# Tell me about Kikos vs Boers



## minibarn (Jul 20, 2010)

I run a small commercial Boer herd. Recently I've been researching Kikos and considering adding a few to the Boer herd. 
Are kikos really that much hardier/ parasite resistant / less hoof work needed than Boers?
What's their temperament like? are they flighty fence jumpers?
How are their weight gains, with or without added grain?
Tell what you know about them!


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## spidy1 (Jan 9, 2014)

The 1 I had was no different than a Alpine dairy goat with horns, about the same temperament, he was docile and sweet, good with everybody, but would destroy his pen, he was my buck for a wile...


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

99% of mine were bat crap crazy! I sold all but one of them and even then she's not sweet she's just more easy to corner and get my hands on her lol I had one knock me loopy one night when she kidded in the cold and I tried moving them into shelter. I am not a fan of their personality at all. Kids are born pretty out going though (crossed with boer) and grew pretty decent just never got the bulky blocky look like boers do. The hoofs, I mean they were not bad but I don't see how they are much better then my good boers, but feet are something I do cull over. A lot of people swear by them, for me and my set up they are not for me. I need calm easy to gather goats, and I don't mind being a little testy when they kid but not try and kill me. I'm by myself most of the time and the other part of the time I have two small kids. I think if they were in smaller pens where I could have more 1 on 1 time and a smaller area to catch them I would have MIGHT been more happy with them


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## minibarn (Jul 20, 2010)

Jessica84 said:


> 99% of mine were bat crap crazy!


That's really not what I was hoping to hear!onder:


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

I don't have a lot of experience to offer but here is my limited view: I have 3 kiko mix does in my herd (a 50% boer/50% kiko, and two 75% kiko/25% Savanna). All dam raised, all purchased around 5 months of age from different places, and only 1 has become completely hand tame. That is not uncommon for the boers in my herd either, I don't spend a bunch of time force taming them, either they have the temperament when they mature or not. I do not see any grand improvement in the 3 kiko crosses over my 15 or so other boer does (some registered fullbloods, some commercial.) However, I already cull heavily for being prone to parasites and bad feet so they all get hoof trimming approx. twice per year and deworming tends to be necessary approximately twice per year. 

Only 1 of the Savannah crosses has kidded so far in my herd and she was a great mom and not aggressive towards me at all but protective and VERY aware of her kids. More anxious about her kids than some of my boer does. None of the three kikos are completely crazy and I catch them for hoof trimming with a bit of chasing/effort. They don't vault over the 4 foot fences when I catch them.


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## IHEARTGOATS (Jun 14, 2016)

A friend of ours earned her PHD in Animal Science at NC State University. She worked at the meat goat unit as a pasture and parasite specialist.

They brought in a Kiko buck to try to help with parasites, and he ended up wormy and dead. He seemed less resistant, and they had some very drug resistant worms on that property.

In her opinion the reason that Kikos are considered parasite resistant is that the do not have the history or the numbers here that Boers do. Most are on small farms. They just haven't been exposed to the as many parasites at this point.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

Ok with salteys comment of jumping fences, they never did that. I have a fairly large pen and MOST of my goats all I have to do is yell and they come to the catch pen. I have ones that I go out with a whip and crack it and they line up and go. Those kikos it was like ring around the Rosie. We would go around and around and never threw the dang gate even though the rest were in there! I do have to say I liked them way more then sticking Spanish goats. Now those are down right not even domestic I swear. Really I don't like to discourage people on things especially with the small handful I have had. I say if it's something you want to try try it. You'll never know unless you try. I would get a few at a decent price (if you can find it) that way if they are not for you you can turn around and get your money back, because there are people who really do swear by the breed. I just simply decided I'm not tough enough for them lol I like mine where they come to grain and I can get my hands on them with little effort, not all my goats are tame. And I don't like being attacked, or if one gets puffy at me a smack makes them back off not just make them madder where I have to use my flashlight as a weapon to get away from them lol


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## Cedar Point Kikos (Oct 16, 2013)

I've had Kikos since 2012 and love them! I've also had Alpines, Boers, Saanen X, Nubian X, and now a PB Nubian and ND's.

All my Kiko bucks are VERY easy going, easy to handle, etc. (Current one is very polite and sweet  )
Of the does I've had so far, only 1 is flighty. But her doeling this year is the sweetest thing.

All the Kikos I have purchased came to me wild. Couldn't go near them, freaked out of we tried catching them.

But they've all come around very well. Even my flighty one - I consider her flighty - but I can catch her with little trouble and she comes when called. My 8 month old ND doeling jumps fences my Kiko does & doelings won't jump!
My Kiko does are super sweet, very easy going, they don't jump fences, come when called, know their names.

My Kikos bucks and been a dream compared to the dairy bucks I have had! Respectful of people, easy to handle, good with kids (goat kids  ) and polite. Now, it does matter how poeple treat bucks as to how they turn out...just puttin' that out there  

I trim hooves twice a year, once in the spring before they go out on pasture and once in the fall before they go into their winter pens. We have soft ground here, so I'm guessing places with harder ground/rocks/ concrete could go with less.

Deworming...I deworm herbally and rotationally graze my herd. They are rarely on the same patch of ground in a year.
I dewormed my whole herd in June, mostly because I had brought in several new goats. I again dewormed with essential oils at the full moon of this month. Mostly to try them out (I really wanted to see how the goats would take them and how they worked!) but most of my Kikos didn't really need it. My ND's and Nubian did. And they are in the same herd as my Kikos. Same management.

I'm happy with my weight gains of most of my kids on what I feed them. Some don't do so well, other do good. I can't say how they do on grain, but my guess is that if they do well on forage only, they'll do amazing on grain.

It's HUGE to get foundation stock from reputable breeders who track weight gains, deworming, etc. I will be honest, the first Kiko buck and doe I had were VERY disappointing. But I did not purchase them from a breeder dedicated to the breed. Those folks leaned more toward the meat market and didn't really concern themselves with improving the breed. That's fine, but not the place to get foundation stock.
People who just have Kikos and sell them as 'fast weight gains, hardy, etc' without ever recording how their Kikos perform, don't know if what they're selling is actually that. A Kiko isn't a Kiko is a Kiko. It's what the breeder puts into them, selects for, and how they manage their herd is what will make or break the breed.

Anyone can raise a Kiko. But not everyone can make a great Kiko. It's the same with all breeds, I'm sure a lot of you can attest to that  

Two breeders I would recommend is Crazy Creek Kikos in Alberta and Northern Kiko Genetics in Quebec.


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## Wild Hearts Ranch (Dec 26, 2011)

Quality and traits in Kikos will vary widely because they are essentially still mutts, and haven't been standardized. The breed in general is hardier because they come from feral stock that died if they weren't tough, but individual breeders can either strengthen those traits or eliminate them based on their breeding choices. Kikos from reputable breeders with clear goals have been excelling on low input performance tests. Having had a number of them from different bloodlines I've found I prefer them crossed with Boer for my herd; I like a stockier build and I'm willing to do a little more care than the large breeders who can run them loose on large acreage.


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## minibarn (Jul 20, 2010)

Thank you all for the comments! You've given me lots to think about. Thanks Megan for the recommendation on good breeders. I wish they were closer to me so I could go see their herds. It would scare me a little to just get an animal shipped to me without seeing it in person. Thanks for all the info!


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## heidivand (Aug 17, 2015)

I just added some Spanish into my herd of commercial boers because I heard they were hardier. Don't have any input because I haven't had them long but It's another breed to research maybe. It will be my first year kidding them so I will let you know how that goes!


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## Wild Hearts Ranch (Dec 26, 2011)

I know one breeder in Oregon who has Spanish. They're basically a landrace breed, small and tough.


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## heidivand (Aug 17, 2015)

I told you I would let you know how it goes with my Spanish. So far I find them hardy I bought some weanling does I did cull through them pretty hard but the 5 I kept I am really happy with them. Fairly low maintenance so far. The Spanish does I have kidded out this year I am also happy with. first time mom had twins I came out and she had them both cleaned off and nursing. It seems to me like the instinct is there. My kikos are similar though never had a problem with them being bad moms. Boers on the other hand some are great some are terrible. Did you decide to get some kikos? If so are you happy with your decision?


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## minibarn (Jul 20, 2010)

Thanks for the update on your spanish does! Sounds like they're doing great for you! 
And yes I got some percentage kikos last fall! I'm happy with them so far. Here's a link to my post about them http://www.thegoatspot.net/forum/f193/my-kiko-girls-189720/
I ran them with my polled black-dapple-head Boer for about a month and it's looking like most of them are pregnant for mid-may.
I plan to keep most of their doelings for my breeding herd. Hoping for lots of polled doelings! I also got a young kiko buckling recently that I will use on them next season. I'm really liking the breed so far!


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## heidivand (Aug 17, 2015)

Beautiful! What a gorgeous group of does I'm excited to see how they kid out! Keep us all posted


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