Meat Goat Blog

Spanish Goats AREN'T 'Mutts'

Even though Spanish Goats are an organized breed, many people mistakenly use the term 'spanish' to describe anything that doesn't have a well-defined breeding ancestry, whether it is actually a Spanish Goat or just a "mutt." But this misconception is quite understandable. This term has been used for many years and has really stuck.

But here's the REAL story. As the Spanish Goat Association webpage explains, in the 1500's,

"The Spanish colonized the Americas from both sides. They left a goat trail. Some goats were brought from Spain to the Caribbean, through Florida, and onto Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia. In the west, the goat trail runs from Mexico to California and Texas. So we have a mix of origins and possibly a little interbreeding in the middle. Remember that goats never received much documented attention, so the history is hard to verify, but Spanish goats in this country show their DNA to be of Iberian origin.

For the next couple of centuries the goats were used for milk, meat, hair, and hides. The goats survived well with minimal management, and those that became feral survived with no human management at all. They adapted well to their regions, and natural selection was the norm, producing a breed of goat that was an exceptionally well-adapted survivor."

Well that's what a Spanish Goat really is! Not a simple crossbreed, but an elite animal that has genetics that have survived - at times without any human involvement - for around 500 years!

A Special Thanks to Our Bucks

This was a great kidding season! We had lots of beautiful, healthy babies.  But, even though the does obviously did the majority of the work in raising the kids to be healthy and strong, today we'd like to acknowledge the other half of the gene pool. So these are the bucks we bred to last fall. Thanks guys!

Paco is a 100% Kensing Spanish buck with a lot of personality. He has great parasite resistance and plenty of bulk. He is 2 years old and has done a great job for us. Because Paco has such an impressive genetic-makeup, he makes a fantastic all-around buck. Last year, we bred Paco to some of our finest Kensing Spanish and Spanish/Kiko cross does to produce some really fantastic Purebred and Crossbred Spanish kids this Spring.

Juan is also a Pure Spanish buck from the Kensing line. Juan is two years old, very intelligent, and has phenomenal parasite resistance. All this combined with the color he throws to his kids, makes him a real winner as a buck. Because his 'crucial genetics' are so evenly matched with Paco's, Juan was bred mainly to black-furred Spanish does to enhance their strong color genes. However, he was also used extensively on the lighter colored does that needed an extra 'color boost.'

Roman Ruler is the buck we use to produce our Spanish/Kiko crosses. He is a Purebred Kiko and has served us very well for the last 5 years. Roman is quite unique - not only because of his excellent parasite resistance - but also because he is one of the few Kikos that has such gorgeous markings. Even though we have mainly chosen to raise Pure Spanish goats on our ranch, Roman is such an outstanding buck, that we couldn't let him go when we made the switch. Now we breed him to Pure Spanish does as well as the Spanish/Kiko crosses that aren't related to him.

Marcos, Santos, and Renaldo are our three youngest Kensing Spanish bucks. For their first breeding, we paired them each with a couple full-grown Spanish does just to see what they could do. But more importantly, we split the three bucks between our 7-10 month old does that were mature enough to breed. By using the smaller bucks, we were able to avoid injuring the young does. All three bucks did very well and we look forward to great things from each of them!

LGD's: Here Come the Kids!

I know I have talked about this before, but it's been on my mind since we recently got a new Livestock Guardian Dog pup. As a puppy, when kidding season hits, it is a GREAT time of year! The grass is growing, the weather is perfect, and there are all these fluffy little toys running all over the place. You've been looking for some fun lately and these baby goats seem like just the thing. Besides, you know it's okay because you've seen the rancher chasing them around and poking tags in their ears. So why not just do what feels natural? Let's chase'em!

This has been a big problem that we've run into in the past; but we're trying to avoid it this year. LGD pups learn by example. When they're little, they watch mama eat dog food, so they eat a little bit too. They watch mama bark at predators, so (after they get to safety) they growl a little bit too. Since this is how life works, they don't understand why they can't play along when you start "hunting goat kids." As they mature, they start to get the picture - but that's at least a year away. Until then, when the pup is around try to avoid doing anything with the kids that you wouldn't want to teach your puppy. Otherwise, you might have just shown them a new form of entertainment that will be very hard to forget!

Be sure to check out our directory of Livestock Guardian Dogs for sale.