Pygora Fiber Facts

The Pygora is a medium-sized fleece-producing goat that was developed from crossing a registered AAGBA (American Angora Goat Breeders Association) white angora goat and a registered NPGA (National Pygmy Goat Association) pygmy goat. Pygoras possess a delightful combination of attributes from both parent breeds. They are docile like an Angora, yet hardy and playful like a Pygmy. Pygoras also come in a wide variety of colors and fleece types. A Pygora’s coloring is derived from its Pygmy ancestors, while its fleece type can be attributed to both its Angora and Pygmy predecessors. Pygoras are rapidly gaining popularity and are now being raised all across the continent; they thrive in many diverse climates from Maine to California, Alaska to Florida. Although bred primarily for fiber production, Pygora goats are also well suited as pets, brush-eaters, and milk producers. Because of their smaller size and friendly dispositions, youngsters often choose them for 4-H projects.

Pygora fiber is unique in that it is divided into 3 different fleece types, depending upon certain characteristics of the fiber. No one type is better than the others…they are just different, with different characteristics. The 3 types are as follows:

The Pygoras at Cattail Meadows represent a wide variety of fiber types and colors.  We often have raw and processed fiber available for sale.  With advanced notice, we can try to match the fiber type and color of what you have in mind, and if we don’t have it immediately available, we will work with you on having it prepared to your specifications…whether raw, processed into roving, or made into yarn. Please e-mail us if you have any questions.

Goat Fencing

Secure fencing is an issue that absolutely cannot be avoided if you’re considering keeping or purchasing goats of any type.  My husband and I are on our way to becoming well-versed in the topic of fensing simply by the fact that we’ve had to re-fence much of our pasture area for goats since the previous owners of our farm had fenced it for horses.  Fences for horses are very different than those needed for goats, and we have had an interesting time figuring the best (and most cost-effective) way to convert the existing horse fencing over to that which will securely keep our goats in…and predators out!

The first part of our fencing project involved utilizing the T-post fence posts that were already in the ground for the horse fencing (which was made of T-posts with 5 strands of evenly spaced smooth wire). In the interest of trying to save some money, we attached 5ft. 2” X 4” welded wire fencing material to the T-posts and wire already in existence.  That has worked fine now for the past 2 years, but I do notice that the welded wire is severely bent towards the bottom where the goats like to rub themselves as they walk along the fence line.  Most goat people I have since spoken with tell me that the welds will soon break from the heavy wear, so we anticipate replacing this section of fence in the future with the more-recommended and sturdy (and more expensive) 5 ft., 2” X 4” woven wire fencing…

Which brings me to the next section of fence that we erected from scratch after removing the previously worn horse fencing.  This time we used 4” wooden posts (spaced 10 feet apart) buried 18” in ground, in concrete, with 5ft. 2” X 4” woven wire fence material stapled to the posts.  Larger 7” wooden posts were used as terminal posts. This perimeter fence looks beautiful and seems much sturdier than our first attempt at fencing, and it seems to be quite secure for the protection of our herd. (As a side note, we chose to use 5’ high fencing and 4” line posts for our perimeter fence…seems more secure against predator animals, and brings us “peace of mind”.  We also have Romeo and Summa, our outstanding guard llamas, in our two doe pastures for added protection.)

We've also had outstanding luck with chain-link fencing, and this is by far the most secure (and most expensive) fencing we’ve used.  Our buck area is 5’ chain link fencing with 3 strands of barbed wire around the top, and an extra “no dig” layer attached and buried at the bottom.  We felt the need to make this “fortress” because we do not have a guard animal in with the boys, so we rely entirely on very secure fencing for their safety.  We've had this fence set-up for our bucks for the past 4 years with great success…no goats have escaped and no predators have found their way into the pasture.

Finally, since I originally wrote this piece, we've had great luck fencing another big pasture utilizing T-posts, 2-strand wire and 5 foot 2" X 4" "no climb" woven wire fencing material. Although I love the looks of our fencing the with wooden posts, we decided in the interest of time and money to fence our wether pasture using T-posts. To reduce the problem associated with the goats rubbing on, and severely bowing the fence material, we strategically stretched 6 strands of 2-ply wire on the posts prior to putting up the 2" X 4" woven wire fabric...one strand along the ground, 3 strands at the height where they do the most rubbing (12", 18", and 24" above the ground), one strand 3 feet off the ground and one strand along the top of the fence fabric at 5 feet. Then, we put up the 2" X 4" woven wire fencing, and used hog rings to connect the wire strands to the fence fabric. So far, this fence has been very sturdy...our wethers have been kept in and predators have been kept out!

All forms of fencing we’ve tried have been a bit tricky to put up due to our very hilly, creek-filled terrain.  It has taken a lot of thought, patience, and experimentation to come up with the best fence for each of our particular pens and pastures. We are by no means fencing experts. However, through much trial and error, we have learned what does and does not work for us. And... with the safety and well-being of our herd on the line, we feel that the extra time and money it has taken for us to properly secure our pasture areas has been a very worthwhile investment.

Goat Housing

When it comes to housing goats of any breed, one of the most important things to remember is that goats would rather do almost anything than be exposed to rain. Goats hate rain! With that being said, housing goats can be fairly easy.  The most basic shelter for housing goats can be as simple as a 3-sided shed to protect from wind, snow, rain, and also to provide shade during warm, sunny weather.  An important thing to remember is to face the open side of the shed away from the direction that wind and inclement weather usually approach. It's also a good idea to have a layer of straw on the ground, as this allows the solid wastes and urine to pass through giving the goats a clean bed on which to rest. At Cattail Meadows, our most simplistic goat housing is a predator-proof shelter constructed out of a 10' X 20' prefabricated car-port and chain link fencing material. The construction plans for it can be found on the Mountain Lion Foundation website. It was designed to be very secure against potential predators, yet very affordable to build. We currently use it to house our wethers.

In Deer Park, Washington, our winters are quite snowy, so we also have two barn structures to house our goats.  The first, and smaller one, houses our bucks.  It is a 4-sided barn that we built from the ground up on a pre-existing concrete pad (we tore down an old chicken coup/storage shed, and decided to utilize the concrete floor by building our buck barn on that location).  It’s a 12' X 24' structure, and is divided into 2 rooms… a small hay and straw storage area, and a larger 12' X 16' loafing area for the boys. We also added a lean-to along one end to provide an extra feeding area and more shade in the summer months. With this smaller barn, I have found that the concrete floor definitely has its pros and cons.  The nice thing about concrete, and the thing we planned ahead for, is being able to hose it out in warm weather.  Bucks have a strong, musky odor during the autumn mating season, so being able to hose and bleach the floor area helps to keep the barn fresh.  The disadvantage of concrete flooring however, is that, especially in winter when it’s cold, we must use quite a think layer of straw to absorb urine and keep the floor temperature comfortable.  Our straw consumption is significant for a barn this size.

Our larger barn is an 8-stall horse barn that we have recently converted into housing for our does and kids.  One stall, which was previously used as a tack room, has a wooden floor, and we have set it up as a grooming area where I can conveniently do hoof trims and other health maintenance, as well as shearing.  The remaining stalls have dirt flooring, with a thin layer of sand on top, and although I was anticipating not liking the dirt flooring, I can now see that there are some real advantages to it.  First, urine soaks right through, and so it is quite easy to keep the loafing areas dry with just a thin layer of straw on top for bedding material.  My floor space is much larger in this barn, but my straw consumption is about the same as that for the smaller buck barn.  Also, it’s quite easy to clean the stall areas by simply raking out the soiled straw and replacing it with a fresh layer.  So far, the stall floors have been fairly absorbent, and extreme wetness and odor haven’t been a real issue. 

At this time, the most valuable lesson I've learned is to be FLEXIBLE!  My insightful Pygora mentor, Pat Copa of Verdant Vistas Pygoras, once told me that maintaining flexibility is the most important thing to think about when setting up housing or fencing for goats, and I'm now constantly aware of how I may want to change things as my herd size expands.  For example, my husband and I have made great use of 4' X 6' and 4' X 8' chain link fencing panels (like those used for dog kennels) for setting up portable pens within the barn.  They are sturdy and very easy to assemble and disassemble as the need arises.  Although we purchased our first 6 panels at a local feed store, in the interest of saving money, we built our own panels by purchasing the chain link fencing parts separately and made custom-sized panels ourselves.  We really like the flexibility they bring to our barn set-up!

Goat housing and security can be quite simple or very elaborate depending upon your space availability and budget.  From 3-sided shelters to 4-sided barn structures, we have found that the most important things to think about are protection from predators (provided by safe structures, secure fencing and protective guard animals), protection from the elements and harsh weather (rain, wind, cold, or sunshine), and flexibility for future changes as Cattail Meadows continues to evolve!

What Do Goats Eat?

When I got my first goats back in 2004, I had never before owned a ruminant farm animal.  WHAT DO THEY EAT???  Of course, I knew they ate hay, but had no idea of what kind…or what else they might need in their diet to remain happy and healthy.  So, I quickly did some research, and discovered that basically goats are fairly “easy keepers” when it comes to their diet.  The more I have researched, the more I have discovered that there are numerous beliefs about the “perfect” goat diet.  There are, however, a few basics that most people agree on:

• Good quality hay or pasture forage

• Ample supply of fresh, clean water available at all times

• Free choice minerals readily available at all times

My farm set-up is such that my wethers and does have pasture forage available to them for a good part of the year.  However, during the snowy winter and early spring months, they rely completely upon the high quality orchard or timothy grass hay that I feed them…and, they all seem to thrive on it!  At this time, my bucks are primarily in a smaller pen area, so they mostly rely on the quality grass hay I feed as their main source of food.

Of course, as with any animal, having fresh, clean water available at all times is very important for maintaining good health.  Cattail Meadows goats are particularly pampered, because I have found that goats much prefer, and drink far more, if their water is offered to them warm.  Especially during the cold winter months, my goats come running when I refill their buckets with very warm, almost hot, water.  Since water consumption is very important to a properly functioning rumen, and in order to minimize the chance of my wethers becoming blocked with urinary calculi, I always offer my herd fresh, warm water to encourage and maximize their intake.

Goats should always be offered a free-choice salt and mineral supply, as well.  I offer a loose trace mineral mixture, and have chosen to add my own extra ingredients that my goats really seem to enjoy, and I believe has helped to improve the quality of their fiber.  In short, I mix 80% loose trace minerals with 10% kelp meal and 10% ground flax seed.  They love the flavor of the blend, and I have noticed an improvement in the quality of their fiber and a reduction in the amount of dandruff present.

In addition, my herd gets a small amount of grain offered to them daily, primarily as a treat. All Cattail Meadows goats are “grain trained,” as it makes "rounding them up" for grooming, medicating, or any other reason very easy and non-stressful for both the goat and the handler.  And, if I ever need the quick attention of the herd for any reason, all I have to do is shake the grain container and they all come running.

Basically, I have discovered goats to be quite easy to feed and maintain.  Much of what I have developed as my feeding program has come from trial and error and observance as to what my goats like and positively respond to.  There are many theories and beliefs about the “optimal” caprine diet, but so far, I have found my current program to be working quite well for the fiber goats of Cattail Meadows.