# What type of Goat is this.



## Stephen (Jan 20, 2009)

Was told it was a Saanaen, however I have 2 and the horns dont match, so I figure he is a cross with ?. However in looking over the inet, I am wondering if its a Spanish breed. The guy we got it from, (rescued like) says its 3yrs +. Any idea's thanks.


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## 5th_overture (Apr 2, 2011)

Looks Saanen to me. Of course, ours has different horns, as you could see on my avatar. Do some research on the breed, specifically on their horns, since they don't seem to "match" with your other goat's horns.


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## Blueroan (Mar 6, 2010)

Kiko ?


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## Jake Levi (Jun 9, 2011)

The horns are very Kiko, or Spanish, or a cross of them. 

How big is he? And where did he come from? My guess without seeing much size is Spanish.


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## feederseaters (Nov 8, 2009)

I agree, that goat looks like it has some Kiko to him.
You could always do the genetics test if you have good purpose to. 

Kiko's were bred originally from Saanens so if he is a Kiko X saanen, he would look very much like your goat there.


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## Rex (Nov 30, 2008)

Definately some sort of meat breed in there. I can also tell you he was castrated late by looking at the mass of the horns.


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## Bwana Ken (May 9, 2011)

Could someone post a couple of photos of a mature Saanen wether with horns? Believe it or not I can't seem to find a decent photo on Google (type in "Saanen" and you get plenty of photos, but 99% are de-horned goats).

My four boys are only 8 months old but already have some decent horn growth. I'm curious to know what they'll look like by the time they're 3 or 4 years old (BTW, they were castrated at 5 mo, if that makes a difference).


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## imported_ashley (Jun 9, 2011)

Rex said:


> Definately some sort of meat breed in there. I can also tell you he was castrated late by looking at the mass of the horns.


How does horn growth and castration time correlate?


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## feederseaters (Nov 8, 2009)

Rex said:


> Definately some sort of meat breed in there. I can also tell you he was castrated late by looking at the mass of the horns.


Hmmm, good observation Rex. I do think that there are exceptions to that logic though. I have an alpine wether that I castrated (in my opinion too young) at 3 days old. His horn base and mass is at least 2x the size of my other goats. Deffinately an exception to the rule. You are right that most times the horn size is a good indication of how old the goat was when castrated, but my boy would deceive even the text books.


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## feederseaters (Nov 8, 2009)

[quote="ashley

How does horn growth and castration time correlate?[/quote]

Ashley, 
Testosterone is a major factor in horn growth, thus the longer the goat is intact the longer he has to grow his horns bigger and faster. Once you castrate him, you reduce the amount of testosterone he is producing and you slow down his horn growth.

If you look at a year old buck to a year old wether, you will get a better idea of what Rex was suggesting. Most wethers have thin or skinny horn bases in the first few years. A buck will have 2x the base width at the same age. Hope my answer was helpful.


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## Stephen (Jan 20, 2009)

Thanks for the help,

I was thinking about a Spanish X mix based on what I have found Picture wise, however they were hunting photo's of Spanish goats...horns seemed to match.

Where did he come from?
Well a friend answered a radio/tradio add to Save goats from a fellow who was tired of them, he wanted to sell his gear, so she contacted me about the used gear. I eventually purchased the gear, and the goats he gave for free, we just had to drive a few hours up a mountain in the area to get them. I took the boys, my friend took the gal goats.

So there we go, now working on their health and etc over this winter and hope to go packing in the spring. Nice goats, they were mistreated some, as the fellow thought they were dumb or if they didnt do what he asked he would hit them with a stick or a swift kick in butt / head via his own statement on how to deal with these goats. Sadly sounds like he shot 2 other goats for ? before we got there, for a hippie type dude I don't get his philosophy on how he treated the goats.Sad... 
Happy to report most are doing well, my kids / self work with them with kindness and they are just good goats. The Saanaen/Spanish is shy = I am a man, man has hurt in past, so slowly he is coming around as he sees we mean no harm @ our place. ( I think they do miss the mountain life some though) They have packed in the past, and I feel animals will be just fine if you treat them with love & of course one must be stern at times like Kids / Teens (lol) life is an adventure, so we continue.

His Height (if I did it right-learning measuring) is 32inches @ top of shoulder blade, Girth 40, length 39. 
Was told he is 3 yrs old, but I wonder if he is older.

Will add a photo of one of the Saanaen's mature I have. This fellow I got a few years ago with his 1/2 brother I think they should be about 6-7yr old based on what I was told on this one.


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## Jake Levi (Jun 9, 2011)

Hi Stephen

from what you said I have to go with Spanish, I dont picture a guy like that paying the money for Kikos and not wanting it back out of them, Kikos are still pricier then Spanish goats.


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## Rex (Nov 30, 2008)

feederseaters said:


> Rex said:
> 
> 
> > Definately some sort of meat breed in there. I can also tell you he was castrated late by looking at the mass of the horns.
> ...


We have done several side by side comparisons on different kids and even twin brothers to see the effects of horn size relating to the castration date but I have never seen heavy horn mass on an early castrated goat. I'd love to see a picture!


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## feederseaters (Nov 8, 2009)

[quote="Rex We have done several side by side comparisons on different kids and even twin brothers to see the effects of horn size relating to the castration date but I have never seen heavy horn mass on an early castrated goat. I'd love to see a picture![/quote]

Ok, Ask and Ye shall recieve. I didn't go take pictures but I found some existing ones that should give the right angles to give you a good idea. Just to recap; Oats my goat has bigger horn mass than my other goats who were ALL castrated by me at just a few days old. Oats is actually YOUNGER by about a month then the other two goats I am posting pictures of. But all of them were castrated at three day's old (yes, I know....too early).
Tell me what you think. All of these pics were taken within the past two months.

First is a pic of Oats.
[attachment=3:2h3bo9s1]Oats on kearsarge.jpg[/attachment:2h3bo9s1]

Next a profile of Oats
[attachment=2:2h3bo9s1]Oats Profile.jpg[/attachment:2h3bo9s1]

Now a picture of Acorn who is OLDER than Oats and castrated young.
[attachment=1:2h3bo9s1]Protesting Goats 10-15-11 018.jpg[/attachment:2h3bo9s1]

And Birch who is Also Older than Oats and castrated young.
[attachment=0:2h3bo9s1]Protesting Goats 10-15-11 094.jpg[/attachment:2h3bo9s1]


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## Rex (Nov 30, 2008)

Thanks for the pictures Jessica. Your guy has good mass but still not on par with a late castrated buck. If you notice in the original picture you'll see a heavy ridge on the front of the horn that nearly touches the other horn at the base. That is indicitave of a late castration. Your guy has mass but is lacking the heavier ridge and mass at the base that we have noticed in late castrations.


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