Kinder Goat Breeders Association

KGBA

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Meat yields on the dual purpose Kinder Goat

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The Kinder is a dual purpose goat used for both milk and meat.  The meat aspect has been neglected by many breeders.  Our beloved Kinders have become more dairy in type sacrificing meat production for milk production.  While for many milk is all they want, a breeder needs to keep in mind the fact that usually about half the kids are bucks.  Not all bucks should be kept as bucks.  On average only 1 out of 10 is truly buck quality.  What do you do with the rest of those darling little fellows.  True, you can wether them and sell them as pets or brush clearers but that market saturates fast. 
In our area there are a couple of meat goat buyers.  They pay by the pound and their price depends on the type of goat.  Dairy kids bring less per pound that meat kids.  I have worked on my marketing with the meat goat buyer I use and he knows that my kids pack meat.  I am now getting the same price per pound for my Kinder boys as he pays for the Boer kids. 
If you are planning on slaughtering any kids this year please keep records and let me know what the live weight, carcass weight and actual meat weight wrapped is.
The chart below will show some of the yields that come from well bred Kinder kids.
Kinder goat carcass yields
Live wt. lbs
hanging wt lbs
boneless meat lbs
Doe SH
120
59
33
Doe SH
140
71
41
Doe SH
134
62
32
Wether SH
61.5
30
18
Doe SH
135
67
39
Doe SH
138
68
39
GJ Wether
82
41
23
GJ Buck 17 mos
170
90
45
GJ Doe 18 mos
99
47
30
GJ doe 9 mos
95
43
26
GJ Crytorchid 6 mos
92
51
35
GJ Buck 7 mos
89
49
32
GJ Wether 7 mos
80
44
30
GJ Buck 7 mos
70
39
23
For more information on Kinders as meat goats look in the blog archives in 2012 October Kinders as Meat goats.
Jean Jajan

Kinder Goats for Meat

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Selling, Butchering and Processing Your Goats

By Jean Jajan

With winter coming on, many goat breeders thoughts turn to what to do with those excess young males or cull kids.  We don’t want the expense of wintering too many non productive animals.  There are many options open for the breeder. 
The first and most common is to advertise that you have goats for sale.  This can be done in the paper, through a sign on the bulletin board at the feed store or an ad on Craig’s list.  Also depending on the area you live in you might try to post a sign in the ethnic grocery stores.  This way you can target the Hispanic population or the middle eastern population depending on your area.  One thing to remember though is that usually the middle eastern population wants a completely intact male only.  This would mean only buck kids that have not been castrated or disbudded.  They do not take females.  There is a member on the Oregon coast who sells her wethers to the Hispanic population for $100 a piece for the weaned kids and they go like hot cakes.
When I sell an animal for slaughter I do not allow it to be dispatched on my place and I know many other sellers that don’t either.  This is a personal choice as I don’t know what technique they use and would rather not be present.  While I hope all the animals I sell for meat are dispatched with a properly executed gunshot, I know that many have their throat slit and are bled out.
The second way to sell off those meat kids is to take them to a sales barn.  Many rural areas have a livestock sales barn and you can consign them there.  When I did this I dropped them off and preferred not to remain.  They tend not to handle the animals the way we do and I prefer not to see it. 
The third option is becoming a member of a meat goat association.  These associations help members market their goats.  The association I was a member of had a livestock buyer come to a central point and weigh and buy the goats.  There was a pool coordinator whom the member would call and commit their kids to the pool.  When there were enough committed to fill a truck the sellers met at a location with a scale and the buyer weighed and paid for the kids then and loaded them up and took them to the slaughter house. 
There are also livestock buyers that have a schedule of coming every few weeks to a public livestock scale and buying livestock.  Check with the local feed stores as they might know of one that does this.  I take a lot of my kids there as I know I only have to wait a few weeks and I call him to find out what he is paying.
My favorite way of getting rid of my excess kids though is to put them in my freezer.  Why not put your great hormone free, antibiotic free, low fat, low cholesterol meat on your own table.  If you are a hunter you might want to dispatch the goat yourself and dress it out like you would a deer.  The preferred way to dispatch a goat is to use a gun with a 22 long rifle hollow point bullet.  The proper way is to place the barrel of the gun right behind the poll or horn area and angle it toward the front of the lower jaw.  This will instantly kill the animal.  A goat should not be shot through the front of the head as the skull is very hard and dense in that area.
There are several web sites that show how to butcher an animal.  One that I find informative is http://www.ozarkjewels.net/homebutchering.htm. 
For those of you who, like me, do not hunt or feel that they can’t dispatch one of their own goats here are a few good options.  One is a full service butcher who runs a slaughter and will do the kill and cut, wrap, and freeze.  All you have to do is drop the goat off the night before or early morning of the butchering and pick up a nice box of frozen goat meat ready to drop in your freezer a few days later.  Check with feed stores and custom butchers.  In our area it runs about $120 per goat.
The second is to contact a mobile farm butcher.  Ours has his ad in the paper several times a week and is booked weeks in advance.  A mobile butcher will come to your farm and slaughter the animal there.  He will skin and dress the animal and take it to his butchering facility or possibly one you choose in his refrigerated truck.  He cleans up and hoses the area down afterwards and leaves almost no trace.  My farm kill truck charges $60 per goat for the kill and takes it to any of the several custom butcher shops in the area.  The cut and wrap costs about another $60. 
How you have your goat cut up is all a matter of preference.  I like meat in something, so I generally do not have chops or steaks cut.  They tend to be rather small and a bit dry.  I will have one or both hind legs done in a boneless rolled roast.  I have the loins and tenderloins taken out from the spine and packaged.  The ribs I have cut from the spine and packaged.  The rest of the meat I have half of it ground and half of it cubed.  I have the butcher crack the neck bones and shanks and package them for soup stock.
If I have an older buck slaughtered I have him packaged separately and the packages marked.  Some tend to be a bit tougher and a little gamey so I want to know which is which as I use a more tenderizing method of cooking and more seasoning. 
As for how to prepare goat, I don’t feel there are any specific goat recipes.  I use my favorite recipes for stews and casseroles.  I use the loin meat for fajitas or something that I need the most tender cuts for.  Braising with its lower temperature, moisture and covering during cooking is the secret to cooking with goat. 

Kinder Goat as a Meat Goat

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Kinder buck 5 monthsKinder meat carcass

There has been much more written regarding the milking ability of the Kinder goat than that of its ability to produce a good meat carcass. The Kinder goat is a very good meat animal as well as a milking animal. This makes it a dual purpose goat just as it is advertised to be.

Kinder goats will breed every month of the year sometimes being referred to as, “aseasonal breeders”. The Kinder is also known for their multiple births so these two factors can provide lots of meat for the freezer or added income from the sale of the animals to the meat markets or both. Always remember that those Kinder does will at the same time be providing milk and milk products for the table.

Unfortunately there have been no official studies done on Kinder goats as a meat animal. There are only the statements of breeders as to quantity and quality of the Kinder meat carcass. Breeders report that on average a Kinder kid will weigh between four to five pounds in a triplet or greater birth. It is reported that their average weight of gain each month is from seven to nine pounds in the first eight months of life. This of course depends greatly on the type of care received.

A few years ago at Lincoln University’s, Carver Farm, in Jefferson City, MO at a Goat Day put on by the Missouri Goat Producers there was an evaluation and judging of different breed carcass and the Kinder goat was part of this program. The two Kinder goat carcasses pictured are the first place winners. These carcasses are from a triplet birth. The animals were five months old; one weighed 16 pounds and the other 18 pounds dressed out as shown. The other picture is the other goat of the triplet set shown on foot at five months of age.

Those older does and bucks can also be utilized for their meat. Below are the figures that this writer has recorded of the meat production of some older does and one wether. These were does that could not be kept for one reason or another for breeding. These are the on foot weights, hanging weights and then the pounds of burger from each. 120# live weight; 59# hanging weight; 33# burger 140# live weight; 71# hanging weight; 41# burger 134# live weight; 62# hanging weight this was an old doe. 61 ½# live weight; 30# hanging weight this was a wether. There was over 50# of burger from these two animals.

As you can see the Kinder goat is truly a meat animal as well as a dairy animal. Best of both worlds!

Meet the 2022 Candidates

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Here you can find a list of the 2022 KGBA candidates and a brief introduction of each person.

Sue Beck:

Hello everyone! My name is Sue, and I raise Kinder Goats in Southeastern Wisconsin.
I have been on the KGBA board for a number of years, and have enjoyed the opportunity to help
promote the Kinder breed and get to know so many of our wonderful members.
Over the last few years, the association and the Kinder breed has made huge strides in growth and
overall breed improvement. I am thrilled to see the ever-expanding number of beautiful, dual purpose
Kinders spread throughout the U.S. and beyond. It is an incredible honor to be part of this group. If reelected, I will continue working hard to ensure the continued growth and success of our wonderful
association.


Ashley Kennedy:

Hi, I’m Ashley Kennedy, owner of Still Meadow Kinders, now in Maryland! I started out with my first
Kinders in 2002, and in nearly 20 years since, it has been my immense privileged to watch the Kinder
breed grow by leaps and bounds. The number of members committed to breed improvement is
inspiring, and the widespread interest in Kinder goats is testament to their hard work! We are a hard
working and passionate community that I feel so privileged to be a part of. Over the 8 years serving as
Vice President of the KGBA, I’ve been ecstatic to have the opportunities to help improve the function
of the association and widen the services available to members. The milk test program is up and
running, and more and more people are getting their Kinders on test! Our breed production and
components averages are incredible, and further prove that Kinders are truly the best. We are also
working on a program to document and prove meat efficiency and demonstrate the Kinder’s true dual
purpose nature. It was a great privilege of mine to participate in getting the KGBA evaluation program
off the ground and lay a foundation for years to come! Kinder goats have an immensely bright future
ahead and I would be deeply honored to continue to serve you all in the capacity of Vice President.
Thank you!


John James:

I have been raising goats for 30 years and have had Kinder Goats for nine of those. My wife and I
have fallen in love with this breed and enjoy representing the Association and Breed at the fairs,
shows and the Mother Earth News Fair.
My passion for working with 4H youth has led me to work with other KGBA members to develop a
youth program for the Kinder Goat Breeders Association. I want to continue to develop the youth
program so that it will be easy for others to carry on for many years. I also am excited about working
with technology to improve communications within the board and also with our membership.


Lisa LaRose:

Hello. My name is Lisa LaRose. I live in Southern Illinois with my husband of 29 years, and I have a
Kinder Herd with my daughter Kelsee Gibbs. We have about 28 does and 8 bucks. We have been
raising Kinders for about 11 years and mutt goats before that. We work hard to improve our herd each
year and advance the reputation of the Kinder breed. We have sold goats coast to coast and enjoy
having people visit our farm to see what they are about. We even had Kinders at the St Louis Zoo in
the Children’s Petting Zoo. I am running for Treasurer for 2020 and I have been doing this job for
several years now. I am happy to continue serving the KGBA in whatever capacity you, as the
members need me to. Thank you.


Kathrin Bateman:

I was raised on homegrown food and have lived growing my food ever since. I studied animal science
in school and have raised quite a few different species of livestock. I live in the western hills of
Massachusetts and have been breeding Kinder goats since 2014. I enjoy the challenge of breeding to
improve my herd and the stock I offer to buyers. I like the challenge of matching bucks to does to
create offspring that are meaty goats that produce a fine amount of milk from well-attached udders. I
enjoy helping to spread the word about this breed in this part of the country where a lot of people have
never heard of this breed. I love networking with other breeders to share genetics. I used to head the
newsletter committee but I have less time and Kendra has taken over the bulk of that work. I’m still
the person who handles the printing and mailing chores of the newsletter. I enjoy working with other
board members to keep this association a vital organization.

Choosing a Herdsire

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We’ve all heard it a million times – your buck is the most important animal in your herd. The buck contributes 50% of the genes of every kid he sires and determines the overall pregnancy rate of the herd. Good breeding stock is fundamental to a quality goat breeding operation. By choosing the right buck, you can improve conformation and increase milk production, growth rates, and meat qualities in the kid crop. Improving these qualities will not only make the kids more valuable, but will equate to a healthier herd that saves you money on feed, vet bills, and replacement costs.

It is also important to choose the bucks you believe will improve the breed in general! In recent years, we’ve seen an enormous upsurge in the Kinder breeder’s desire to produce quality animals that excel on the homestead, in the milk room, and in the show ring. Many Kinders now have improved milk production and conformation over some of the original animals admitted into the registry. Yet, there are still large discrepancies in the quality between various lines and herds and their offspring – so where do you begin?

Choosing a breeding buck can be very challenging. Every spring brings a surplus of bucklings, many of which will be sold as potential herdsires. They are all darling little boys, but how do you decide which ones will help you meet your breeding goals?

First, make specific herd and breeding program goals. Write them down! When I sell a goat, I ask the buyer what they want in their herd and, more often than not, they don’t really know. They might know they want a hearty, medium-sized, dual-purpose goat but haven’t given more thought to what else is most important on their farm or homestead. Considering YOUR priorities prior to purchasing a herdsire is critical when it comes to your overall success as a breeder.

To determine what you want, ask yourself some questions –
Do you want your does to raise their own kids without requiring additional bottle feeding? If so, you may not want a buck from lines that produce quads and quints.
Do you live in an area where parasites are a serious issue? Goats and herds that are resistant and resilient to parasites should be high priority, as should be breeders who keep deworming records.

Do you expect your goats to travel and climb over large, rough areas to browse? Then potential breeding stock cannot afford to have poor quality feet and legs.
Will you be hand-milking? Teat and orifice size might be very important to you.

It is easy to want it all, but be realistic and choose two or three things that are most the most important starting points, to you. Once you decide what your primary goals are, take a long, hard look at your does. What do you love about them? What would you like to change? You want your buck and his parents to excel in the areas that you want to improve. Once again, try to pick just two or three important things you want to improve on now; you can always work on other things later.

Now that you have decided which qualities are most important in your new buck, you can begin your search. Begin by finding breeders whose priorities and management style closely resemble your own. A breeder that is successfully managing their herd in the way you do or plan to should have offspring that will thrive in a comparable environment and should easily transition into their new home with you.

Ask lots of questions. Good breeders will keep good records on milk quantities, growth rates, ease of kidding in various lines, results for disease testing, show records, deworming records etc. and will be happy to share them with you. Never hesitate to ask for documentation to back up a breeder’s claims.

After finding a breeder or two that you would like to work with, it is time to pick your buck! Here’s where things get difficult – ignore their colors! It is always fun to get a goat that is super-flashy or your favorite color, but try not to let those things “color” your decision – haha! Assess the bucks by conformation first, paying special attention to avoid weaknesses already in your herd or doe. If the buck has been evaluated, make sure that an area where your herd is weak is one of the buck’s strong points. For example, if it is a priority to improve legs, look for a buck with an Excellent or Very Good in the General Appearance category and high scores in the legs and feet sections.

By now, you should have your choices narrowed down to just a few boys. At this point, research the relatives of potential herdsires. Relatives should be goats that you would love to have in your own herd. Never buy a buck from poor quality parents in hopes that he will be an improvement over them! Your potential buck’s relatives should be well-balanced with good conformation and adhere closely to the breed standard. Do they have the qualities that you listed as top priorities? Are they strong in areas where your herd is weak?

Additionally, remember that the most expensive buck is not always the best buck, and the most well-known herds may not be the best fit for you. Know the direction you are going with your herd and wait for the right buck. As with your entire breeding program, planning, time, and patience pay off in the end when choosing a herdsire.

By Sue Beck