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ABOUT THE PYGORA GOATS They are cute, they are smart, they are loving, they can be trouble, and they have very nice fleece.
The Pygora Goat is
a breed developed from breeding pygmy goats (with a soft down fiber) to angora goats (with long silky fleece). The
goal of this breeding was to produce fiber for handspinning. Each pygora goat will have any one of 3
different types of fleece. They are catagorized as type A (Angora type), type B (Blend type) or
type C (cashmere type). Type A fleece has a lustrous fine finish, wavy ringlets, no obvious guard hairs, and usually
5-6 inches long. Type B fleece has a lustrous and shiny finish, fine guard hairs, a soft and airy handle and is usually
3-6 inches long. Type C fleece has a matte finish, a fine undercoat, distinct guard hairs, soft handle and is usually
1-3 inches long. The fleeces are harvested by combing OR shearing. Fleeces with guard hairs are usually sent
for commercial dehairing before sale. The fleeces come in many colors and shades and there can be a combination of colors
and markings on one goat. Wool blended with pygora fiber makes a soft, warm and luxurious combination.
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| Lilac Ridge Farm Pygora Goats |
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THE CVM ROMELDALE and ROMELDALE BREED
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| Lilac Ridge Farm Romeldales |
In
1915 AT Spencer crossed "special" New Zealand purebred romneys with rambouillets. Through rigorous
selection, he developed the romeldale breed. NOW YOU MIGHT ASK...WHERE
DOES THE CVM PART COME IN....well....that is another story.... During the 1940s & 50s, there were 2 romeldale
breeders. Their names were J.K. Sexton and Glen Eidman. Glen Eidman apparently had vision!! He was
interested in color and developing a breed for handspinners. He seperated out what
he called "California Varigated Mutant (CVM)" sheep (dark muzzle and eyes, with a light stripe from the muzzle to
eyes) and began breeding these sheep. For 15 years he concentrated on this endeavor. Today, there are
very few CVM romeldale breeders and the breed is listed by the American Livestock Breeds Convervancy as a rare and
endangered.
CVM
Romeldales are hardy and sound. They breed easily and prolifically. Romeldales grow 8-15 pounds of wool annually
with an average yield of 65%. Their fleece is dense and uniform with a 3-4 1/2 inch staple and a bradford cound of 64s
to 60s (micron count 21-25). Their wool has a very soft touch with a well defined tight crimp. Along
with this, the breed is rich with color variation. Along with the CVM pattern, the romeldales come in solid
colors of white, gray, black, brown, and moorit. These colors come in many shades and there can be more than 1 color
within a single lock of fiber. They can also have other patterns or spots. The Rambouillets
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| Our 3 rambouillet ewes, Fantine, Cosette and Josette |
The rambouillet breed was established in the late 1700s by King Louis XVI of France.
This breed descended from the coveted Merino flocks that the King Louis was able to obtain from his cousin
the King of Spain (some of the very first allowed to leave Spain). Three purebred rambouillet ewes were
selected for their superior fleece and added to the LRF flock in 2010. Rambouillets are hardy and vigorous
with a well developed flocking instinct (well..yes...we can use them to help train our border collie, Gemmie).
Their fleece is dense, plump, and springy with next to skin softness. The micron count of this
fleece is 19-23 microns. LRF will breed these ewes with our romeldale rams this
fall. We are looking forward to the fine (and hopefully colored) fleeces that will result from this combination.
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