Cashmere goat

Cashmere goat

　　　The Hengshan cashmere goat is a new breed of white cashmere goat developed starting in 1979 by introducing the Liaoning white cashmere goat as the sire and the Northern Shaanxi black goat as the dam, with the aim of enhancing cashmere production. It was created through simple developmental crossbreeding, hybrid improvement, intercross fixation, and selective breeding. This breed is characterized by high cashmere yield, long and fine cashmere fibers, stable genetic performance, and strong adaptability. Its main physical features include: an all-white coat with a mix of hair and down, exhibiting a silky silver sheen; a medium-sized, sturdy, and compact body; a small and lightweight head with a delicate face; long hair on the forehead, a beard under the jaw; both rams and ewes have horns, mainly twisted and curved; a broad and thick neck with good neck-shoulder connection; deep chest and straight back; well-formed limbs with tough hooves; a thin and short tail that curls upward at the tip; well-developed udders with appropriately sized teats. Rams have large heads and thick necks, compact abdomens, and well-developed testicles. In terms of production performance, under general feeding and management conditions, adult ewes weigh 48 kilograms and produce 650 grams of cashmere, while adult rams weigh 27 kilograms and yield 400 grams of cashmere. Yearling rams weigh 25 kilograms and produce 400 grams of cashmere, and yearling ewes weigh 18 kilograms with a cashmere yield of 300 grams. The minimum length of cashmere fibers remains above 4.2 centimeters, with fineness below 14.5 microns, clean cashmere rate above 56%, and fleece weight ratio above 105%. Yearling wether lambs weigh 15 kilograms with a slaughter rate of 45.57%. The breed exhibits strong characteristics such as tolerance to coarse feed, cold resistance, wind-sand resistance, and disease resistance. According to feedback from Gansu, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, and other provinces and regions that have introduced Hengshan cashmere goats, the breed shows strong adaptability and has a very significant effect on improving local goat breeds.