Search Results for: meat

Carlie Easterday

Hi, my name is Carlie Easterday. I’m 15 years old and live in Southington, OH. I am a 4-H member and show my Kinder goats at the Trumbull County Fair. Even though I have been in 4-H for 6 years, I just got my two Kinder goats a little over a year ago.

I had previously raised Kiko and Boer goats for my 4-H market projects but I wanted to get a goat project that was a little smaller. I eventually want to make cheese and soaps with the milk from my goats.

My most exciting memory with my goats was when I purchased them. They rode home with me in the back seat of my dad’s truck, which was fun. My Kinder goat mentor has been my 4-H advisor, Denise Rowe.

My favorite thing about Kinder goats is their medium size, which makes them easier to handle than my Kiko & Boer goats. I would like to improve my herd by breeding my does with registered kinder bucks that have produced good kids.

I don’t if will continue kinder goats as an adult; it will depend on where I live and what I do. The advice I would give to another youth thinking about raising Kinder goats is “Go for it!” They make nice goats—companions, meat, and dairy.

Linebreeding Case Study: Bramble Patch Kinders

February 5, 2021 by Kinder Goat Breeders Association

1) What are your particular breeding goals for your herd, beyond a healthy herd that reflects the Kinder Breed Standard?

My purpose for breeding the Kinder goat was to breed a goat of good conformation and good udders and udder attachments that would also produce a good meat carcass.

2) What do you see as the general pros and cons of linebreeding?

I do not see any negatives. Linebreeding and inbreeding are the same with all animals, BUT there is one big difference with breeding Kinders. Here you are outcrossing two different breeds. When breeding a Pygmy and Nubian, you are breeding 50/50, and that will never change no matter the number of breedings, so how are you going to find any consistency here? It is simply the matter of trying to fool mother nature, of finding the good traits and determining where these good traits come from, then repeating the genetics of that goat over and over again in your lines. Looking for those good Nubian lines will probably be much easier than looking for good lines of the Pygmy. My first breeding for Kinders was strictly a shot in the dark, so to speak, because I did not know the genetics of that first Pygmy, but later I did much research and knew that I needed to go with a Pygmy that came from good milking lines and a breeder that was interested in good udders or a breeder that was interested in show wins. I did both! Alice Hall’s Pygmy lines were the ones that I searched for in my second Pygmy buck. I tried to use as many of the Gasconade Nubian lines that I could find because they are the more meaty of the Nubians. Harvey suggested this in his first evaluation here. Evaluations, this practice is the key to good breeding.

3) Please offer an example of a linebreeding you have chosen to do.

I will show E Lee for my example.

4) What was your reasoning behind this particular match?

Wanting to keep the Ruppel genetics strong in my lines. She evaluated as excellent! She had a good udder and milked well and her body conformation was very good. Her teat size made her easy to milk, which is very important in a Kinder. Concord also evaluated as excellent.

5) How did the offspring turn out? Did you get what you wanted?

Yes! I can see her all down the lines. Concord is her sire and her grandsire, and he comes from milking lines, and these lines have continued in my herd.

6) What traits will lead you to decide to cull an animal, and how does linebreeding affect your willingness to cull?

You must cull no matter the breeding – linebreeding, inbreeding or crossbreeding. No one is going to breed perfect animals, so those less perfect need to be culled, and this is where evaluations really are important. All breeders are barn blind, thinking all their animals are just wonderful. This is where an experienced person that has been schooled along these lines is needed to help evaluate what is good and what is bad in each animal. There are lots of long-time breeders that can help guide us, but it takes that trained individual to really see those positives and negatives in our herd. Most judges are good evaluators, but most judges that we see today do not understand the dual-purpose animal. There are many breeders out there that only want to breed the animal that suits them and not the animal that fits our scorecard and breed standard, and there are many judges that do not understand our dual-purpose goat, either.

7) How do you personally balance linebreeding with outcrossing and at what point do you decide to outcross?

After I got started, I outcrossed only with animals that I knew what their good traits were.

8) If you are also buying or breeding first gens, what are your strategies for introducing terrific new genetics that don’t derail the traits you have linebred to achieve?

I have very seldom ever outcrossed. When I did, it was usually from my breeding, where I knew both the Pygmy side and Nubian side. I always look for some of my genetics in an animal that I am going to buy. Those genetics may be back four generations, but I almost always make sure some are there. This is what makes having our database showing each of our Kinder goats genetics so very important. We can see all their bloodlines for generations back. May I end by saying that these are only my thoughts and how I bred Kinders. I am not schooled in genetics; however, I think genetics would be most fascinating to learn. Harvey Considine’s evaluations and linebreeding were my main tools for breeding the Kinder goat.

By Sue Huston

Goat Polio

January 8, 2021 by Kinder Goat Breeders Association

Polioencephalomalacia
More commonly called “goat polio” or simply “thiamine deficiency,” polioencephalomalacia is a neurological disease characterized by brain swelling and tissue death – the word literally means “softening of the brain.” Ruminants harbor beneficial bacteria and protozoa that produce Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) and Vitamin B1 (thiamine) under normal environmental conditions. If this production is interrupted, thiamine deficiency can occur. To put it simply, the rumen must be kept happy to produce thiamine; thiamine is necessary for proper nerve conduction, and neurological signs present when thiamine is lacking.
Pre-ruminant goat kids rely on dietary thiamine – goat milk and colostrum contains B vitamins. Low-quality colostrums or milk replacers or whole milk recipes lack the essential B vitamins for optimal kid health. Many factors can contribute to reduced or cessation of normal thiamine production in ruminants.

Dietary Causes

Dietary causes include too much grain and not enough roughage, consumption of moldy feedstuffs, diets high in sulfur, cobalt-deficient diets, or consuming certain toxic plants – such as bracken ferns.

Sudden changes in the diet, especially increased or excessive grain consumption, can decrease the PH in the rumen and disturb the thiamine production of the microorganisms there. Excessive grain rations or moldy feedstuffs can be problematic because each contains certain enzymes that produce thiaminases. Thiaminases inactivate or degrade thiamine molecules, leaving the goat thiamine-deficient. Bracken ferns – while toxicity symptoms vary widely based on dose, duration, and species of affected animals – contain thiaminases, and thiamine deficiency has been noted in sheep grazing on the plants in Australia.

Diets high in sulfur – foodstuffs or water or a combination of the two – can also lead to thiamine deficiency. According to “Digestive System and Nutrient Needs of Meat Goats” by Purdue Extension, “Sulfur produces thiamine-like compounds called analogs that decrease the absorption of thiamine in the rumen.” There are many possible sources of excessive sulfur, including: water sources, alfalfa, cruciferous plants, distillers grains, and corn, sugar beet, and sugar cane byproducts. According to Goat Medicine by Mary C. Smith and David M. Sherman, “Extrapolating from recommendations based on cattle and sheep, the maximum total dietary sulfur in high concentrate diets is 0.30% and 0.05% if the diet consists of at least 40% forage. Drinking water should contain less that 600mg/L sulfate/L for high concentrate diets, whereas 2,500 mg sulfate/L is acceptable with higher forage intake (NRC 2005.)” Generally speaking, sulfur should not exceed 0.3% total diet dry matter.

Cobalt-deficient diets are also precursors to goat polio. The trace mineral is essential for the microorganisms to manufacture and utilize Vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 is essential to maintain nervous system integrity and promote red blood cell synthesis. Certain areas in the U.S. are known to cobalt-deficient – a map can be found at http://www2.luresext.edu/goats/training/nutrition.html. Sandy soils and alkaline soils are more likely to be cobalt-deficient. Though not much research has been conducted on goats specifically, it has been established that goats require a very small amount of cobalt and are less sensitive to cobalt deficiencies than sheep. Sufficient daily cobalt intake is between 0.1ppm and 0.3ppm. Toxicity can occur at 10ppm.

Additional Causes

Infectious and parasitic diseases increase thiamine requirements and can lead to goat polio if those requirements are not met. Since antibiotics do not distinguish between beneficial or harmful organisms, antibiotics can diminish the beneficial gut flora responsible for thiamine production.

Amprolium – the active ingredient in some coccidiostats such as CORID® – works by blocking thiamine uptake of certain coccidian protozoa that require more than the host. Misuse or long-term use can result in thiamine deficiency in the goat, especially if the goat experienced dietary thiamine deficiencies already.

Symptoms of Goat Polio

Off feed/water
Disorientation
Staggering
Circling
Stargazing
Convulsions
Involuntary eye movements
Temporary blindness
Sudden death

Note: Stargazing is characterized by the goat’s head thrown backwards due to rigid neck muscles. Temporary blindness may last as long as 2-3 weeks. Diarrhea, while not a neurological symptom, can present because the rumen is not functioning properly.

Treatment

Severe thiamine deficiency can possibly kill a goat in 24 hours to a few days if left untreated. Goats are more likely to die from poor rumen function or inability to eat. Correct treatment usually results in quick improvement. The only effective therapy is supplementing thiamine.

Very severe cases might require an intravenous treatment performed by a veterinarian. Fortified Vitamin B complex injections are more commonly used, and can be given subcutaneously or intramuscularly. The dosage will depend on the concentration of thiamine – for supplements containing 100mg of thiamine the common dosage is 1cc per 20lb. B Vitamins are water-soluble and excess is excreted through the urine.

Injections should be given every six hours as needed. Taper off treatments gradually, lengthening time between injections, to monitor for potential relapse. If the goat is truly experiencing goat polio, improvements can be seen in as little as minutes or hours. If no improvement is noticeable, consider consulting your vet about treating simultaneously for Listeriosis, which has very similar symptoms but is more common in adult animals. Read more about Listeriosis at Merck Veterinary Manual online.

By Kendra Shatswell

Sources

Article reviewed by Dr. Ken Brown DVM

“Animal Sciences Common Diseases and Health Problems in Sheep and Goats” – Purdue Extensions.

“Digestive System and Nutrient Needs of Meat Goats” – Purdue Extensions.

Articles.extension.org/pages/73364/goat-nutrition-cobalt.

Articles.extension.org/pages/19362/goat-nutrition-micronutrients.

https://www.dsm.com/markets/anh/en_US/Compendium/ruminants/thiamin.html

“Dietary Sulphur in Ruminant Diets” – Westway Feed Products

“Polioencephalomalacia (Goat Polio)” Alabama and Auburn Universities UNP-65 – Maria Leite-Browning, DVM, MS Extension Anima Scientist Alabama A&M University.

“Ramifications of Thiamine Deficiency” – Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, 2017.

https://www.merckvetmanual.com/

Goat Medicine Mary C. Smith and David M. Sherman.

Doe Chain

What is a Doe Chain?
If you are chosen you will receive a doe kid that has been generously donated from one of our member’s herds. You will also receive a one-year youth membership to the Kinder Goat Breeders Association. Once the doe is of breeding age and size she must be bred to a Kinder Buck. When your doe kids, you must donate a doe kid from this doe back to the Kinder Goat Breeders Association for this program. Once you pass on a doe kid to another youth, the doe chain is complete.

What does the youth do?

Supply proper housing
Take good care of your doe and make sure that she is kept in good condition. Make sure she has adequate nutrition, clean water, housing, and is kept up to date on vaccinations and deworming.
Spend some time with your goat each day.
Explore opportunities to show your goats through 4H, FFA or open shows.
Donate a registered doe kids back into this program.
Promote Kinder Goats when possible.

What does the breeder do?

KGBA breeders will supply a doe free from CAE, CL and Johne’s Disease. Youth members who return the donation must make sure their donated doe is also vet checked for these diseases.
Mentor the doe recipient and provide advice and training.
Ensure the doe recipient completes the doe chain record page.

What does the Kinder Goat Breeders Association do?

Provide a free one-year youth membership to the doe recipient.
Provide a free KGBA Youth Manual.
Help to facilitate paperwork for the doe chain
Work to match breeders and youth for the doe chain.
Mediate any disagreements

We hope you consider applying for the Kinder Goat Breeders Association Doe Chain. Kinder Goats can provide you with milk, value added products like soap and fudge, and meat. Plus, it can be the beginning of a lifetime love of goats.

Forms for Doe Chain

Doe Chain Application
Doe Chain Record

A Breeder’s Toolbox: Crossbreeding, Outcrossing, Linebreeding, Inbreeding

December 18, 2020 by Kinder Goat Breeders Association

When Kinders are born and bred on our property, we become Kinder breeders. That project is exciting and endlessly interesting! Most of us keep in mind how breeding strategies can help us achieve our goals not only in our own herds but also on behalf of the Kinder breed as a whole. There is a place for different approaches at different times and even on the same farm.

Pygmy breeder Maxine Kinne reminds us of a vital point that holds regardless of the approach we choose, “A cardinal rule of selective breeding is that two goats with the same fault are never mated.” Instead, breed a goat that is weak in one area with another that is correct in that area. For instance, breed a doe with a weak chine to a buck with a level topline. Keep in mind a mental picture of the kind of Kinder you are breeding to achieve, adding animals to your herd that help you to achieve that goal.

As you work toward the herd you want to see, you have several options by way of breeding strategies and may well decide to utilize more than one strategy in your breeding program. What follows is a nontechnical discussion of these. In case you want to take a deeper dive into how genetics work, plunge into the list of helpful resources that follows this article.

Crossbreeding First Gens

Crossbreeding refers to mating goats from two different breeds, with each individual carefully selected with goals for the resulting offspring in mind. The Kinder gene pool is still small, which is why the work that a number of Kinder breeders are doing in breeding first generation kids is so important. Carefully chosen Pygmy bucks and Nubian does can lead to some very promising first generation kids that grow up to produce some very nice second generation kids. Yet there is still likely to be more variability among the kids who are born than there will be among Kinders that have been thoughtfully paired over several generations. Occasional lanky kids may hearken back to their Nubian parent or grandparent, for instance, while others inherit a smaller Pygmy-type udder with less capacity rather than their dam’s or grand dam’s capacious Nubian udder. That said, enlarging the Kinder gene pool is critical work done on behalf of the future success of the breed. Here you can find more information on breeding first generation kids.

Outcrossing

Outcrossing is the term for breeding two animals (of the same breed) that do not share common ancestors for four or more generations back in their pedigrees. Because Kinders are a young breed, when we examine our Kinders’ pedigrees, we often find common ancestors, especially the farther back we look, because the gene pool was smaller. But for each generation we move backward, the amount of genetic material contributed by any one ancestor is halved. You, for example, have half your genetic material from each parent, 1/4 from each grandparent, 1/8 from each great grand parent, 1/16 from each great great grandparent, and so forth.

In an article originally published in Dairy Goat Journal, Alice Hall sums describes the outcomes of outcrossing:

If the breeder is working with heterozygous (relatively genetically diverse) parents, he might end up with any number of combinations in the kid. The results would be very unpredictable. This is what happens with outcrossing or cross-breeding. The kid would be a combination of all kinds of genes, only the dominant of which would show. The breeder would have no idea what recessive genes are masked in the genotype of the kid. A breeder can continue to keep the recessives masked and work with dominants as long as he continues to outcross, but he will continue to have unpredictable results unless he happens to hit on some lucky combinations of homozygous [relatively genetically similar] dominants.

Outcrossing, Maxine Kinne points out, works well when the dominant traits we see expressed in both parents are the desirable ones we are after. Outcrossing introduces more variability and less consistency but can be especially useful when linebreeding uncovers some undesirable recessive trait. For example, two very nice animals with straight hind legs are linebred and produce kids with cow hocks they do not grow out of. That is a breeding not to repeat because cow hocks are lurking in recessive genes of those parents. An outcrossing might mask that undesirable recessive trait. Outcrossing also aids in preventing or correcting inbreeding depression (a loss in vigor, fertility, or survivability) that can happen with linebreeding or inbreeding.

Haphazard outcrossing of a carefully developed line, on the other hand, can undo generations of progress; so it is important, when outcrossing, to ensure that the animals used for the outcrossing also exhibit most of the desirable traits breeders want to see in the offspring.

Linebreeding

Linebreeding is key to bringing out desirable traits that tend to be recessive, like improved toplines and level rumps. The focus of linebreeding is to create a line of goats that has sufficient genetics in common to cement their desirable traits, so that these traits are more consistently reflected in offspring, generation after generation. In lines where this is skillfully done, we may recognize the line when we spot that goat we would love to add to our herd.

When they choose to linebreed, breeders may pair half siblings or cousins, aunt and nephew, uncle and niece, grandfather and granddaughter, or grandmother and grandson, with the clear understanding that promising offspring will be added to the Kinder world, while kids with faults, deformities, or health issues will be culled, as in destined for the freezer. Effective linebreeding depends on culling as a key strategy, with only its successes added to the Kinder gene pool.

Successful linebreeding is always based on an outstanding individual or individuals (not just average descendents of those outstanding individuals). As Maxine Kinne points out, “Linebreeding average animals is counterproductive, as you are certain to fix mediocrity firmly in your herd.”

Inbreeding

Inbreeding is the most radical form of linebreeding. It can bring out recessive genes that are otherwise masked by the dominant ones that determine a goat’s physical appearance. Father/daughter, mother/son, or full siblings may be mated, but this should be done only with the understanding that inbreeding requires rigorous culling (meaning goats in the freezer). Breeder Alice Hall notes that the more successful close linebreedings are often those involving half siblings. The most risky are those involving full siblings.

Inbreeding is a daring experiment of sorts—recessive faults or even serious mutations or deformities may lurk as surely as desirable results do. On the other hand, remarkable individuals can also result, who leave their stamp on the breed. Whatever the results of the experiment, inbreeding reveals very useful information about what a physically outstanding individual really brings, good and/or bad, to the gene pool.

Strategies for Successful Linebreeding

Boar breeder Tom Boyer points out a number of ways that linebreeding efforts can go wrong (see his article referenced below). Here is an inverse of his list, indicating what you need to be willing to do in order to linebreed successfully:

Have a firm grasp of the Kinder Breed Standard and the kind of animal you are aiming to produce (in the case of Kinders, think about both meat traits and good udders, milk production, length of lactations, overall hardiness, parasite resistance, easy of kidding, etc.).
Keep detailed records that can help you make informed breeding decisions.
Obtain superior does and especially outstanding sire(s), even if you have to travel or spend more up front to get them.
Cull undesirable animals by stocking the freezer (and sell that reasonably nice doe you love if her daughter is better and you do not have room for both). (If you are selling animals, please make sure they go to good homes where they will be cared for properly.)
Retain some of the very best kids for your breeding program rather than selling them all, so that you are improving your herd generation by generation.

Which breeding strategy you choose at any given point in your breeding program will depend on your goals in each instance, but Boyer notes that the trouble and expense you undertake to implement a successful linebreeding program can pay off richly in terms of the quality of your herd.

As you make breeding decisions, keep in mind what we know about dominant and recessive traits and those that are otherwise more or less heritable.

Dominant	Recessive
Long ears	Short ears
Wattles	No wattles
Long hair	Short hair
Nervous behavior	Calm behavior
Descended Testicles	Cryptorchidism
Normal reproductive system	Hermaphroditism (does)
Straight hocks	Cow hocks
More Heritable	Less Heritable
Steep rumps	Level rumps
Weak chine	Level topline
Short stature	Tall stature
Posty hind legs	Ideal hind legs

Maxine Kinne has compiled a valuable chart on heritability percentages for a long list of traits at http://kinne.net/heritcht.htm.

For more information, especially on linebreeding and genetics, see resources below. We pair this general overview with two linebreeding Q&As and case studies, one with breeder Sue Huston and one with breeder Ashley Kennedy. We hope to follow up with another case study or two in our summer issue. There’s nothing like learning from the experience of others who are generous enough to share! Most important of all are the insights into how experienced and skillful breeders make breeding decisions.

Resources

Boyer, Tom. “Linebreeding vs. Inbreeding” (http://www.chalkcreekboers.com/Linebreeding.html
Getz, Will. “Genetic Improvement and Crossbreeding in Meat Goats
Lessons in Animal Breeding for Goats Bred and Raised for Meat” (http://www2.luresext.edu/goats/training/appendixI.html).
Hall, Alice. “Linebreeding, Inbreeding… What’s the Difference?” (http://static1.1.sqspcdn.com/static/f/378878/26602312/1444759258933/Alice+Hall+Linebreeding.pdf). Published by Dairy Goat Journal Online; previously published in Dairy Goat Guide, also found in Fundamentals of Improved Dairy Goat Management.
Kinne, Maxine. “Genetics 101: To B or Not to BB” (http://www.kinne.net/2bornotb.htm).
—— “The Heritability Percentage of a Number of Traits” (http://kinne.net/heritcht.htm).
—— “Selective Breeding for Herd Improvement” (http://kinne.net/matesys.htm).
Shoenian, Susan. “Genetics 101” (https://www.slideshare.net/SusanSchoenian/genetics-101-16142943).

By Elizabeth Sweet

Tyler Moff

My name is Tyler Moff and I am 18 years old. My hometown is Berlin Center, Ohio. I have shown in the Canfield Fair Junior Fair Kinder Goat Show for 7 years and the 2016 Northeast Ohio Kinder Goat Show. I have owned Kinder Goats my whole life, and my parents have owned and bred Kinder Goats for over 25 years at Rustic Acres Farm.

I got my start in Kinder Goats at the age of 12. I really did not have interest in the goats until there was a little black Kinder Goat kid born. Mom said she not been named yet, and on the condition that I would show her, I could name her. When I picked her up, I knew she was my goat and named her Honeydew. She was the start of my interest in the Kinder Goats. Currently, I have 5 kinder goats at Rustic Acres farm that I can call my own. Their names are Dorothy, Dezi, Amethyst, Athena, and Honeydew. Amethyst and Athena are both first generation Kinders. After I started with Honeydew, a local breeder brought 2 Registered Nubians to a clinic and I begged my mom to see if they were for sale. I was the owner of Ayres and Alexis by the end of the day. By the time Alexis was ready to breed, I decided to start my own first generation Kinders.

My favorite memories of working with my goats are the times I would work with them, so we could do well in showmanship. Soon we moved on to packing, which I enjoyed the most. I also have many great memories of just hanging out with my goats on our farm.

I have had many Kinder mentors. One of my special mentors is my mom. She taught me things about goats that I may have never learned otherwise. Both my dad and mom have been dedicated to continually improving the Kinder Goat as a breed, and the goats have truly become a part of our family. My favorite thing about Kinder Goats is their versatility. They have many purposes and are generally flexible when it comes to their benefits. I would like to improve my herd by continuing with the body structure and bone of my first generations and continue improving their qualities through 5^th generation. If I can keep the grey agouti tri-color all the way through, that would be a bonus. At Rustic Acres, my parents’ farm, we usually use kinder goats for milk, have also made cheese, ice cream, yogurt but if necessary we can use our kinder goats for meat.

I hope to own kinder goats as an adult, but it depends on where I end up living after college, and what I end up doing. If I had to give advice to youth thinking about raising kinder goats, I would advise them to find a goat from a breeder they can trust. Look for a goat that fits the breed characteristics, but that they also get along with. Spend plenty of time with their goat. If your goat learns to trust you, then it will perform well in a show ring, and will be friendly when you visit it in the barnyard. Then you can train it to perform in classes such as packing to add in more fun.