Angoras are well suited to dryland grazing systems across many regions of Australia. Angoras thrive in warm low rainfall areas and are best suited to areas receiving between 250mm and 550mm annually. This makes them ideally suited to mixed cropping and grazing enterprises. Although Angoras can be run in higher rainfall areas extra management is required to ensure a successful outcome. In a mixed grazing and cropping system Angoras do very well on annual pastures and cereal stubbles. They are very efficient at cleaning up summer weeds in stubbles.
Young Angora does and wethers in full fleece just prior to second shearing at Sylvania Park, Horsham, Victoria.
In the right system Angoras are very profitable, just how profitable depends on the prevailing prices which can fluctuate throughout the seasons, on genetics and on management. We see that there is enormous potential in Australia for making money from Angoras. A simple wether enterprise can at least double the value of the initial investment within a twelve month period.
Bales of Mohair ready for dispatch to purchasers at the AMMO store Narrandera, NSW.
Angoras are run at a similar stocking rate as Merino sheep and many of the same husbandry requirements exist. Animals should be vaccinated twice as kids and then annually with a 5 in 1 vaccine for clostridial diseases. They should be drenched when worm egg counts are high enough to deem it necessary. Worm burdens in low rainfall environments are rarely high enough to require drenching whereas frequent drenching may be required in higher rainfall environments. Animals very rarely get fly struck and are born with a short upright tail so there is no reason to mules or tail dock animals.
Angora kids 3 weeks old and ready to grow $25 worth of mohair over the next 5 months.
Animals are shorn twice a year and produce around 2.5cm of fibre growth every month, most producers crutch and wig animals at around 4 months of shears to prevent further soiling and wastage of fleece and to enable animals to forage effectively. In some soft environments annual foot trimming may be required, although doing the odd one with long toes as they come across the shearing board seems to keep the hooves under control at Mallee Park. Angoras are shorn in the same style as for sheep. The fleece is classed into several lines based on length, handle, perceived fibre diameter, style and level of vegetable matter and kemp (short guard hairs present in inferior stock). The Australian Mohair Marketing Organisation is a good start for information on recent mohair prices and classing information. They or other breeders can help producers to learn how to grow and class mohair to maximise profit.
Tim shearing a young Angora
Fencing for Angora goats needs to be in good condition, they will not climb like some other goats but may push under a fence or between the wires of poorly designed or old fences. Ringlock style fences with the bottom wires close to the ground and well strained are effective at containing Angoras. Electric fences are particularly effective in wetter climates but are less effective in dry climates in summer when animals have significant fleece on them.
Angoras are very seasonal breeders and will usually only breed between the months of February and June, bucks normally go out in late February for a 5 week mating period with kidding starting in late July and all of August. Joining can be delayed in colder climates to reduce the cold stress on newborns. New born Angoras are very susceptible to cold temperatures until they are a day old. Kidding paddocks need to be very well sheltered to protect the animals from cold weather that inevitably occurs at some time over kidding. Every farms management of kidding is slightly different but it is important to put some time and effort into an effective strategy to ensure a high rate of survival in kids because it is these young stock that will drive profitability.
Things to consider and where to get further information about starting a mohair enterprise
Mallee Park and many mohair producers are more than happy to provide advice on starting out and can assist new breeders to ensure they don't make the same mistakes. Angora farming as with any new activity is a learning experience and one that can be enhanced by a willingness to ask questions rather than battling through and learning from mistakes. Ask around and seek the opinion of a range of people to form a balanced view on potential opportunities and risks.
Ensure fences are adequate
Ensure an effective kidding strategy is possible on your property
Start small and work up, getting to know how to run Angoras is easier if only dealing with small numbers, problems can be ironed out before launching into full scale production
Buy quality stock - buying the right stock can make a huge difference in system profitability, if you are new to the game seek guidance from a local producer. Mallee Park often have does and bucks available for sale or can help breeders to source stock suited to their requirements.
AMMO and Mohair Australia can provide contacts of other breeders and further information.
