Red Angora Goats in the Red/Black/Brown Pool

Red Angora Goats:

Red Angora Goats are common in the Red/Black/Brown pool of genetics. They can range from faded red, where they are born light red and fade to white as their mohair grows in, to deep, dark reds. They tend to fade some from their birth color, this tendency can vary. The color can be different shades of red on the animal. These goats can have any of the white spotting patterns over their primary red color. Occasionally a red goat may have black spots.

The Red/Black/Brown pool is also known as the "dominant" pool because the genes in this pool can mask the expression of color that would otherwise happen because of genes in the black/pattern pool. The genes for this color are located on the Extension locus.

Breeding a goat to another goat with genetics from the red/brown/black pool should produce any of the three colors. Be sure to know the pedigree of a black goat to make sure they have r/b/b pool genetics.

Cinnamon Rolls Farm Style

These cinnamon rolls are so wonderful!

Making cinnamon rolls requires a time commitment (about 3 hours from start to finish for this recipe.) But they are straight forward to make using a step by step process. They are a fun way and delicious way to get into making yeast breads. This recipe is adapted from a recipe in the book, Baking Bread by Beth Hensperger. I adjusted the recipe to make my perfect cinnamon roll. I like to have the nuts ground to a coarse meal consistency, providing for a consistent texture for the filling. I use a food processor to grind the nuts. If you prefer more crunch, using chopped nuts also works in this recipe. I also love the way cream cheese frosting completes these cinnamon rolls.

I use eggs from my free-range chickens. Their yolks are a deeper yellow than store bought eggs and give a yellow tint to the dough.

Cinnamon Rolls - Farm Style

Dough:

4 large farm fresh eggs

1 ½ cups warm water  (105 to 110f)

¼ cup sugar or honey

2 Tbsp (or 2 packets) active dry yeast

7 ½ to 8 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) butter at room temp cut into pieces

Filling:

1 3/4 cups brown sugar

1 1/2 cups ground pecans or walnuts

1/3 cup ground cinnamon

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, melted

Frosting:

1 8oz package cream cheese at room temp (I like Cabot brand)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter at room temp

2 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla
1 to 2 Tbsp water

11.  In a medium bowl, beat eggs until light and foamy. Stir in the warm water and honey or sugar. Add yeast and stir  until it dissolves. Set aside until foamy, about 15 minutes.

22.     In a large bowl, mix 7 ½ cups of flour, salt and cinnamon. Cut in the butter until a coarse meal is formed. A mixer with the paddle attachment works well for this. Add the egg mixture. Mix or stir until the soft dough just clears the sides of the bowl.

33.     Place the dough onto a work surface and knead about 3 minutes until smooth and springy. Add small amounts of flour as needed to prevent sticking. Cover and let rest 10 minutes to allow the gluten to relax.

44.     Filling: In a medium bowl, combine brown sugar, ground nuts, and cinnamon. Melt butter in a second bowl or pot.

55.     Divide the dough in half. Roll one half into a large rectangle, ½ inch thick. Brush the surface with one half of the melted butter. Spread one half of the filling evenly over the rectangle. Roll up from the long side like a jelly roll. Pinch seams to seal. Slice into 1 inch pieces. Repeat with second half. Place at least 2 inches apart on greased or parchment lined baking sheets. Cover loosely with towels or plastic wrap. Let rise at room temp until doubled in size, about 1 hour.  Pre-heat oven to 350f.

66.     Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, slightly underdone is better than overdone.

77.     Frosting: while the rolls are baking, in a medium bowl, cream together cream cheese, butter, and sugar. Add vanilla and 1 to 2 Tbsp water. Beat until light and fluffy. This should be like soft buttercream icing.

88.     Remove rolls from oven and using a metal knife or spatula, frost after 5 minutes. Let cool completely on pans. Enjoy fresh or freeze individually for later.

Red, Black, Brown Pool in Colored Angora Goats Genetics

Silver R/B/B pool goat (with frosted ears and nose)

Red Black Brown Pool:

The Red/Black/Brown Pool (R/B/B) gets is color from genes located on the Extension locus. This color locus is more dominant than the Black/pattern pool agouti locus. Goats in this pool are typically a shade of red, black or brown as the name describes. The black often fades to gray. These goats are usually a solid color, but may have some variation of the shade of that color in their fleece. They do not have the predictable patterns present in the black/pattern pool. White spotting patterns do occur in these goats (in the black/pattern pool as well), but that is controlled by a different set of genes.

A goat having the right genes on the Extension locus will express that color, even it is has color genes on the Agouti locus that would have given it a black/pattern pool color. There are 3 genes for color on the Extension locus. Black is the most dominant, if 1 black is present, with red or wild as the second gene, black will be expressed. Red needs 2 red genes to be expressed. Wild does not express color, but opens up the opportunity for color genes at agouti locus to be expressed. This is the reason the R/B/B pool is also known as the dominant pool. The goat does need to get the right Extension genes from both parents to show color, so these genes are not dominant in the usual genetic sense where 1 dominant gene expresses the trait.

Reading through the pedigree is the easiest way to see which pool (or the potential for both pools) the goat will likely produce color with. For the R/B/B pool, look for these colors in the pedigree. A predominance of these colors increases the likelihood that the goat will produce color when bred to another goat in this pool.

Reds, blacks and brown goats can produce any of the 3 colors. Genetically, brown in the red/black/brown pool is actually a shade of red. 

Brown goats in the Red/black/brown pool can be differentiated from brown goats that get their color from the Brown locus by checking for black fibers. The Brown locus changes normally black color in a goat to a shade of brown, so no black will be present on a goat. R/B/B pool browns will typically have black hairs somewhere on their body. These hairs can be found in the fleece on some goats, but are easiest to see on the tail, legs and face. Presence of black hair shows that the goat is in the red/black/brown pool, because black can not be present on a brown locus goat. However, the inability to find black hairs does not prove that the goat's brown color is from the brown locus. At this time, brown angora goats are most likely a shade of red. The best way to eventually prove that a goat gets brown color from the brown locus would be to have a reverse badger where the black areas are instead a shade of brown. (brown or tan at the normally light white area does not qualify.) Toggenburg dairy goats are a good example of brown locus brown goats. 

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Hot Chocolate Mix Farm Style

Hot Chocolate Mix:

I love hot chocolate, especially mixed with coffee, for a home made mocha. I wanted a mix that was free from the additives in most commercial mixes and did a recipe search online. I started with a recipe from Alton Brown. It was overly sweet, so I did some tweaking and came up with my personal Farm Style recipe.

This is a grown up hot chocolate. It has a rich, complex flavor and is just sweet enough without being overpowering. I recommend trying different types of powdered milk til you find your favorite. I personally like buttermilk powder the best, it provides a slightly acidic flavor that complements the cocoa nicely.

Ingredients:

3 cups Powdered Buttermilk (Whole or fat-free powdered milk may be substituted)
1 1/2 cups Cocoa Powder
1 cup Turbinado Sugar
2 tsp Corn Starch
1/2 tsp Salt (may omit)
1/4 tsp Cayenne Powder

Mix all ingredients together until completed combined. Store in an airtight container.

Place 3 or 4 Tablespoons into a mug. Pour in hot milk, hot water or coffee. Mix well and enjoy!

Powdered milk options include non-fat or fat free, whole milk, and buttermilk. Non fat comes in instant (which dissolves quicker) and regular, it has a longer shelf life because it doesn't contain fat. Whole milk makes a more filling cup. I really like the flavor that powdered buttermilk adds to the mix.

Turbinado sugar is widely available under the brand name "sugar in the raw." It is a less processed sugar and still contains the molasses that is removed in refined sugar, providing a more complex flavor. The crystals are larger and may take a bit more stirring to fully dissolve. Regular or powdered sugar may be used instead.

Tan Solid in the Black/Pattern Pool - Agouti

Tan Solid:

There are agouti genes that will produce tan solids, solids are also called "no pattern." Colors range from cream to tan to light reds. This is considered a more dominant color in the black/pattern pool genetically in articles by Phil Sponenberg.

These goats usually fade to a white or "not quite white." This provides an additional means for producing a white goat. Because it is genetically more dominant than the patterns, it is one of the reasons many cross pool kids are white.

It is important to know specifics of the pedigree on these animals before making breeding decisions to make sure they are in the black/pattern pool. The majority of brown and red angora goats, especially those that retain their color, get their color from the Red/Black/Brown pool Extension locus.

I bred a my badger doe to my gray and white pinto buck and got this tan and white pinto buckling pictured below. His twin is a badger doeling. 

Peacock Pattern in Colored Angora Goats

Peacock:

This pattern is referred to as peacock because of the light front end and dark backend of the goats. It is a pretty pattern, and produces a fleece with colors similar to the badger pattern, but with a higher percent of gray/black color than a badger.

Peacock differs from Badger in that from the loin back, there is a large amount of gray/black present. The neck, chest, and front half of the barrel are white, cream or tan.  There are black or gray stripes on the face and the lower legs are black. The black/gray from the rear abdomen extends up the barrel and the gray from the topline extends downward in varying degrees on individuals. Some are almost solid black/gray on the rear end while others have a tan area  in the middle. The back leg from hock to stifle is usually cream/tan.

These goats are in the black/pattern pool genetically, with the genes that produce color located on the Agouti locus. They should produce color and pattern when bred to a goat in this pool.

This pattern is called Cou Clair (tan or cream) or Cou Blanc (white) in alpines.

Solid Black in the Black/Pattern Pool

Solid Black:

Solid goats are also referred to as "no pattern." Solid black goats can range from true black, to gray to light silver. Usually they are born with a black birth coat and then often fade to a lighter color as their mohair grows in. 

Solid black/gray goats are present in both the black/pattern pool and the red/black/brown pool, but each pool gets it's color differently. In the black/pattern pool, the color is from genes on the Agouti locus. It is impossible to tell what pool they belong to simply by looking at a solid black/gray goat. Looking through the pedigree to see what colors and patterns are present is the easiest way to make an educated guess as to which pool they get their color from. Another way is to breed the animal to a goat from either pool and see what color is produced in the kids. 

In the black/pattern pool, the solid black/gray (no pattern) is considered to be genetically more recessive to the other patterns on the Agouti locus. However, they are relatively common in the current colored angora black/pattern pool population. 

Reverse Badger Angora Goat - Black/Pattern Pool

Reverse Badger:

Also known as Light Belly. These goats fall in the black/pattern pool genetically and have color genes on the Agouti locus that are expressed as this pattern.

This is my daughters favorite pattern. Their fleeces are a nice way to get 2 colors in one fleece. Typically a shade of gray with a smaller amount of white or cream. I have seen pictures of a few goats that have red in place of the black/gray color.

The main body, including the neck is black or gray. There are white or tan stripes on the face, usually a single bar on each side extending from the poll to the lip, running forward of the eyes. They have a white or tan belly which often extends up toward the tail, and white or tan stripes on legs. Sometimes there is white or tan hair at the jawline.

This Reverse Badger doe also has the white spotting pattern of frosting on her ears and on the top of her nose.

This pattern is called Sundgau in alpine goats.

Badger Pattern

Badger:

Also called Badger face and Dark belly

This is my favorite of the patterns. I love the combination of light tan and gray. I got my first badger last fall. She had a badger doe kid this year, so now I have two! I like to use the fleece in it's natural color to make a cream and white lock spun yarn.

The main body is a tan or cream color. There is a gray or black dorsal stripe on the top line. The belly is gray or black and this may extend up on part of the chest and up toward the tail. Sometimes there is a gray or black martingale around the lower neck. The lower legs are tan/cream with black stripes. The ears are usually tan with gray edges. Their faces are tan with dark nose and mouth and dark stripes extending from the nose to the poll, usually passing above the eye.

Badgers seem to be most likely to have the solid tan or light red color pattern in their kids. I bred my badger doe to a grey and white pinto buck last fall. This spring she had twins, her badger doeling and a tan and white pinto buckling.

In dairy goats, especially French Alpines, this pattern is called chamoisee. The caramel pattern in pygmies is similar, though in pygmies the dark belly is variable.

Black and Pattern Pool - Agouti Locus - in Colored Angora Goats

The Black/Pattern pool of colored angora goats expresses color from genes located on the Agouti locus. The goat needs to get color genes for the Agouti locus from both parents to have color black or pattern pool expression, if they have it from only one parent, they will probably be a white color carrier and may produce color in kids if bred to the right animal. For Agouti colors to be expressed, there also needs to be no expression of both the white angora genes and of the genes on the Extension locus, those genes are more dominant and can mask Agouti genes. A goat that is red, black or brown from the R/B/B pool can be hiding the color genes on the Agouti allele (a goat like this may be able to produce color in both pools.)

Within the black/pattern pool, there is some dominance of some patterns over other patterns. Articles on goat genetics written by Phil Sponenberg delve deeper into genetics and list more patterns and their order of dominance.

Rarely, additional genes can change the base colors of the patterns and you may see variations in color such as reds or browns in place of the black or gray.

Most of these patterns have facial stripes. Also, any goat can have white spotting in addition to these base colors and patterns (white spotting is controlled by a different set of genes).

I think that these patterns may have been strengthened in angoras by breeding out to dairy goats for color. For each of the most common colored angora patterns, there is a corresponding pattern in alpines.

Tan Solid: There are agouti genes that will produce tan solids, also called "no pattern." Colors range from white to cream to tan to light reds. This is considered a more dominant pattern genetically, and is one reason why cross pool kids tend to be white. It is important to know the pedigree on these animals, because the majority of brown and red angora goats get their color from the Red/Black/Brown pool Extension locus.

 Reverse Badger: Also called Light Belly. Main body color is black or gray. White, cream or tan stripes on face, underbelly and stripes on lower legs. This pattern is fairly common in angora goats. In Alpines, it is called Sundgau.

Badger: Also called Dark Belly. Main body color is cream, tan or brown. Gray or black stripes on face, dorsal stripe, underbelly and stripes on lower legs. This pattern is also fairly common. Called Chamiosee in alpines and a close pattern in pygmies is called caramel.

Peacock: These goats are similar in color to badgers, but have a light front and a darker rear. Tan, white or cream neck and fore-body. Black or gray stripes on face, black or gray loin and rump area, belly and lower legs. Often have a tan area on upper thigh. This pattern is a little less common in angoras. Called Cou Clair (cream or tan) and Cou Blanc (white) in alpines.

Mantled: Black or gray head, neck, fore-body and often front legs. Tan or cream or white stripes on face; tan, cream or white rear body and on lower legs. This pattern is less common in angoras. Called Cou Noir in alpines.

Black Solid: Entire goat is black and/or gray. Also referred to as no pattern. Because solid black goats appear in both pools, it is important to know the pedigree on black/gray goats to see if they have black/pattern pool in their genetics before making breeding decisions. This is a common color in angora goats.

There many other possible patterns. A few of the less dominant patterns have started to show up in some herds in the last few years, but are still relatively rare.

Mahogany: Main body color is a blend/mix of black/gray and tan hair. Black on face and legs. Tan on thighs and minor striping on face.

Tan and Black: Main body color is black or gray. Tan on belly, stripes on face. Legs have split stockings of black and tan.

Producing Color in Angora Goats

Adding color to angora goats (and keeping color in future generations) takes some planning and knowledge. For a few thousand years, color has been deliberately culled from most angora goat herds. White was preferred because of the ease of dyeing and predictability of color when using white mohair.  This has resulted in multiple ways to produce solid white in angora goats and made white very dominant genetically. Purposefully producing color in angoras started fairly recently and popularity has grown since the 1980s.

Two techniques are primarily used in this venture. One technique was crossbreeding white angora goats with Navajo angoras and other breeds to introduce color.  This brings in color quickly, but also produces a few generations of "Cashgora" type goats. Cashgora goats tend to have lots of guard hairs or kemp, have loose (or no) lock structure, low luster and these goats do not have full coverage.  Some breeders searched hard and were able to find goats from white angora herds that were born with some color to use in their breeding programs. These goats helped to maintain the quality of mohair in the kids, but tended to fade to near white pretty quickly. Breeding up colored goats to match the coverage, lock structure, luster, and freedom from kemp of white angoras is the ultimate goal and has begun to come to fruition in recent years.

At the genetic level, there are 3 main sites that rule color expression in angora goats. The Extension locus, the Agouti locus and the Brown locus (brown locus goats are very rare at this time.) There is detailed information on genetics and color expression in goats written in articles by Dr Phil Sponenberg.

The Pool method for breeding for color:

A practical guide to keeping color in the next generation was uncovered by the early colored angora goat breeders. They found that there are 2 main pools of colored angora goats. If goats with color genes in the same pool are bred, there is typically color in the kids. If the 2 pools are crossed, the result is often white or light tan kids (especially in the first generation.)  These 2 pools describe the primary color and pattern of the goat.

It is important to note that white spotting (frosted ears, spots, belts, etc…) over the primary color is completely separate from the primary color/pattern of the goat and is controlled by other genes that I will discuss in future posts.

Black/Pattern pool (also referred to as the "recessive pool"). This pool has solid black/gray goats and goats with distinct, predictable patterns. The patterns usually include some striping on the face. These patterns occur in many breeds of goats and have different names in the different breeds. The most common patterns (as named in angoras) are Badger, Reverse Badger, Peacock, and Mantled. The genes for this pool are located on the Agouti Locus. This pool was given the term "recessive" because even if a goat has all the genes needed to express a black/pattern pool color, it's color can be suppressed and hidden by the expression of genes in the Red/Black/Brown pool.

Red/Black/Brown pool (also referred to as the "dominant pool"). This pool has solid goats in all shades of red, brown, black and gray. There can be some variation of the shade of color in the fleece on an individual goat. Genes for this pool are located on the Extension Locus. Goats in this pool can be hiding genes from the black/pattern pool, thus the term "dominant" is associated with this pool (but this is not dominant in the usual use of the term.)

Because the color is determined by genes on different loci, both pools can hide genes from the other pool. Red/black/brown pool color goats may have a partial or full set of Black/Pattern pool genes that are not expressed. Black/Pattern pool goats can have a partial set of genes for the Red/Black/Brown pool that are not expressed.

Most colored angora goats reliably produce color in one pool or the other based on their color as described above. Solid black goats are found in both pools and pedigrees are especially important for them because it is impossible to tell which pool they are in by looking at the goat. By examining the pedigree and colors in previous generations, a educated guess can be made as to which pool that goat should produce color with. While crossing pools often initially produces white goats, after a few generations of crossing the pools, some goats can produce color with both pools and exciting, unexpected colors and patterns can appear in their kids.