Intro...

Lampa Creek Livestock & Kiko Goats is located 7 miles off the beautiful Southern Oregon Coast, just outside the charming town of Bandon. With incomparable ocean sunsets to the west and rugged mountains to the east, there's beauty everywhere you look. We are a small farm specializing in dual purpose 100% New Zealand, purebred and percentage kiko goats bred to thrive in the Pacific Northwest, and ideal for the homestead. 

                                                                                   

January 2024

 

• Bio-secure, clean tested herd: CL, CAE, Johnes, Q-fever, Chlamydicea spp.
• On farm performance tested
• Minimal input: Feed, birthing assistance, hoof care, etc.
• Holistically focused 
• Forage based: 

Breeding Program/Goals and the Benefits of the Kiko...

I love my goats! From their comical, curiosity to their loyal, personable temperament, it's fair to say I'm hooked. That being said, I want my goats to have the best life possible and that means selectively breeding for traits that make their lives easier. 

This is why I chose to transition to Kiko goats, as they require less input for maximum results than virtually any other breed (Spanish goats may be the exception). Kiko breeders enjoy the advantages of natural selection, the "survival of the fittest" if you will. Studies have shown that kikos are a superior meat goat; a hardy, disease-resistant breed that is adapted to a wide range of challenging environmental conditions and unsurpassed for reproductive output. 

As lovely as it is here on the Oregon Coast, the wet, temperate climate makes goat management extra challenging. We very rarely have below freezing temperatures, and we never get a good freeze. Parasites thrive as a result, continuing their life cycle year round and making parasite overload a very real and constant threat. Since switching to kikos, and to give you an idea of the difference in management relating directly to parasites, none of the kiko kids born here have been dewormed. My deworming routine went from 4+- times a year (more depending on the goat) with my boer goats to an average of .33 times a year (meaning that about 1 out of 3 goats require deworming once a year). I anticipate this to be reduced even further as I cull those that are least resistant. 

We also have rain. And rain means mud. And mud equals hoof issues, non-stop it seems. Prior to getting kikos I nearly gave up on goats altogether after spending an entire long soggy winter treating the heard weekly, if not daily, for hoof rot and scald. I decided it just wasn't fair for them to have to live half the year like that... and then I got my first kiko. Here again, I've seen unbelievable improvement in the number of cases of hoof rot and scald in my kiko herd, with monthly assessments becoming the new protocol, replacing the weekly/daily treatments required in years past. 

 

Last but not least: My husband and I work full time jobs, have an hour commute to said jobs and maintain a working cattle ranch on 198 acres. Additionally, I have a 2nd job on the weekends helping my closest friends as needed, run their small business AND I have my goats. That being said, it has become of utmost importance that I have goats who can kid unassisted. In my boer goat breeding days, I bred for a December kidding because I have more time to be home to assist birthing in the month of December. Still, I couldn't always be home, and had too many tragic and heartbreaking losses of both does and kids as a result (one is too many). There's nothing worse than pulling dead kids because you couldn't be there to help momma give birth. It always seemed a little backwards to me but, that was life with goats, so I thought... To date, I have never had to assist one of my kiko does in kidding. I have yet to clean and dry kiko kids to prevent them from freezing to death. I have never had to convince a newborn to nurse because it couldn't find the right teat, the one that actually has milk. Remarkable! 

My number one priority is to maintain and/or exceed the quality traits of the breed:

1) Parasite resistance/resilience.

2) Hardiness and vigor, fast gains and effortless weight maintenance.

3) Solid, balanced hooves less prone to environmental stresses. 

4) Birthing ease and strong maternal instinct.

5) Well attached and productive udder, well-formed 1X1 teats.

6) Good average daily gain (ADG).

7) Manageable, pleasant temperament. 

Once I've determined my breeding stock scores high on all of the above, I select and breed for the following:

1) Even better ADG (average daily gain) up to maturity. 

2) Long bodied and a level topline; Length equals more room in the womb for multiple growing kids. 

3) Fullness, width and consistency through the loin, flank and hip. Deep chest and width of brisket.

4) Hooves that are especially resistant to climate/weather related bacterial issues.

5.) Improved carcass yield: Large framed, full bodied mature animals are the goal.

Only those who make the cut will be registered and afforded the opportunity to produce offspring that will be a good representation of the breed. All others will be offered as commercial stock. As I develop and fine-tune my program, I expect to offer increasingly more registered animals. 

 

*Pictured: Sr. herd sire ZVA Player's Red Fox and Jr. herd sires ZVA Malevo and ZVA Brass Tacks, all three from Noble Nomad Mountain Ranch in Virginia.

Breed-up Program...

You'll notice that I have a couple of non-kiko or percentage does; these girls are descended from my previous breeding program and/or have a parent that was never registered. A good goat is a good goat, no matter what the breed or registration status, so I feel very strongly that they deserved to be incorporated into my current breeding program. 

These girls and their offspring have been retained because they each have qualities that I believe to be an asset, and over the course of 4 generations, they have an opportunity to make a real and positive impact on the purebred Kiko breed standard.

I love that 100% NZ kikos are focused on genetics and maintaining the original standards of the breed, I feel it's imperative not to lose sight of that foundation and where today's kiko goats came from. But one of the things that attracted me to the kiko community is that there's always a desire to improve the breed, and that we aren't limited to genetics. With percentage and purebred kikos, the sky's the limit as to what we can achieve in our breeding programs.