Straw Hat Kikos

[Straw Hat Kikos]

Straw, I have a couple questions regarding Kikos;

Do all Kiko goats have long hair like that? I think if I was to get a do over or if I had to start all over I would go with Kikos instead of Nubians. Believe me I love my Nubians more than anything but it would have been prudent of me to get a dual purpose animal, plus they are rare and no one has them out here. How much do they usually go for in your area?

Thanks!

Most bucks do but most does don't.

haha Yep. Kikos are the way to go. They are of course the best meat goat out there but they are also dairy goats. If you read and know the history of the Kiko then you know that when the breed was being created they crossed the top milk buck in all of New Zealand into the feral does to get the milk production up. They needed goats with alot of milk to raise kids to high wean weights for slaughter. Kikos really are a dual purpose breed and the best one out there.

Kikos range so much pretty much anywhere. Depends on registered, unregistered, lines, history, etc, etc. You can get Kikos as low as 100$ in some places up to thousands of dollars. Most good Kikos (registered) will cost you a couple hundred bucks. Think 300$ and up.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

Awesome, thank you for the info!

Do you have any pics of your does?

 

[Straw Hat Kikos]

ALE Arianna


HHF Sis


ALE Alana

 

[Vickir73]

Ok Moses looks to be a good size, but is it just the way I'm looking at the pictures or are the does smaller (say compared to a LaMancha)? I don't know much about Kikos - 'cept what I've learned from you but are they a "more compact" breed? I don't want to say "smaller" but they look they they are between a pigmy size (don't hate me for saying that) and a Nubian size on the height chart - - not that there's anything wrong with this. I'm just trying to get an idea in my mind of how big they are if I were to purchase one. I saw some Boers this weekend and the man was wanting $200 a piece for them, but they just seemed so small.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

The does are very pretty!


I have heard (and I don't know if this applied to Kikos or not) that when you have a breed that is "more wild" or had to live off the land that they do tend to be more compact as a larger animal would have a harder time finding enough food to sustain a larger body, more compact= less calories.

 

[Southern by choice]

A pygmy

They are all bigger than my Lamancha LOL

 

[Straw Hat Kikos]

Ok Moses looks to be a good size, but is it just the way I'm looking at the pictures or are the does smaller (say compared to a LaMancha)? I don't know much about Kikos - 'cept what I've learned from you but are they a "more compact" breed? I don't want to say "smaller" but they look they they are between a pigmy size (don't hate me for saying that) and a Nubian size on the height chart - - not that there's anything wrong with this. I'm just trying to get an idea in my mind of how big they are if I were to purchase one. I saw some Boers this weekend and the man was wanting $200 a piece for them, but they just seemed so small.

No, Kikos are large and not at all even close to Pygmy size. I may be the pictures but they are much larger than Pygmys and LaManchas.

Also, for the most part meat goats are not very tall. Milk goats can be very tall (for the huge udder) but really a good meat goat is not very tall unless they are just a big goat overall. I know it's hard to see but all those goats are 28 inches or taller at the shoulder.

 

[Straw Hat Kikos]

The does are very pretty!


I have heard (and I don't know if this applied to Kikos or not) that when you have a breed that is "more wild" or had to live off the land that they do tend to be more compact as a larger animal would have a harder time finding enough food to sustain a larger body, more compact= less calories.

"More wild" is a term describing Kikos by people who do not know the breed. Alot of people think that all Kikos are wild. Well reason they think this is...because most people that have Kikos are serous producers and have MANY MANY goats thus they don't spend time with them. They go out in a field and are not touched. If you do that with any breed, any goats, then they will "more wild" than your or my goats. Kikos are the perfect breed thus that's why they are picked for so many large scale operations thus giving them the "wild goat" name. I will tell you that my Kiko kids and two of my does are WAY sweeter than any goat I've been around. More so than Nigerians, more so than Nubians, etc. You treat them like you treat the goats you have now and they will be all over you. And that's not just my goats but I know other Kikos and Kiko owners who say the same thing.

Just wanted to clear that up real fast. Now, you are correct. Who will be bigger? A goat that is living almost exclusively off the land (Kiko) or a goat that you pump full of feed and grain (Boer)? Kikos won't get as big as Boers will but they do grow faster than they do, the get to slaughter faster, you put less in them, etc.

Also, think about this, because they will be smaller full grown you don't feed as much thus reducing your money input, thus increasing profits while still getting the faster growing, more healthy, less maintenance goat. Honestly Kikos make so much more sense than any meat goat and because they are such good producers of milk too they are great milk goats. Really the perfect breed.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

Wonder if I'll ever get the chance to diversify my herd and try these puppies out.

 

[Vickir73]

I gotta get me a few. I'd ideally like 1 buck and at least 2 does. The issue for me is where do I go to find them without having them shipped? I need to start looking. I can find tons of boers, but so far haven't found any kikos. I'll keep looking tho

From the pics they do look more pygmy size than LaMancha . . . could be Straw just doesn't know how to use a camera - he is a guy