Australian feral goat, Angora
This option is extremely popular, particularly where farmers have paid high prices for feral does. If the aim is to cash in on the current high prices for pure-bred Angoras however, the time-lag may be too great; much of the demand will have been filled more rapidly through the use of ova transplants from pure Angora does.
Breeding up involves mating feral does to Angora bucks, the Fl or firstcross progeny being referred to as Grade 4 (G4). Each succeeding generation of females is mated to Angora bucks.
If the eventual objective is to register progeny as pure-bred Angoras, the G3 and subsequent generations must be mated to a pure-bred Angora buck which has been registered (see Table 6A). The mating of GI does with a registered buck produces progeny deemed to be pure Angora and automatically eligible for registration.
It is generally not until the 01 level is reached that mohair of really good quality is produced. The fibre produced by the earlier crosses, however, can fall into the lower grade mohair and cashgora classes and fetch worthwhile returns.
A proportion of new goat farmers are at present buying ferals and putting them to an Angora buck to produce G4 progeny, but are in two minds as to whether they will go back to cashmere production, stay with cashgora, or carry on through to mohair. That might be perfectly acceptable if it were not for the fact that a good doe for breeding up to mohair is not necessarily the same as a good cashmere breeding prospect.
Guidelines: “The G4 doe should show some of the following characteristics: long pendulant ears, white chalky-type fibre, possibly not covering all of the body. The britch area will be very hairy and harsh handling. Obviously, very little belly coverage would be expected at this stage. Normally, after reaching the 4-tooth stage, these animals would only be shorn annually, preferably in the early spring, as natural shedding takes place late spring/early autumn.
Goat hide Feral, angora
The use of a good commercial buck (01) or registered Angora buck over these G4s will produce a G3 or second cross. “At this stage your G3 doe should be starting to display stronger Angora characteristics. Some style and lustre in the fleece should be more apparent, but will still have a tendency toward britchiness in the hindquarters.
A hairy backline would still be visible and a very light belly coverage would also be in character. “G2 does should have a reasonable fleece coverage, although they may still be a bit light in the belly and brisket area;they may also still show a tendency towards a hair backline. The mohair should be lustrous and showing even staple formation.
G2 kids should be well covered with mohair but the kemp factor will still be evident. “G1 animals should be well covered with mohair showing good style and character. Kemp level at this stage should be diminishing. Britchy areas and hairy backlines should also be starting to disappear. G1 kids should be looking good and displaying most of the characteristics of good mohair.
“An important point I would emphasise is that included in the category of Gls are also the Angoras that were submitted for inspection for registration and found to be lacking in the minimum qualities essential for registration purposes. Therefore breeders would be advised when purchasing G1 animals to be aware of the fact that the animal may be a graded-up 01 or an Angora that was considered not good enough for registration. Obviously there will be a difference in the quality.
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