Meat Goat Blog

What is a Spanish/Kiko Cross Goat?

What is a Spanish/Kiko cross goat? Well let's start with the basics; they are a mix of Spanish goats and Kiko goats. They are (obviously) very similar to both breeds, because they have excellent parasite resistance and good mothering abilities. They make an effective meat goat because they are extremely hardy and combine many of the positive attributes of both breeds. When it comes to commercial meat goat crosses, you can't do much better than the Spanish/Kiko cross.

 

To learn about our Spanish/Kiko crosses, check out our ranch webpage.

 

How Nutritious Is Goat Meat? Is Goat Meat Good For You?

The folks over at Beginning Farmers published an interesting USDA-ARS chart the other day that compares beef and goat meat. The chart shows that goat meat is very healthy for you! It has just about equal or better scores than beef on almost all the good things and way lower scores on the bad!

Most interesting to me is the comparison on fat - beef has almost 5.5 times more fat than goat meat!

Here's the chart - just goes to show that goat meat is good for you!

Comparison Goat/Beef(Ground)	Cooked
Servings	1
Servings Weight	100g

Content (units)	BEEF	GOAT
Water (g)	56.75	67.93
Energy (kcal)	257	142
Protein (g)	25.56	26.99
Fat, total (g)	16.42	3.02
Cholesterol (mg)	88	75
Saturated fatty acids, total (g)	6.317	0.926
Monounsaturated fatty acids, total (g)	7.305	1.354
Polyunsaturated fatty acids, total (g)	0.491	0.229
Copper (mg)	0.081	0.302
Iron (mg)	2.49	3.72
Magnesium (mg)	20	0
Phosphorus (mg)	193	200
Potassium (mg)	304	403
Selenium (mcg)	21.3	11.8
Sodium (mg)	401	248
Zinc (mg)	6.21	5.25
Vitamin B-6 (mg)	0.366	0
Choline, total (mg)	80.4	106
Vitamin B-12 (mcg)	2.69	1.18
Vitamin E, alpha tocopherol (mg)	0.45	0.34
Vitamin K (mcg)	1.6	1.2
Niacin (mg)	5.107	3.933
Riboflavin (mg)	0.176	0.607
Thiamin (mg)	0.047	0.09

What is a Spanish Goat Made Of?

As I explained in a previous blog, Spanish Goats are not the same things as brush goats. Here's what allowed them to adapt to that place. According to an Oklahoma State University article  by Ron Yoakum and Dr. Dan Waldron, when the Spanish brought goats to the Americas,

"Pockets of wild goats, decended from these animals, [and] developed for over 400 years before developing this livestock became profitable.

The trend for smaller, more agile goats was dominant in the wild. Small udders were essential. Large udders would be cut up by cactus, thorns, rocks and any number of other obstacles ... Although not of a specific breed ancestry they have developed through natural selection ... Most are wild or at least semi-wild. Size varies greatly due to climate, terrain and available breeding stock. [sic]"

As you can see, a Spanish Goat is not made of clean water, good food, or regular hoof care. A Spanish Goat is not made of regular worming, man-made shelter, or protection from predators. A Spanish Goat is made of rugged independence, survival instincts, and premium genetics!