Where to Get your Goats

You can find your initial breeding stock on the internet, in newspaper ads, Breeders' Directories in livestock magazines (print and internet), and through organizations and recommendations of other goat owners. Contact a regional or national goat organization to find a breeder in your area. Consideration: Decide if you want a buck, at least initially. Bucks can complicate your plans as they must be kept separately from the does for most of the year.

Where to Get Information on Raising Goats

There are many good and helpful books on the market, some more technical than others. One of your first books should be Angora Goats the Northern Way, by Susan Black-Drummond. The fourth (and final) edition, published in 1993 has chapters on cashmere goats.

Caprine Supply has good, recent, very basic book, covering numerous goat breeds. It is entitled Goatkeeping 101. These two books have good basics and are easy to read and understand. Goatkeeping 101 covers most breeds of goats, including dairy breeds, while Angora Goats the Northern Way focuses on Angora and cashmere goats.

Goat Medicine, by Mary C. Smith, DVM and David M. Sherman is another good reference. It is thorough and much more technical than the beginning books and can scare you off if you get it before you purchase your goats. However, it is very useful, especially when a problem occurs. Other useful books we have found include Goat Husbandry by David Mackenzie, Raising Milk Goats the Modern Way by Jerry Belanger and The Pack Goat by John Mionczynski. Additional references are contained in a list later down this page.

Another useful resource that is often overlooked is your county extension agent. Check with your county Ag Department and local college or university. Many extension services offer classes which are helpful. A course on midwifing for sheep can readily be applied to goats and usually offers hands-on experience.

One of the best resources is membership in a goat group. Goat people are eager to share their knowledge and experiences. Remember that on many subjects, (fencing, feed and exactly what is the ideal cashmere goat) there can be as many opinions as people! Organizations available include: Eastern Cashmere Association, Northwest Cashmere Association, Texas Cashmere Association and the Canadian Cashmere Producers Association.

There may also be a generic goat group in your local area which could be helpful. Most organization provide annual, or more frequent get-togethers, a periodic newsletter and educational events.

The Internet is a vast storehouse of knowledge that is being updated constantly. Websites you will find helpful include The National Goat Handbook, NETVET and the University of California-Irvine. Most sites, including these, have links to many other related sites. Internet web addresses (URL's) for these three sites and many others are included later in this page. Be careful of Internet sites - some are kept more current (and accurate) than others.

Goat Supplies

As with most things, you can spend as much or as little as you want. Not many feed stores carry supplies intended for goats specifically. You either make do with implements designed for sheep or cattle, or you can go to specialty catalogs like Caprine Supply. Common items like hoof trimmers, syringes and fencing materials are usually readily available locally, as are many medicines. These can be obtained from farm stores, feed stores or from veterinarians. Catalogs can be obtained by mail, phone or e-mail. A list of useful catalogs is included later on this page. Check to see if you have a farm supply co-op in your area. Many farm stores are co-ops, so check. You can get year-end rebates or dividends on all that expensive fencing! As you know, there are gadgets for everything and someone more than willing to sell them to you. You will have to decide what gadgets you really need.

Feed and Forage

Decide what and how you will feed your livestock before you buy the critters. Check prices, determine how much and for how long (4 months, 1/2 year, all year) you must feed. Determine if supplies are available at all the times you will need them or if you will have to purchase ahead and store. Decisions will include supplementary forage, grass hay vs. alfalfa hay, straw for bedding, minerals needed in your area (check with your vet!), types of grain available year around. Talk to farm stores and livestock owners in your area. Be aware that goats have some different needs than sheep, cattle or horses and that cashmere goats have different needs than dairy goats. Bulk feed is cheaper. The more grain or hay you buy at once, the lower the price. You will want to use your negotiating skills. Don't forget a source of clean, year-round water. Will your water source freeze in the winter? Will it run dry in the summer? Can you keep it clean?

Get to Know a Veterinarian

Choosing and involving a vet early can make life easier when (not if) an emergency occurs. Even if you currently have a good veterinarian for Fido, Fluffy and Tweety, this does not mean you automatically have a good veterinarian for your cashmere herd. You don't need to necessarily find a vet who has hundreds of cashmere goat patients on the client roster, but you do need a vet who is good with small ruminants. Get your vet out to your place as soon as you can so he/she will have a perspective of your operation. Your local veterinarian will be your main source of valuable information. In addition to knowing the history of your herd, he/she will know what diseases and minerals deficiencies/excesses are prevalent in your locale.

Marketing

Now that you have fleeces and goats to sell, what do you do? You will need to find markets for your products. The Cashmere America Cooperative is not longer in existence, but there are a few growers who will buy your fleeces. If you sell your raw fleeces wholesale, you will get much less for them than if you have them processed and sell products retail. Fleeces and cashmere can also be sold direct to craftspeople locally, although this market can be challenging. The cashmere goat associations, fiber producers who raise other animals and other craft people can be great sources of information about how to access your markets. Most are willing to share tips. If you can get to a fiber festival in your area, like Black Sheep Gathering, Estes Park or numerous others, this is a good place to check out the competition and pick up ideas.

Breeding stock and excess animals can be sold by advertising in local newspapers, regional farm papers and magazines and on the internet. Breeding stock can also be sold by showing/displaying your animals at local fairs and fiber events. Sales made directly to individual buyers will usually yield the best prices for your animals. Livestock auctions will sell animals as well, but prices are not predictable. Generally, animals sold at auction will bring less than animals sold by advertising.

Ask around. People know! When in doubt, ask! Ask other goat folk, your vet, or extension agent. Answers to your questions may be just a telephone call (or an email) away.

Goat Supplies

Caprine Supply
3300 W. 83rd St., PO Box Y
DeSoto, Kansas 66018
913-585-1191
fax: 913-585-1140
toll free: 1-800-646-7736
www.caprinesupply.com
Excellent goat supply catalog. Comes out once a year around the first of the year. Filled with good stuff and good advice.

Hoegger Supply Co.
160 Providence Road
Fayetteville, Georgia 30215
1-800-221-4628
hoeggergoatsupply.com
Catalog of goat supplies, comes out once a year.

Lazy JV Ranch 405 Hewey Lane Central City, KY 42330 270-525-0120, 270-543-9050 (cell) www.lazyjvranch.com Catalog of small livestock supplies and livestock supply store.

Premier
2031 300th Street
Washington Iowa 52353
319-653-7622 or 1-800-282-6631
www.premier1supplies.com
They have two catalogs - one with sheep supplies and one with fencing and other equipment.

Valley Vet Supply
East Hwy. 36, PO Box 504 Marysville, Kansas 66508-0504
1-800-360-4838
www.valleyvet.com
Catalog of equine, pet, farm and ranch supplies for animals and home. Catalog comes out a couple of times per year.

Wild Wings Farm and WW Enterprises
Located in central Indiana, just North of Indianapolis
317-873-3603 (farm) or 317-402-7666
www.wildwingsfarmsandsupply.com
A good source of goat handling equipment. Farm also has Boer goats, American Paint horses and English Springer Spaniels.

Reference Books/Publication

Angora Goats the Northern Way
Fourth Edition (1993), Susan Black Drummond, 239 pages, published by Stony Lonesome Farm, Freeport, MI 49325, has chapters on cashmere goats. A good reference and starting book for cashmere goat owners.

Breeding Cashmere Goats
1991, B. J. Restall and W. A. Pattie, 95 pages. A collection of articles presented to meetings of goat breeders, results of research in Australia by two researchers who spent many years researching cashmere goat genetics. This book is pretty technical and old, but about the only thing out there on cashere genetics.

Cashmere - Complete Guide from Fibre to Fashion
1998 or so, Sue Meeche, 54 pages - 20 of these pages are knitting, weaving and crochet patterns for cashmere. A good short history and beginner's introduction to cashmere goats and cashmere fiber, from Canadian author/publisher.

Cashmere Goat Notes
Revised Edition (1990), A collection of short articles by various authors edited by R. James Browne, B. Agr. Sc., DDA (Hons.), 282 pages, published by the Australian Cashmere Growers Association, 30 Cann Street, Guildford 2161. You may not want to rush out and buy this one just yet as a new revised edition is supposed to be nearing completion.

Goat Husbandry
Fifth Edition (1993), David Mackenzie with revisions by Ruth Goodwin, 334 pages, published by Faber and Faber. British writer with a slightly different perspective on goatkeeping.

Goat Medicine
1994, Mary C. Smith, DVM and David M. Sherman, DVM, MS, 620 pages published by Lea & Febiger. This is a good one for medical stuff. It's big, technical (but not as technical as Merck), expensive and well worth the cost. It's got it all - a lot more than you'll probably want to know. Fascinating stuff!.

Goatkeeping 101
1998, Caprine Supply, 248 pages. Recent and a good beginners basic book. Covers all breeds with just a brief summary of cashmere. A good place to start if you've never owned a goat.

Meat Goats
1994, by Sara Emond, Animal Industry Division, Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, 74 pages. Excellent reference on meat goats including facilities, nutrition, reproduction and marketing. Available from Alberta Goat Breeders Association for $15.

Merck Veterinary Manual
Seventh Edition (1991) There is no doubt a later edition out than the one on our shelf, published by Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, 1832 pages. It's big, expensive and designed for a veterinarian's use. Unless you know a lot about veterinary medicine or just like to stay confused, this book is probably not for you.

Pack Goat, The
1992, John Mionczynski, 147 pages, published by Pruett Publishing Company, Boulder, Colorado. Even though this book is about pack goats, we find the book useful for a common sense approach in managing and understanding goats.

Raising Milk Goats the Modern Way
1975, Jerry Belanger, 152 pages, published by Garden Way Publishing co., Charlotte, Vermont. It's old and it's about milk goats, but it is a good beginner's book on goat management.

Small-Scale Goatkeeping
1979, Billie Luisi, 208 pages, published by Rodale Press, Emmaus, Pennsylvania. A good beginners book plus a bit more. Only covers dairy goats, but most applies to all goats.