Buying Your Goat

FACT:  THE SERIOUS BREEDER BUYS QUALITY STOCK, CULLS ANIMALS WHO DO NOT MEET HIS CRITERIA AND KEEPS ACCURATE RECORDS.  BUYING GOOD STOCK FROM REPUTABLE BREEDERS IS THE SECRET TO SUCCESS

What do we mean by a "good Cashmere goat"?  It is simply a Cashmere goat whose fiber characteristics have been selected to produce MORE and BETTER quality fiber.

This ability is DETERMINED by genetics and INFLUENZED by management and climate

GENETICS
Fiber quality is evaluated by examining the individual fiber under electronic microscope (or other specific equipment designed to study animal fibers).  These instruments measure certain physical characteristics of the fiber, such as length and fineness (measured in microns), and are an aid for the breeder to help chose the best producers in his or her herd

There are other characteristics which need to be taken into onsideration, and an individual goat must not only produce any given fiber quality, it also must be able to transmit this qualty ti its offspring - this is where the knowkedge and ability of the breeder is essential

"Cute" is not part of this equation!

MANAGEMENT
Proper management exteriorizes the genetic capacity of a given animal to produce good quality fiber:  too much fiber can coarsen the fiber, keeping the animals indoors is detrimental to the growth of healthy fiber, and so on.

CLIMATE
This is the third piece of the whole picture of fiber production:  a distinct fotoperiod and extreme temperatures are the ideal environment for Cashmere production

High levels of envirnmental humidity and moderate temperatures will not allow the genetic capabilities of a selected fiber animal to express themselves properly

Above and beyond all of the above, the health status of your herd is of the utmost importanze
HEALTHY GOATS (and by this we mean a herd that has been tested regularly for the major diseases of international importance, and not just ONE animal tested for any ONE disease) are the basis for a successful livestock operation.  Healthy goats cost less to rasie, produce more, and live longer.  In any language that makes economic sense
Invest in healthy animals from the very begiinning!  Our herd is tested annually for all of the major deseases:  Brucellosis, CAEV, Johne's, etc etc., and international regulations are becoming more and more stringent on all pathologies that are in anyway transmissabe to humasn (es Scrapie)

See our FAQ for further information