# My experiences with purebred Kikos



## KikoPacker (Jul 23, 2011)

I see there are a lot of questions on this forum regarding Kikos. As a longtime breeder, having seen thousands of these animals over the years, and also having packed a few, here are a few points:

1) The breed was created in the 1970s and 1980s in New Zealand by crossing small, hardy, feral does with large dairy bucks, primarily Saanen. They are still very "dairy" when compared with Boer. So... the Kiko is by its very nature a dairy cross animal. There is no need to cross again with dairy. More on history here http://lookoutpointranch.com/webpages/history.html

2) White is the most common color, although mine have a lot of color.

3) There are essentially no 4-teated animals in the breed - that is a Boer trait.

4) This is a young breed, and traits are not fixed. There is a LOT of variability in the breed still. There is no standard look, nor stature.

5) That said, most animals are not short, nor small. I have had bucks over 38 inches and over 300 pounds by three years old. Most fully mature wethers are 225-250 pounds. In my operation I intentionally stress the animals with reduced nutrition and parasites, so growth is less than it would be if worming were done, and if grain and hay were fed. If you really put the feed to Kikos they can grow quite large and tall. They are not "stocky" like the Boers

6) The original purpose of the breed is to produce large meat kids on low quality ground, with minimal inputs. Consequently they are very hardy. I range my animals year round with no barns, they get no feed from me, they are never wormed, nor are their feet trimmed. They endure several feet of rain in near freezing temperatures, waterlogged clay soils, and severe parasite challenges. It is hard to kill a Kiko....and it is for this reason that the breed is displacing the Boer as the production meat animal. They can generally be run with cattle with no special provisions made.

7) When my kids were younger, I packed a few Kiko wethers, along with a Saanen and an Alpine. They were just randomly pulled from my meat herd, and were out of smallish does. They were all three bigger than either the Alpine or Saanen, had a similar build to the Saanen, but stockier than the Alpine. Very at home in the woods, easy keepers, sturdy in the legs, and 2 of the 3 were pretty smart. I would have liked to try bottle babies...but of course I have no patience for doing that!

So if you're wondering about Kiko, try them, I think you would be pleasantly surprised. They're a great choice for people who want improved hardiness...


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## Jake Levi (Jun 9, 2011)

Hi Kikopacker ! 

Welcome to the forum ! 

Your post is what I am finding out, time will tell. But the more that I read on them the more interested I am.

I was able to get a 1/2 Boer 1/2 Kiko doeling and will be raising her out with my other youngsters, one Saanen yearling doe and a yearling Alpine doe, I also have 2 Alpine/Saanen wethers. And a 1/2 Boer 1/2 Alpine bucking. 
I had a smallish Alpine doe and traded her. 

So the little Kiko cross doe will be watched very closely to see how she compares. She looks like a very meaty Alpine cross . The Boer cross buckling also looks Alpine in his coloring, the splash black and white. 

I am hoping in the spring to add a more Kiko bred buck if I find one. I plan to spend the winter in NE Wa, about an hour north of Spokane. Parasite resistance and hardiness is a must for where I am going to be. 

Where are you located ? OR ??


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## KikoPacker (Jul 23, 2011)

I'm in Oregon, about 20 miles SE of Eugene. This is my farm page http://lookoutpointranch.com/

I have about 100 does kidding in April each year


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## Jake Levi (Jun 9, 2011)

Its a very interesting site, I was looking at your stock on the site, some impressive bucks, and does. I am in the process of moving to NE Wa to do a lot more goat packing, your buck Shreadear (sp?) is very impressive for that. I like his frame.


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## KikoPacker (Jul 23, 2011)

Shreddear is from a family line of very tall, rangy animals. His mother's full brothers topped out at 39-40 inches and over 300#, they were grained occasionally in their first 2 year - but Shreddear wasn't. SO he's a lot smaller than he would be if he'd been fed. I might breed him to some of my does this fall that are from that same line, if I do that it will produce some animals well built for packing. Let me know if you are interested in getting buck kids from that cross....it would be an incentive for me to use Shreddear this fall (I was planning to have him sit this season out)


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