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New Zealand Kikos
"The Kiko is a breed of meat goat from New Zealand. Kiko is the Mäori word for flesh or meat. The Kiko breed was created in the 1980's by Garrick and Anne Batten, who cross-bred local feral goats with imported dairy goat bucks of the Anglo-Nubian, Saanen, and Toggenburg breeds. The breeding aims were hardiness, fast growth, parasite resistance, and survivability with little input from the producer. The Kiko breed was imported into the US in 1992 by Goatex Group LLC. Today, there are three registries in the US for Kikos: the AKGA,the IKGA and the largest registry, the NKR. Kikos can be registered as: 100% New Zealand - those that can trace their lineage back to the original New Zealand stock, Purebreds - those animals that are at least 15/16ths New Zealand stock, and Percentage - those animals that are at least 50% New Zealand stock. Kikos-Boer crosses can also be registered as Genemaster™ with the NKR. The Kiko breed continues to grow in popularity particularly in the warm, wet US southern states where drug-resistant parasites have wreaked havoc on southern herds. The Kiko shows a natural parasite resistance that allows it to thrive in climates where other goats do not. The Kiko breed, coming from dairy background, is also proving valuable to southern dairy herds in providing parasite resistant dual purpose dairy and meat offspring." -Wiki |