# Kiko Goats



## Alastrina (Oct 30, 2014)

Does anyone have experience with Kikos? What do you like and dislike about them? If you don't have experience, what are your thoughts about them anyways?


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## Pearce Pastures (Oct 31, 2014)

We had a kiko crossed with a boer and were not too impressed with how she turned out but that was just her.  In looking at others goats, Kikos can be a good choice if you are wanting hardiness and if you spend the time and $ to get good stock,  it would probably be a good choice for producing meat.


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## Alastrina (Oct 31, 2014)

Hardiness is important since I am trying to keep maintenance as low as possible, and I don't think people should get animals if they're unwilling to invest in quality stock.  Why weren't you impressed with her?


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## Mike CHS (Oct 31, 2014)

BYH member Southern By Choice raises Kiko's and will probably chime in when she logs on.


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## Alastrina (Oct 31, 2014)

That'd be good.


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## Southern by choice (Oct 31, 2014)

Actually @jodief100  is the one to talk to! She has done the buck tests for years and has always had some of the best bucks- every year! NOW that is an accomplishment!
We only have a few now. So far though our experience with them has been great. Never have parasite issues.
I will say there has been a real surge in Kikos here and not all are very good. Some are so small and scrawny and look awful. I was asked to do an assessment on a small herd (basic assessment) and UGH! Hooves were awful. very wormy as determined by actual FAMACHA, and there was plenty of rocky ground and land. BUT as true to Kiko's the kids were growing like crazy on the dam. These goats were forage only!


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## Southern by choice (Oct 31, 2014)

I tagged her so she will be able to give you great advice! 
I do alot with dairy goats and homestead goats.
This year we took one of our Kiko does and bred her to a Lamancha Buck. We will put the offspring in the freezer... our goal is to see how well she milks and for how long. She has a great udder and our experiment is to see how durable a dual purpose goat she can be. Milk and Meat. If she has a doe we will keep the doe and continue with another generation.
We have had a great many request for this "experiment".
Already have the goats- why not?


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## Pearce Pastures (Oct 31, 2014)

Really it was probably a result of her bad beginning.  She was basically a rescue as her mom had gangrened mastitis and her brother had starved to death.  We vetted her, bottle fed and all that but she was always smallish and not a nice shape.   Looked more dairy than meat.


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## Alastrina (Oct 31, 2014)

Pearce Pastures- Aw.  I'm sorry to hear that. I'm glad you got her though before she starved too.

Southern by Choice- Thanks for the information!  And good luck with your experiment.


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## goatgurl (Oct 31, 2014)

i have had pure kiko does that were bred to a kiko/boer cross buck and i really liked them.  kids grew like crazy and moms took really good care of them.   good parasite resistance, good feet and legs and the kids were up and nursing so fast.  also bred him to some dairy does and the kids grew out nicely.   i would go with savanna goats if i was going to go with meat goats again.  they seem to have the vigor of the kiko but the meatier body of a boer.  the gentleman i got my katahdin sheep from also raises the savannas and i was really impressed with them


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## Southern by choice (Oct 31, 2014)

@goatgurl  I like the Savanna's also.  I REALLY like the Spanish Goats!
Our Kiko's have been great no complaints especially since it is wet and marshy. Many will bring a kiko buck in to a dairy herd for the purpose of increasing parasite resistance. Boers do awful here. 
We sold most of the Kikos because my farm partner cannot put in the time for them right now... but we kept the does with the best udders.  Hence the experiment- HIGH butterfat and the fact they can raise kids to high wean weights. Cannot wait to make cheese!


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## Alastrina (Oct 31, 2014)

Never heard of Savannas. I'll look into those as well. Do they give decent milk?


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## Southern by choice (Oct 31, 2014)

Don't know.


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## Alastrina (Oct 31, 2014)

Hmm. I'll Google them after the current topic. They sound like they might be interesting.


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## Alastrina (Oct 31, 2014)

Sounds like they're solely a meat breed. None of the sites put any emphasis on milk. They are a hardy, self-reliant meat breed though. Maybe if a milk breed was bred to a Savanna?


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## jodief100 (Nov 1, 2014)

We raise kiko goats.  We started with boers and Uhg....... that was a mess.  Kikos tend to be more parasite resistant, hardier and lower maintenance all around- if you buy good stock. Just like any animal, you buy bad stock and you get bad animals.  I have a doe that I milked after I weaned her kids and she gave 3 quarts with one milking a day.  I have another that gave 2 quarts a day.  They do produce a LOT of milk for a meat goat.  They will be smaller, not as muscular and grow slower than boers.  The  people who come to our farm and butcher one themselves prefer them to the boers, not as fat. The graded auction in Richmond, not so much but I get decent prices.  Depending on the time of year $1.60-$2.20/ lb.  The slower growth rate allows me to take them when the prices are higher in the winter.  

When you buy, ask for records, you want weaning weights and how many kids the does are weaning.  Observe how they are being raised.  If you have a forage based system, buy forage based goats.  If they are lot raised, they will have fewer opportunity for worms and illness and might not flourish when met with a challenge.  

We have around 40 breeding does on 32 acres.  We rotate every 1-3 weeks, we FAMACHA check every month, unless the ground is frozen.  We feed some grain, more in the winter, less in the summer.  Some does are wormed 2-3 times a summer, others not at all.  Neither of my bucks has ever been wormed.  I invested in good quality, parasite resistant bucks and it has paid off.  I have fewer worm problems every year.  

Feel free to contact me offline.  I will help you as much as I can.


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## Alastrina (Nov 1, 2014)

Thank you for the detailed reply! There was a lot of good information there. I will probably contact you later, but you've answered all my questions for now.


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