SONORA – The 2012 Angora Goat Performance Test is set to begin with delivery of the bucks on Feb. 27-28 to the Texas AgriLife Research Station at Sonora, located 28 miles south of Sonora on U.S. Highway 55.
Dr. Dan Waldron, AgriLife Research geneticist at San Angelo and the test’s coordinator, said that as in years past, at least 10 different breeders must enter a minimum of 50 bucks collectively for the test to occur.
Breeders should notify Waldron of their intent to enter goats by Feb. 3 by contacting him at 325-653-4576, d-waldron@tamu.edu .
“The cost of entering bucks on this year’s test will be $290 per head which is due when the animal arrives for the test,” Waldron said. “The fee is to cover feed, shearing and laboratory work on the fleeces.”
Waldron said the test helps breeders and prospective buyers make valid comparisons among animals for mohair quality, production and growth rate, when they are all growing in the same environment.
Individual breeders can enter no more than 12 animals except by special permission. A minimum of four animals per owner and sire group is suggested but not required, according to Waldron.
The Angora bucks are scheduled to be shorn March 6, then weighed on March 7 to start the test. The goats will be weighed again on May 2, then weighed a third and final time and then sheared on June 27.
The annual field day and potential sale, which is determined by the breeders with animals on the test, is set for July 26.
Test entry forms and other information can be found at: safiles.tamu.edu/genetics/angoratest.htm . For more information, contact Waldron or Dr. Frank Craddock, Texas AgriLife Extension Service sheep and goat specialist at San Angelo at 325-653-4576 or email Waldron at d-waldron@tamu.edu .
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