spend most of their day grazing open ground. Regular handling gets them used to people, though they remain more independent than the heavily domesticated dairy breeds.

Like all goats, they are social animals and do best kept in a group. A single goat left on its own tends to grow stressed and noisy. They may act cautious around unfamiliar people at first but settle down once a routine sets in. They usually get along quietly with other livestock and are not prone to aggression, apart from the normal jockeying for rank within the herd and the extra edge bucks show during the breeding season.

Grooming

The main grooming task on a Cashmere goat is the once-a-year harvest of its down.

• Comb or shear in late winter or early spring, once the down starts to loosen
• Combing pulls out cleaner down with less guard hair mixed in, though it takes longer per animal
• Shearing goes faster but mixes guard hair into the clip, which then needs dehairing afterward
• Check and trim hooves every 6 to 8 weeks
• Check the coat regularly for matting, burrs, and skin problems

Exercise

• Give the goats daily access to pasture or browse so they can forage and move around
• Allow varied terrain where possible, which keeps hooves worn down naturally and animals fit
• Give them room to climb and explore, since goats are naturally active and curious
• Avoid keeping them penned up for long stretches, which leads to boredom and health problems

Environment

Thanks to their double coat, Cashmere goats handle cold well, but they still need a dry, draft-free shelter to get out of wet weather, which they tolerate poorly. Fencing has to be secure, since goats test boundaries and climb over or through weak spots. Warm, humid conditions, closer to what much of the Philippines experiences outside the highlands, cut down on down growth and raise the risk of internal parasites, so care routines should be adjusted with that in mind.

Cashmere goats forage efficiently and thrive on a diet built around browse, pasture, and good-quality hay. As natural browsers, they go for shrubs, weeds, and leaves over short grass, and a varied range of plants suits them best. Good forage covers most of what they need for much of the year. Concentrate feed mainly comes into play during late pregnancy, while lactating, and through lean stretches when grazing runs short.

Treats and supplements

Give the goats a loose mineral mix formulated with copper and selenium levels suited to the local area, since goats need more copper than sheep do. Clean water should be available at all times. Small amounts of fruit or vegetables make fine treats now and then, but they should never take the place of forage.

Cashmere goats are tough animals, shaped over generations to survive in harsh climates. With decent management, they commonly reach 10 to 14 years of age. Most health issues trace back to parasites, foot care, nutrition, and the demands of breeding rather than any breed-specific genetic disease. Wet, humid conditions cause more trouble than cold ever does, which is worth keeping in mind for raisers in a tropical, typhoon-prone setting.

Preventive care

• Run fecal egg counts and worm strategically instead of on a fixed schedule
• Trim hooves every 6 to 8 weeks and keep housing dry
• Vaccinate against clostridial diseases based on local veterinary advice
• Give the right minerals to prevent copper and selenium deficiency
• Quarantine new animals before letting them into the herd

Cashmere goats breed seasonally, coming into heat as days grow shorter in the autumn months so that kids arrive in spring. Does typically reach breeding age at 7 to 12 months old, though many raisers wait until a doe is fully grown before her first mating. Bucks turn fertile early and can grow assertive and strongly scented once the rut sets in.

Pregnancy lasts around 150 days, close to five months. Litters usually come to one or two kids, with twins common in does that are well fed. Kids get up and move soon after birth and follow the doe closely from the start. Does generally raise their young with little help needed, though the raiser should still make sure each kid nurses colostrum within the first hours of life.

When breeding for fiber, selection centers on down weight, fineness, and a low share of guard hair, on top of general health and an easygoing temperament. Keeping unrelated bucks and solid breeding records helps maintain fiber quality across generations while keeping inbreeding in check.