Kinder Goat Breeders Association

KGBA

Breed Spotlight

Kinder® Goats

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Are you measuring your Kinder goats? Are you measuring them at withers? In general Kinder goats are getting too tall and are losing their dual purpose status. Below is what Harvey Considine says about shorter and longer legged Kinder. Harvey formulated a scorecard specifically for our Kinder breed. If we are to breed a dual purpose goat then we need to follow this scorecard. By breeding taller we are losing the meat aspect of our Kinder goat and this is not good. Because of this many of the Kinder that we are seeing are just a smaller version of a dairy breed that have lost all the meat qualities. The picture below shows a yearling Kinder doe that is the right height and carries some fleshing.

Following is an excerpt from an article by Harvey Considine done for the Dairy Goat Journal in February of 1994.

SCORECARD for  the Dual Purpose Goat

To promote this aspect of the Kinder required that more attention be paid to the general appearance, hence the allowance of a full 40 points to that category. Since they are ‘mid-sized goat, “the maximum wither heights of 26 inches for mature does (and 28 inches for mature bucks) will tend to keep them a little shorter legged and this is good. Shorter legged animals tend to be easier to maintain in good flesh than longer legged animals.

BPK Roma

That First Kinder®

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Buying a Good Kinder® Goat

There is more to buying a good Kinder goat than just looking at good conformation, good udders, good milk production and a good meat carcass.

You want to look at the health of the animal too. You don’t want a Kinder that needs all kinds of medications to keep it well. You don’t want an animal that does not deliver kids easily. You do want a Kinder that is an easy keeper that does not take lots of extra feed to produce a good supply of milk and provide a good meat carcass. You want an animal that has some resistance to internal parasites so you are not giving it chemical wormers on a regular basis. All these things are just as, are possibly more, important than the outward appearance of the animal.

If it takes all kinds of medications to keep the animal healthy then I would not want to drink the milk nor eat the meat of a Kinder that has been loaded with all these chemicals. If you are buying your first Kinder goat then the questions ask should include the ones regarding the health of the animal and what medications has the seller be using.

When buying that Kinder goat just remember to look and ask about CAE, CL and about all the medications that this animal has been given. Always ask about the ease of kidding in older does and in the dam of younger doelings.

Buy the best animal possible and ask questions. Look at the animal’s dam and sire if possible. Make sure this is truly a dual purpose animal and not just a shorter version of a dairy goat. A true Kinder produces milk and meat. Rub your hands over the animal to make sure there are no lumps that might be a sign of CL. Ask for CAE testing results.

You want a Kinder that has good conformation, good udder, good meat carcass and one that is healthy and has not been filled with all kinds of medications. You want an animal that is CL and CAE free. Do your homework and ask questions. You and your goats will be happier if you do.

Use your registration papers as a breeding tool.

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MVC-001SThis is Oreo. Oreo’s great grand sire on his dam’s side is a brother to Bramble Patch Kinder E Lee

Sue's Roma

This is Reba’s Roma

Roma’s grand sire on her dam side is Bramble Patch Kinder Apple Jack who is the son of Bramble Patch Kinder E Lee.

 

I am using the buck above on this doe because he comes from my lines. By using your registrations you can do the same.

Beauty Mountain Reba’s sire was Bramble Patch Kinder Apple Jack and his dam was Bramble Patch Kinder E Lee. Reba and E Lee have both evaluated as excellent. Their lines have good udders and milk.

Oreo’s sire evaluated as excellent at around 1 year of age. Oreo’s grand sire and dam on his sire’s side both have evaluated as excellent and there is milk on both sides. His great grand sire on his dam’s side is Bramble Patch Kinder Ebony’s Black Pepper. Black Pepper’s dam (BPK Ebony) made her star in a 1 day milk test where she tested 12 pounds ( this is about 1 and 1/2 gallons) Black Pepper is a brother to Bramble Patch Kinder E Lee.

Yes, this is line breeding. If you want to have consistency in your herd then you must bring the good qualities back into your herd all the time. If you consistently out cross you will wash away all the good qualities in a very short time. In order to keep those good qualities take a look at your registrations to find the animals with the good conformation and milking ability, then look at others herds that have these same animals in their lines,  then join their lines with yours. By doing this you will  hopefully be keeping all those good qualities in your herd.

Concord is the sire of E Lee and E Lee is in the lines of Theo Van Goat, Oreo and Reba’s Roma.