There is a developing interest in the use of fibre-producing goats in the United Kingdom. Information on nutritional requirements under UK conditions and for different genotypes of goats is limited. The aim of this study was to investigate further the role of dietary protein in determining the yield and quality of (a) mohair Fibre and (b) meat with emphasis on fat composition in Angora goats.

Ten Texan cross male castrate Angora goats aged about 10 months and weighing 21.6 kg initially were used. They were individually penned and allocated to good quality diets containing (per kg dry matter (DM)) approximately 10 MJ metabolisable energy and either 110 (LP) or 178 (HP) g crude protein. The diets were restricted to intakes of 37 g/kg liveweight (LW) and the study lasted for 70 days. The goats were weighed weekly and food intake was recorded daily. Blood samples were collected pre-feeding by jugular venepuncture at approximately 0900 hrs on day 0, 35 and 70 and at 07.30,09.00,10.30,12.00 and 13.00 hrs on day 63.