KIKO GOATS VS BOER GOATS

Here are some of the reasons we believe Kiko's and Kiko crosses make the best meat goats. We compare Kiko Goats with Boer Goats.  The video below gives a great overview of the the Kiko Advantages.



Some of our Personal Experiences

The attached charts show what we have experienced personally with our Kiko's.  They have proven to be very hardy, good breeders, great mothers, and require no special care.  We have no shelters for our goats and they get along just fine.  A few years ago we had 22 kids born one night in the rain and 35 degree weather.  ALL 22 SURVIVED.

The survival rate for our Kiko kids is great.  We rarely have a problem and when we do it is often caused by us, not the goats.  It is exciting to see the survival instincts of these babies.  They are usually up and nursing in about  10 minutes.  Sometimes, they will be trying to nurse before they have stood up for the first time.

We usually wean at 90 to 100 days and we don't normally lose any kids at weaning time.  Our ratio of live births to weaning is almost 100%.


We took this picture just before we loaded up some of this group to send off to a new goat rancher.
Litter Weaning Size by Doe Breed
I think this is the most dramatic chart of all.  It clearly shows the hardiness of the Kikos.  Compared to the Boers the Kikos weaned almost twice as many kids at weaning age than the Boers.  The Kikos weaned about 1.6 kids per doe exposed to a buck compared to less than one kid per doe exposed for the Boers.  Even if you don't consider any other factors, since we are in the business of making money, just look at how many more kids you have to sell with the Kikos.
Postpartum Internal Parasite Load
The chart below indicates the superior traits in the resistance to internal parasites(primarily the barber pole worm) of the Kiko breed.  This is especially true for those of us who raise goats in the hot humid southeastern United States.  This study is of recently kidded does, but we have found it is true for all age groups.  While no goat is completely free of worms, the Kikos have more resistance to the worms and an ability to carry a larger worm load and remain healthy.
Five Year Doe Retention Rate
The chart below shows another significant difference between the Kikos and the Boers.  The Kikos have a greatly superior productive lifespan compared to the Boers.  The Kikos retention rate is nearly 60% compared to about 15% for the Boers.
Two of our Very Pretty Young Does

These charts show the results of a 5 year study by Richard Browning PHD, conducted at Tennessee State University of the Kiko, Boer, and Spanish breeds on the campus  of Tennessee State University.

DOE REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS
The first chart shows both the kidding rate per doe exposed and the kid weaning rate to be much higher in the Kikos and the Spanish goats than the Boers.  Essentially, this means that if you had 100 Boer does exposed to a buck, only about 60 would get a kid to market, but about 84 of the Kikos and Spanish does would get a kid to market. This is  due largely to the higher attrition rate of the Boers.
LITTER SIZE BY DAM BREED
This chart shows, while the litter size of the three breeds are similar in size, the Boers have a much higher kid attrition rate.  This is generally attributed to the better mothering ability of both the Kikos and Spanish does.  This leads to many more kids to market for the Kikos and Spanish goats.

LITTER WEIGHT BY DAM BREED
This chart shows while the birth weight of all the breeds are similar, the total weaning weight per dam is significantly higher for the Kiko does.  This means that since kids are generally sold by the pound the revenue would be greater for the Kikos than the others.  This is also mainly because of the lower attrition rate of the Kikos.

Live Pre-Harvest Weight

On the chart below, the browns indicate Boers and crosses with Kiko and Spanish, the blue, Kikos and crosses with Boers, and Spanish and the black, Spanish and crosses with Boers and Kikos.   Note the dramatic results of crossing the Kikos with either the Boer or Spanish Goats.

This chart also shows the Kiko Advantage of about 8 pounds more weight per kid at harvest.  More money for the goat rancher at no extra cost.

 

These studies were also compiled by Tennessee State University.  The three charts below indicate the Kiko doe proficiency.  The charts indicate that the litter weight per doe is highest for the Kiko and the retention rate for Kiko does is highest.  The last chart also indicates that the Kikos outperform the Boers in the humid southeastern states.

Make a free website with Yola