KIKO's..."Texas Long Horn of Goats"

[TOU]

Seems there is a great amount of interest in the Kiko's lately...I too have been checking them out the past year & even came close to acquiring one. Anyway in thinking about them I remembered this old post from Rifeman on the old forum:

Posted here now...

Kiko for packing
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Hello everyone, this is my first day on the forum, and I like what I'm seeing so far. I have a 100% pure Kiko that is a great packer. He's still growing, but I'm guessing he'll end up just a little over 200 pounds. He is extremely intelligent and very tough. He's gentle enough around people, but has fought off mountain lions on two occasions. The main reason I'd discourage most people from getting a Kiko as a pack goat is the wildness factor. The breed was essentially created as a feral breed, then rounded up and sorted out after years of surviving in the wild. On a scale of 1-10 for "wildness," if a typical alpine is a 1 or 2, a Kiko is a solid 11. You can train that out of them, but it does take some work.

Very interesting comments...there are others on the same thread that speak of them being gentle giants, makes me wonder a bit.

I still wonder about mixing one of them with an BIG Saanen doe and then next crossing to a BIGGER than average Ober or Alpine might make an awesome packer, no? Or maybe Kiko/Saanen to a Kiko/Alpine or a Kiko/Ober for an end result of a 50% Kiko but with more traits from the other two. It would be interesting. I look forward to watching the changes over the next few years with those experimenting with these in their breeding program.

BTW, I have spoken about breeding these with some PackGoat breeders that have thought about it...but the long horns put them off. Going hornless & it becomes a non-factor.

On that note, look at this big feral goat in the link below with monster horizontal horns, 40" per side. I'm guessing its related to the Kiko's if not a Kiko. (I'm guessing in Oz or New Zealand.) With 40" horns per side, he must be a horizontal total spread of near 90"! This is what concerns me about having one of these guys on a trail as they push past me on speedy decent, narrow trail & huge drop-offs. LOL

NOTE: I am not thrilled about this animals demise, please do not view if you have a problem with hunting...especially one of our favorite creatures. But it shows the horizontal "Texas Long Horn" aspects of these guys.


Feral Goat Hunt: "Texas Long Horn of Goats"

Regards,

TOU