Kalahari Goat Breed – Everything You Need to Know

Powerfully muscular and large with horns that lie flat and curl around the back of their heads make them a magnificent goat to see.

They stature is much like that of the Boerboel dog breed with their thick bodies, shorter legs and muscular thighs.

Their successful meat production has made them a sough after goat throughout America, Australia and Brazil. They mature really fast and have a good meat to bone ratio making them ideal for commercial farming industry.

Kalahari Goat Quick Profile Overview

The Kalahari Goat breed is powerful, muscular and very strong. They are also very hardy and can survive in Saharan an sub-Saharan environments
Country of Origin:	South Africa
Other Names:	Kalahari Red
Breed Size:	Large
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Main Purpose:	Meat
Can be used for	Breeding, Meat
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Temperament:	Vivacious, robust and can be territorial at times
Good with Kids?	They are quite large and not suited to be around children, although there is always the exception to the rule.
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Ideal Environment:	They can adapt to any environment are used to the arid landscapes of South Africa and the bushveld.
Ideal Climate:	The can withstand most climates
Conservation Status:	Not Listed by the *ALC Common
Health Issues?	No known health issues
Good Starter Goat?	No, they are more for the establish meat or dairy goat farmer
Goat Associations:	There are no actual American Associations but the Canadian Meat Goat Association and the American Goat federation, both of which websites links can be found under the “Useful Links” section of this article. These sites are the best bet for finding any registered breeders in the USA.
Goat Clubs:	There are no known goat clubs
Note: *ALC stands for American Livestock Conservancy

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

This powerful goat breed has a well-developed body, short legs with powerful thighs, a round face with a Roman nose and short shiny coat in a color that allows for ample camouflage from predators to protect the young kids.
Color(s):	Deep rich rid Both sexes have the exact same coat color
Goat⇒	Doe	buck
Breed Weight:	75 kg’s	115 kg’s
Breed Height:	50 cm at withers	60 cm at withers
Hair:	Short and glossy	Short and glossy
Ears:	Short and floppy	Short and floppy
Horns:	Short and protrude backwards from the head	Short but longer than the does, protrude directly form the head to point backwards with a slight curve
Matures at age:	5 to 15 months	3 to 15 months
Puberty Age:	4 to 10 months	4 to 9 months
Breeding Age:	18 months	1 year
Breeding Traits:	1 Breeding cycle	Cover 20 to 30 does in 1 season

DOE BREEDING & MILKING INFORMATION

They are bred for the meat and sometimes the use of the very strong pelts. They are not known as a milking breed and therefor it is quite difficult to milk them. The does only have 1 breeding cycle per year.
Breeding Period/cycle:	Usually lasts 12 to 36 hours Ave. 21 days/18 to 24 days
Gestation Period:	Usually around 148 to 155 day but most are 150 days
Kids:	1 to 3 kids per litter
Good Mothers?	Yes, they take their mothering duties very seriously
Lactation Period:	Usually around 250 to 284 days. Most common is 284 days
Milk Quality:	For the kid it is very nutritious and there is just enough to feed her family
Milking Level:	They are not built for milking
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GOAT MEAT PRODUCTION INFORMATION

The Kalahari goat was specifically design for superior quality meat and kids that mature quickly enough for commercial farming
Quality?	Excellent
Req. Maturity Weight:	55 to 110 lbs.
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GOOD TO KNOW

A few more pointers about the Kalahari Goat
Where to buy them:	As they are not readily advertised it is best to check with one of the American goats’ associations such as the American Boer Goat Association, American Goat Society and the American Goat Federation. All links available at the end of this article..
Agility:	For such a big muscular animal they are deceptively nimble and agile.
Interact with other animals:	They do not mind interacting with other livestock, poultry and birds include Ostriches.

GENERAL INFORMATION:

The Kalahari goat has a red coat to blend in with the arid dessert conditions of the open plains of South Africa.

They can withstand arid conditions are excellent foragers that are able to find food in the worst of conditions.

They are commonly used to mix breed with other popular meat goats to increase the meats quality and carcass size of various other breeds.

They have an incredibly good immune system against most common disease and are resistant to most parasites making them really valuable in areas rife with both.
This also means that the animals need less expensive vaccination inoculations than other goat breeds.

The kids of the Kalahari red are fast growers reaching maturity weight quite rapidly which makes them ideal for commercial goat meat farming.

They are not really listed as a leather producing goat, but they do have very fine pelts for use in some leather products

HISTORY

The Kalahari Red goat originates from South Africa the land of the inspired farmer who are well known for producing top class animals for production.

In the early 1970’s farmers collected red goats from various provinces and the bordering countries of South Africa. A Ben Voster who came from Tshipese in the Limpopo Province and farmed just north of the Soutpansberg on land that mainly consisted of Mopanie and other indigenous South African shrubs and trees.

His herd consisted of a Boer goat stud and 200 does. One season his one doe gave birth to one red kid goat every year and once it got to maturity, he was immediately struck by the red goats unique qualities. It was then that he decided to develop those qualities and so he started to ask other farmers from all over the country for red colored goats. He initially started with 30 red goats to start breeding with.

After much breeding and communication with various breeders Ben Vosters new red goats were shown with Savanna goats in Bloemfontein in 1998. After a lot of genetic testing and breed modifications the Kalahari Reds had 79 registered stud farms as of 2012.