Welcome to our blog. Check back often for official news and announcements from the KGBA and articles on various topics of Kinder goat care, raising, breeding, showing and more!
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Would You Like to Sell Kinder® Products?
Do you have a great product idea that will highlight your Kinders? We love to spread the word about Kinder goats, and hope you will, too! Products with our sweet goats and the Kinder name on them promote our breed while making you money. They are conversation starters, too!
The name Kinder is a registered trademark. Because of this, there are certain rules and regulations that the association and anyone using the name in commerce must follow. If you are considering selling products with the Kinder name on them, here is what you need to know:
If you are interested in using the name on goods and products, you must first obtain a license from the KGBA. In the license grant procedure, you must complete a form with your contact details, and a description of the intended use of the Kinder trademark. All items bearing the Kinder name must also bear the trademark (circle r) symbol.
The fee for applying for a license is $25, and covers a portion of the cost incurred in processing the application. It may take a month or more for your application to be evaluated, and applications may be rejected for any reason (you may, however, reapply as often as you like). If your application is accepted, you will be granted a license to sell your product, with the provision that you agree to pay the KGBA a 5% royalty on the product you are selling. Applications for licenses can be found in the “forms” section of our website.
By imposing these simple rules, we aim to protect the Kinder name from misuse, and create a level playing field for everyone interested in using it in the marketplace.
Kinder Goat as a Meat Goat
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!
Dehorning
Hoof Trimming
How to Raise Butterfat in Your Milk
Butterfat is increased by increasing the number, and protecting the conditions which are beneficial to cellulose digesting, acetate producing,bacteria in the rumen.
Don’t over feed supplement.
Supplement should not exceed 50% of the diet. In their effort to make more milk, producers will often overfeed supplement. This reduces butterfat, especially when the supplement to forage ratio approaches2:1. Concentrates are too quickly digested and with the correspondent drop in the need for saliva production, you get a drop in rumen pH, which is harmful to the microbes that produce butterfat.
Feed roughage before you feed grain in the morning.
Again, having hay in the rumen first will slow down digestion, ensure adequate saliva production and keep the rumen pH at a favorable level for acetate-producing microbes.
Take the total amount of supplement the goats need to eat during a day, and feed it in several small meals instead of giving it in only two larger meals at milking time..
Again, this optimizes the conditions beneficial to microbes. It takes time to feed more often, so producers will have to decide how badly they want higher butterfat.
Provide good ventilation, plentiful water and multiple smaller meals when it is hot outside. Goats eat less when it is hot, so you will often see a drop in butterfat in the summer due to a drop in intake of feed.. Anything you can do to help them eat more will increase butterfat. Increased intake increases the heat of digestion in the rumen, and that in turn increases acetate production and raises the level of butterfat.
Feed good quality forage. If you have only poor quality forage, add buffer to the diet.
Low-roughage fiber intake lowers butterfat. Supplement the diet with buffer at a rate of 4% of the amount of supplement fed per day to increase butterfat production when feeding poor quality forages. (Note:many goats do not like buffer in their feed, and will completely refuse to eat the ration with it in there, but will take it readily when it is offered free-choice in the barn or lot.
Feed larger quantities of dried brewer’s grain.
Research show that distillers grains contain yeast by-products that stimulate rumen cellulose digestion, which results in acetate formation, thereby increasing butterfat.
Breed for high butterfat as well as high milk production.
When selecting breeding stock, if you select for high milk production alone, don’t pay attention to butterfat levels, you will gradually see decreased butterfat from one generation to the next..
(Smith, 485)
Link: Variations in Milk Fat Composition: Why do my milk processorand DHIA tests not always agree? http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/newsletter/pub__4960713.htm
Choosing a Buck
by Sue Huston
There are those that say a buck is 50% of the herd, but there are others that believe that the buck gives more than 50%. Either way that buck should be chosen with great care.
To begin, look at his dam to see what her general conformation is and especially look at her udder. Does she have a good udder attachment? Is her rear udder held high keeping the udder out of harms way? Does her fore udder blend smoothly from the udder to the belly? Does she milk well and does she milk easily.
When choosing a buck look at his general conformation that he is level across the top and that he does not have a sloping rump. The Kinder goat is a dual purpose goat so the buck needs to carry fleshing in this front end, neck and shoulder area. Take a good look at the rear of the animal. His hind legs need to be spaced far apart with good angulation to those hind legs. That scrotal attachment needs to be high and tight, the scrotal should be even and not loop sided.
The feet and legs of the buck should be strong making sure that he is not weak in his pasterns. The toes should be close together so as not to toe out. If buying a mature buck make sure he is not over the breed standard which is 28 inches. You do not want a buck with very long legs like those of the dairy animals but you want an animal that has shorter legs that will give you the dual purpose Kinder.
Remember that there are very few male Kinder that should be used as a herd sire. Take time and look closely at the buck that you are going to buy to improve your herd. Buy the best that you can afford and buy from a reputable breeder.
(Watch for upcoming articles that discuss and illustrate each of the conformational qualities discussed in this article!)
Disclaimer: The opinions, views, and thoughts expressed by newsletter and blog contributors do not necessarily reflect those of the Kinder® Goat Breeders Association. Goat husbandry advice found in the newsletter and blog is not meant to substitute a valid veterinary relationship. Please request permission to share or reprint newsletter and blog posts.