Mountain Valley Cattle & Kiko Goat Ranch

Kiko Goat Operation

Andy and Hedwig, is in the process of expanded their ranch operation to having 300 Kiko Goats. The Kiko is a breed of meat goat from New Zealand.[1] Kiko is the Māori word for flesh or meat.[2] The Kiko breed was created in the 1980s 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.[3]

The Kiko breed was imported into the US in 1992 by Goatex Group LLC.[4] Today, three registries are in the US for Kikos: the AKGA, the IKGA, and the NKR (which is the largest of the three). Kikos can be registered as 100% New Zealand, meaning that their lineage can be traced all the way back to the original New Zealand stock.[5] "Purebreds" are animals that are at least 15/16ths New Zealand stock[5] and "percentages" are those that are at least 50% New Zealand stock.[5] 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.[6] The Kiko shows a natural parasite resistance that allows it to thrive in climates where other goats do not. The Kiko breed, coming from a dairy background, is also proving valuable to southern dairy herds in providing parasite resistant dual-purpose dairy and meat offspring.[7]