FEATURES
A Big Future for Small Livestock

by Sally Colby

Kikos kick up their heels

When Jeanne Dietz-Brand decided to raise meat goats, she started with the breed that has been steadily gaining popularity among both small and large producers: Boers and Boer crosses. However, as she worked with her herd, she found that they required more attention than she had expected. After learning about Kiko goats, she purchased a young Kiko buck. He convinced her that she had made a good choice. “When those does kidded, the kids jumped right up and were healthy and robust,” said Dietz-Brand. “I knew that was the way to go.” After watching the Kikos’ performance, Dietz-Brand added another Kiko buck and continued to breed “up.” She was pleased to discover that the Kiko-sired daughters out of her Boer do have the traits she’s looking for. Today, Dietz-Brand has 200 goats, mostly Kiko crosses, on her appropriately named Many Rocks Farm www.manyrocksfarm.com in Keedysville, Md., near the Pennsylvania border.

Jeanne Band-Dietz has worked hard to establish a Kiko goat operation, and is successfully marketing goat products at farmers’ markets in the Washington, D.C., area.

Why Kikos?)

Kikos were developed for a specific purpose and differ significantly from Boers. “Kikos were developed in New Zealand by taking wild, feral does and crossing them with the best of dairy bucks,” Dietz-Brand explained. “They were selected only for performance traits: parasite resistance, rapid growth, good feet, mothering and efficient conversion of forage. The Kiko ended up with best of both worlds—parasite resistance and rapid growth from the feral goat; milk production and frame from the dairy goat.” Kikos were introduced in the United States in the early 1990s, and although they aren’t nearly as popular as Boers, they are making a name for themselves among breeders who appreciate the breed’s traits.

The Many Rocks herd is pastured year-round, with access to plenty of natural shelter and a large, well-ventilated barn. Although being raised outside is ideal for herd health, it means that the animals are at risk of predation. To keep them safe from predators, Dietz-Brand relies on a cadre of donkeys and Maremma livestock guardian dogs that are on the job day and night. The farm is set up in paddocks for rotational grazing, with goats moved to a new paddock daily during the grazing season. As browsers, goats prefer nipping the tops of plants rather than grazing close to the ground, which helps with parasite control. The herd is supplemented with grain, primarily barley, on an as-needed basis. Locally produced grass hay, loose minerals specifically formulated for goats and sodium bicarbonate to buffer the rumen round out the ration. Kikos are seasonal (fall) breeders and kid in late winter/early spring; usually with twins. Kidding problems are rare, but individual pens with heat lamps are ready for the occasional doe and kids that need extra care.

Pushing numbers for herd improvement

Dietz-Brand believes that herd genetics is the most important aspects of improving her flock, and keeps detailed genetic records to determine and track matings. “I make sure that every doe is bred to the buck I want her bred to,” she said. “I have a breeding pen, and when a doe is in standing heat, I put her in there with the buck.” Dietz-Brand plans each year’s breeding so that does kid in winter, avoiding the problems associated with summer heat. “The kids are bigger and stronger, and their immune systems are better developed,” she said. “They just turn out better.”

Maremma livestock guardian dogs are alert to threats of predation.

With a background in molecular biology and genetics, Dietz-Brand enjoys what she refers to as “pushing numbers around” to determine exactly what’s going on in her herd. She keeps detailed records on traits that contribute to a healthy herd, with extra attention on parasite resistance. And like the New Zealand breeders who had a specific goal in establishing the Kiko as a breed, Dietz-Brand also has a goal: breeding for performance traits rather than trying to meet a breed standard. “My number one culling criteria is parasite resistance,” said Dietz-Brand. “Next is strong maternal instinct–I want moms that bond strongly with their young and raise them to weaning with no intervention.”

As she established her herd, Dietz-Brand also had another goal: to close her herd as soon as possible. When the Kiko-cross offspring were performing to her expectations, she did just that. However, closing the herd meant fewer mating possibilities. Because it’s difficult to continue improving genetics in a small population with a limited gene pool, Dietz-Brand outcrosses to dairy goats and dairy x Kiko crosses. “I only had four purebred Kikos when I closed my herd,” she said. “Most of the goats in my herd are percentages. You need that hybrid vigor–you need to do some outcrossing to keep the genetics vibrant. It’s hard to keep the genetics advancing in a small population.”

Parasite control essential in management

Parasite control is a major concern for small ruminant producers, so with the natural parasite resistance of the Kiko, Dietz-Brand can rely on a combination of records and FAMACHA for parasite control. But, despite their natural parasite resistance, Kikos still must be maintained as if parasites are their biggest enemy. “Haemonchus contortis (barber pole worm) is the worst problem, and FAMACHA addresses that,” said Dietz-Brand. “I do a lot of eyelid checking and deworm them only as needed.” Dietz-Brand says that some of her Kiko percentage does haven’t required deworming in over two years, but she continues to check eyes and monitor fecal egg counts. “Fecal egg counts are good for two reasons,” she said. “They’re helpful if you want to see how effective your dewormer is by doing before and after counts, and also helpful to determine which animals in the herd are dropping the largest number of eggs. Although a particular animal might have good resilience (tolerance to parasite load), a fecal egg count for that animal may show otherwise. Each screening has its place, and they complement one another.” Dietz-Brand emphasized the fact that although fecal egg counts do serve a purpose, she does not deworm any animal based solely on a fecal egg count. “Keep good records and use FAMACHA, and do egg counts when it makes sense,” she said. “And get rid of the goats that are dumping all the worms on the pasture.”

Because of her interest in maintaining the parasite resistance of the breed and her background in genetics, Dietz-Brand works with the Western Maryland Pasture-Based Meat Goat Performance Test. “We handle the goats every two weeks and do FAMACHA scoring,” she said. “We classify animals based on those that carry the highest egg counts down to the lowest counts. Then we send fecal samples to Georgia, where they hatch the eggs.” Hatching eggs from fecal samples is the only accurate method of determining exactly which species of parasites are present.

Strategic marketing pays off

After several years of raising goats and ready for a serious marketing effort, Dietz-Brand spent a lot of time determining the cost of production versus income. “It doesn’t take much to lose money on goats, especially if you just try to make money on auction prices,” she said, reflecting on the farm’s pre-Kiko days. “I put pencil to paper, and there was no way to make a profit. Bringing in the Kiko genetics with better moms, faster growth and hardier animals affects the bottom line. Then, when the grain prices and fuel started going up, I decided to do value-added.”

Dietz-Brand has met her original goal of using everything she produces, although she admits that it took a lot of work to get where she is today. When goats weigh between 70 and 90 pounds, she delivers them to a USDA facility for processing. Goats that go to the facility on Wednesday are ready for pick up on Friday; vacuum-packed and labeled for retail sale. Dietz-Brand keeps an ample assortment of meat cuts and sausage frozen and ready to sell in the built-in refrigeration units in her truck. Although she didn’t always have the “problem” of not enough product, the rising popularity of goat meat and Dietz-Brand’s marketing efforts are paying off. From May through October last year, Dietz-Brand was processing three animals a week just to keep up with customer demand. She sells meat and sausage, along with the soap she makes from her dairy goats’ milk, on weekends at the Silver Spring Market and Greenbelt markets in the Washington, D.C., area. The primary shoppers at these two weekend markets are upscale community members who are willing to try something new.

Although Dietz-Brand has been successful in marketing through farmers’ markets, she says that introducing a new product to consumers is quite a challenge. “I wanted to do a little test-marketing, so I started in one small farmers’ market,” she said. “That showed me that I have a product people are interested in.” Dietz-Brand provides recipe cards and a lot of verbal support to her customers, noting that extra help is especially important with a “fringe” product like goat meat, also known as chevon. “It might be an interesting product to them, but they have no clue how to cook it,” she said. “The most important thing is that they have a really good eating experience.” In addition to traditional cuts, Dietz-Brand offers burgers preseasoned with her own mix of spices, and plans to create a spice blend for seasoned sausage.

After participating in the inspections required for the volunteer scrapie program, the Many Rocks herd is now certified scrapie-free–one more plus for consumers worried about food safety. Dietz-Brand is pleased with the performance of her flock, but anyone who visits her farm can see that she has put a tremendous amount of work into making it a successful operation. “A Kiko that has the original traits is an amazing animal,” she said. “But I’m not in it for showing. I want to be a commercial goat farmer.”

Understanding the role of FAMACHA Years ago, progressive sheep and goat breeders looked at the mucous membranes of animals to determine “how wormy” that animal was. Surely there was a correlation between parasitism levels and how pink or white an animal’s eyelids or gums were, but no one was able to quantify this correlation. After years of research, a South African livestock parasitologist came up with a system in which a numerical value from 1 to 5 indicates the level of anemia in sheep and goats, which in turn indicates the level of parasitism (with Haemonchus contortus, or barber pole worm) in that animal. The system, known as FAMACHA, was soon introduced in other sheep-producing countries around the world where resistance to deworming products was on the rise. FAMACHA is a system by which the sheep or goat’s eyelid color, or ocular membrane, is checked against a standard chart. Animals with more color in the ocular membranes have lower parasite burdens. Producers who perform regular FAMACHA checks can reduce the amount of anthelmintic product used and often delay parasite resistance to anthelmintics. How does FAMACHA work? The FAMACHA user evaluates an animal’s level of anemia (and need for treatment) by comparing the color of the animal’s ocular membrane to a chart that shows five color shades ranging from bright pink/red (score of 1; ideal) to white (score of 5; heavy parasitism). The acronym FAMACHA comes from the system’s developer, Dr. Francois “Faffa” Malan, with CHA for “chart.” Since a good understanding of parasitism in small ruminants is necessary for the most effective use of FAMACHA, users must be trained before receiving a FAMACHA card. Although other parasites cause anemia, the barber pole worm is usually the culprit in severely anemic small ruminants. Because FAMACHA values are directly related to packed cell volume, which in turn indicates of the level of anemia caused by this parasite, the system should be used only for estimating the degree of barber pole worm infection. With regular use of FAMACHA to estimate parasite levels in individual animals, only those animals that are shedding the highest levels of parasite eggs are treated, which delays resistance to anthelmintics (deworming) products. The role of resistance, resilience and refugia To better understand the role of FAMACHA in delaying resistance, producers should understand resistance, resilience and refugia. Resistance is the animal’s ability to prevent or limit the establishment of gastrointestinal parasites in its system. Anthelmintic (dewormer) resistance is the parasite’s ability to survive treatment, and it is this resistance that causes severe illness and death in sheep and goats. Resilience is the animal’s ability to maintain a reasonable state of health and production when subjected to parasites. Refugia refers to the population of worm eggs and larvae distributed on pasture as well as any worm eggs and larvae in untreated animals; parasites not exposed to deworming products. In the past, when producers routinely administered deworming products to sheep or goats, all parasites were subjected to that product. Ultimately, some parasites survived treatment and continued to reproduce, resulting in “stronger” parasites. It helps to think of refugia as a way for anthelmintic-susceptible parasites to remain alive and available for continued breeding. These particular parasites are the ones that we hope will then breed with the susceptible parasites that were in refugia, producing offspring that are susceptible to deworming treatment. Although FAMACHA is time-consuming and requires good record keeping, using it ensures that only those sheep and goats (usually about 20 percent of the herd or flock) suffering from the biggest worm loads are treated. Good FAMACHA records with notes on body condition scores will reveal which animals need continual treatment; those animals should be culled. Treating fewer animals ultimately means lower overall cost for anthelmintic products. Ensure healthy flocks and herds through careful purchase of new animals The future of successful management of small ruminants is dependent on all producers, small and large, because all sheep and goats carry some level of parasites. Purchasing sheep, for instance, from a producer who routinely deworms every animal in the flock is asking for trouble in the form of resistance. Make sure that when you purchase sheep or goats, you know the overall deworming history of the flock or herd, particularly which measures the producer is using to control parasites and which deworming products have been used. For information on FAMACHA training, check with your local cooperative extension office or visit www.scsrpc.org.

The author is a new contributor and freelance writer who farms and raises Great Pyrenees in south-central Pennsylvania.