Julie had been researching Kiko goats for a while now and finally wanted to start our own breeding operation. She took all of the initiative on this project while I took the backseat role. She lined up our first goat purchase months ago and now that the weather cleared up we could get up the rural roads to pick them up from the goat breeders farm.

Kiko goats originate from feral goats in New Zealand that were well-adapted to the mountainous environment. The breed began gaining popularity when they were imported to the United States in the 90’s and are very hardy, needing little extra care or shelter. They are also a great source of meat. We intend to sell goats to other breeders and using some goats for our own meat source once we increase the size of our herd.

Raising goats is our first project together as a couple and this trip would be the maiden voyage for our new farm truck which is now parked in something one might consider a truck infirmary. Roughly 2 hours into our 5 hour journey the truck started dumping oil. Unfortunately my vehicle troubleshooting knowledge is somewhat limited but we were able to limp it to the goat farm. We had intended on purchasing one buck from the farm that Julie had picked out online but upon seeing him in person Julie found another buck that we liked better.

Admiral (Our new buck) can jump like Michael Jordan which makes wrangling a goat harder than one might think. I had him cornered in a small pen, when he proceeded to run straight at me, then divert at the last second, jumping off of the fence at my shoulder height to my left and skirting right past me. I stood there dumbfounded like I just got dunked on. Luckily neither his horns nor genitals grazed my face as he showcased his moves.

By the end of the day we ended up purchasing a female goat with her two doelings (baby female goats) and an unrelated, regal-looking buck. Next Winter we will be able to breed the buck to all three of the females in hopes to expand our herd.

So now we had four goats, a cage full of rabbits, and my dignity puttering down the highway. Luckily Julie’s parents were kind enough to rescue us in our broken down truck later that evening and helped us safely transport the goats to their house on a flatbed trailer. The goats are far too big to board on my property so they are staying on Julie’s parents’ farm until we find a farm property of our own.

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