Goat Raising – Part 2 Cross-Breeding Produces Best Meat & Dairy Goats

In my long experience as a goat breeder, I have learned very important lessons, one of which is a continuous hybridization by cross-breeding prolific lines.
It is widely known that the best milkers are the Anglo Nubians and Lamanchas but better than these two breeds are the lines produced in cross-breeding the two families. .
Anglo Nubians, marked by their long and pendulous ears and beautiful Roman Nose, are the most popular dairy goats in the Philippines because of their ability to adapt to the hot climate and their hardiness.
The second most prolific milkers, although not as known and popular as Anglo Nubians, are the Lamanchas which are easily distinguishable because of the absence of earlobes.
Between the two breeds, however, I personally like the taste of the Lamancha milk because it does not have the strong smell common in Anglo Nubian milk.
In a farm in Oregon owned by American goat breeder James Clem, the best milkers were the crosses of Anglo Nubian and Lamancha with outstanding does producing up to 8 liters in one milking day for up to one year after birthing.
His Anglo Nubian families are Six M Galaxy and Goldthwaithe while his Lamancha lines are Lucky Star and Rockin CB.
These genetic lines are now in the Philippines bred by the Mt. Carmel Baptirst Rural Life Center in Kinuskusan, Bansalan, North Cotabato which was a recipient of a P10-M Grant from the Department of Agriculture when I was Secretary.
Best Meat Goats & Crosses
When it comes to taste and tenderness, nothing could yet beat the quality of the meat of a well-raised Philippine Native Goat.
Slaughtered young, it does not have the strong smell of the meat of the Anglo Nubian, a dairy breed which is also being slaughtered for meat, the Boer and other foreign breeds.
The native goats, however, are very small hence they do not have huge carcass recovery. Initial attempts to upgrade the Philippine Native Goats with the large Boers were largely unsuccessful because the native does had difficulties giving birth to the hybrid kids because of the size. In many cases, this cross-breeding attempt resulted in the deaths of native does.
The more successful experiments in the upgrading of the native goats were done by first cross-breeding them with either the Anglo Nubians or Lamanchas or other dairy breeds whose kids are not as huge as the Boers.
The Upgraded Doelings were then crossed with the Boers producing a 3-way cross of 1/2 Boer 1/4 Anglo or Lamancha and 1/4 Native Goats.
#FarmingIsPracticalScience!
(To be continued)
(These video grabs were taken from the Brave Colt Dairy Farm in Klamath Falls City, Oregon.)