9/21/19 - We culled 60% of our nannies in 2016, 50% in 2017, 38% in 2018, and 55% in 2019. Each year we added new goats to the herd, either through new purchases or by retaining offspring. Some of these may have been culled the following year. We only have a few that have been with us for more than 4 years. It’s a tough decision to let a goat go sometimes. That doesn’t mean they are “bad” goats, it just means we are moving in another direction. Productivity and low input are important. We developed our previous Spanish goat herd to that point, and plan to get our Kiko herd to that point. We are getting closer each year. If we continue to keep the best performers year after year, we should get there. Unfortunately, there may be times where we cull a goat prematurely. It is difficult to cull a $1000 goat and sell her for $200....but necessary if you want a solid, good performing herd.
We cull based on the following (while raising them with minimal input). Some traits are more hereditary than others. Hardiness, bad udders, and body size/ frame seem to be more hereditary.
We registered a large percentage of our offspring again last year. This is not necessarily a good thing. Most were picked-up by the buyer on the same day as weaned from their mom. It’s difficult when you sell them so young to determine how well they will thrive. It would be nice to hold kids and register/ sell in the Fall, after we determine which are top performers.
If goats are raised in a feedlot where they receive high quality feed and hay, the goats that excel will be a different set of goats that excel when put only on native pasture. A goat that thrives in an environment where it has excellent browse, and high quality cultivated winter forage, may not thrive in a pasture with native forage, no winter crop, and average hay. That same goat may go from the top of one farm’s list to the bottom of the next farm. A “prized” show goat may not perform well in the pasture. A goat that is penned and fed a special diet during birthing and early gestation, may not do well if left in the pasture to kid. Most goats do well during the winter if given access to fertilized winter crops. It’s during the winter and early spring while nannies are nursing babies that separate the good from the bad. Even a marginal goat, if given enough “easy” nutrition, can look similar to a great goat. Oftentimes, an un-thrifty animal is inadvertently disguised by being overfed, pampered, frequently treated, etc. These Kiko goats were developed to thrive in conditions where forage is less than ideal. However, very few are being raised in these conditions today. Actually, most Kiko goats are being raised in conditions where almost any breed of goat will thrive. Look at the Facebook posts. If Kiko goats are not raised and culled in tougher conditions, this strength will diminish. It amazes me that so many Kiko goats are locked-up in small pens to kid in relatively mild climates year after year, with heat lamps, feed etc and then labeled as great moms. I understand an individual goat owner taking this approach, but not a farm supplying replacement females. I've had goats that were awful moms when left out in the pasture to raise kids, but when penned did a good job. I've had many nannies that struggled to maintain weight on average pasture, but were fat butter-balls when raised on nice fertilized winter grass. I don't keep those moms. Almost all moms will raise kids if confined in a small pen where the baby has constant access to the mom and the mom doesn't have to hustle for food/ find cover for the kids, etc. Almost all nannies will hold body weight and "look good" if raised on fertilized winter crop or given enough grain.
With all that said, it is good to understand/ assess the environment where a goat is raised. If you understand the prior environment and plan to raise it in a similar or improved environment, you can expect good results. Buying a fat goat that has been grain fed all of it’s life, or had free access to unlimited fertilized pastures, with plans to put it in your native pasture will bring disappointing results. No doubt, a top performing kid from a large farm that has a good performance based selection process will greatly improve your odds of getting a good goat. The large farms are forced to cull bottom performers, because they dont have time to pen and pamper 200 nannies. We are not a large farm, and we sell our offspring prior to any performance testing. Our performance testing is conducted via the offspring's sire/ dam. We no longer want to farm large-scale. However, our focus is to re-build a small Kiko herd (30-50 adults) of good performers that require minimal input. If you take offspring that excel with minimal input, and then improve forage quality, handling, etc, your odds increase even greater.
We cull based on the following (while raising them with minimal input). Some traits are more hereditary than others. Hardiness, bad udders, and body size/ frame seem to be more hereditary.
- Udder/ teat condition (we don’t keep over-sized teats or bags that are too close to the ground – its too hereditary)
- Hardiness/ thriftiness (Hoof, FAMACHA, body score)
- Productivity (# of offspring, quality of offspring)
- Large, heavy boned, with good udder clearance from ground (we have just started culling for #4)
We registered a large percentage of our offspring again last year. This is not necessarily a good thing. Most were picked-up by the buyer on the same day as weaned from their mom. It’s difficult when you sell them so young to determine how well they will thrive. It would be nice to hold kids and register/ sell in the Fall, after we determine which are top performers.
If goats are raised in a feedlot where they receive high quality feed and hay, the goats that excel will be a different set of goats that excel when put only on native pasture. A goat that thrives in an environment where it has excellent browse, and high quality cultivated winter forage, may not thrive in a pasture with native forage, no winter crop, and average hay. That same goat may go from the top of one farm’s list to the bottom of the next farm. A “prized” show goat may not perform well in the pasture. A goat that is penned and fed a special diet during birthing and early gestation, may not do well if left in the pasture to kid. Most goats do well during the winter if given access to fertilized winter crops. It’s during the winter and early spring while nannies are nursing babies that separate the good from the bad. Even a marginal goat, if given enough “easy” nutrition, can look similar to a great goat. Oftentimes, an un-thrifty animal is inadvertently disguised by being overfed, pampered, frequently treated, etc. These Kiko goats were developed to thrive in conditions where forage is less than ideal. However, very few are being raised in these conditions today. Actually, most Kiko goats are being raised in conditions where almost any breed of goat will thrive. Look at the Facebook posts. If Kiko goats are not raised and culled in tougher conditions, this strength will diminish. It amazes me that so many Kiko goats are locked-up in small pens to kid in relatively mild climates year after year, with heat lamps, feed etc and then labeled as great moms. I understand an individual goat owner taking this approach, but not a farm supplying replacement females. I've had goats that were awful moms when left out in the pasture to raise kids, but when penned did a good job. I've had many nannies that struggled to maintain weight on average pasture, but were fat butter-balls when raised on nice fertilized winter grass. I don't keep those moms. Almost all moms will raise kids if confined in a small pen where the baby has constant access to the mom and the mom doesn't have to hustle for food/ find cover for the kids, etc. Almost all nannies will hold body weight and "look good" if raised on fertilized winter crop or given enough grain.
With all that said, it is good to understand/ assess the environment where a goat is raised. If you understand the prior environment and plan to raise it in a similar or improved environment, you can expect good results. Buying a fat goat that has been grain fed all of it’s life, or had free access to unlimited fertilized pastures, with plans to put it in your native pasture will bring disappointing results. No doubt, a top performing kid from a large farm that has a good performance based selection process will greatly improve your odds of getting a good goat. The large farms are forced to cull bottom performers, because they dont have time to pen and pamper 200 nannies. We are not a large farm, and we sell our offspring prior to any performance testing. Our performance testing is conducted via the offspring's sire/ dam. We no longer want to farm large-scale. However, our focus is to re-build a small Kiko herd (30-50 adults) of good performers that require minimal input. If you take offspring that excel with minimal input, and then improve forage quality, handling, etc, your odds increase even greater.