The Kiko is a breed of
meat goat originating from New Zealand. ''Kiko'' comes from the
Māori word for meat. The Kiko breed was developed in the 1980s by Garrick and Anne Batten, who
cross-bred local
feral goats with imported
dairy goat
The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the family Bo ...
bucks of the
Anglo-Nubian,
Saanen, and
Toggenburg breeds. The only aims of the breeding programme were fast rate of growth and ability to survive in the pastoral conditions of the New Zealand hill country.
The Kiko breed was imported into the United States in 1992 by Goatex Group LLC.
Today, three registries exist in the US for Kikos: the AKGA, the IKGA, and the NKR, the latter of which is the largest of the three. Through these agencies, Kikos could be registered as 100% New Zealand, meaning that their lineage can be traced all the way back to the original New Zealand stock.
[The National Kiko Registry Handbook]
/ref> "Purebreds" refer to goats that are at least 15/16ths New Zealand stock[ and "percentages" are those that are at least 50% New Zealand stock.][ Kiko-Boer crosses can also be registered as ''Genemaster''™ through the NKR.
]
References
Goat breeds
Meat goat breeds
Goat breeds originating in New Zealand
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