Build a healthy, productive Kiko goat herd with practical knowledge covering everything from feeding and housing to breeding, kidding, pasture management, health care, and long-term herd improvement.
KIKO GOAT HANDBOOK is a comprehensive practical guide for beginners, homesteaders, smallholders, farmers, breeders, and experienced goat keepers who want to successfully raise and manage Kiko goats. Raphael Hartley provides clear, accessible guidance designed to help readers make informed decisions while prioritizing animal welfare, efficient management, and sustainable production.
Developed in New Zealand and recognized for hardiness, maternal ability, adaptability, and productive qualities, Kiko goats can perform successfully in a range of management systems. However, hardy does not mean maintenance-free. Appropriate nutrition, secure fencing, pasture planning, parasite management, preventive health care, and responsible breeding remain essential for a thriving herd.
Inside this handbook, you’ll discover:
• Kiko goat history, breed characteristics, temperament, physical traits, and productive qualities
• How to choose healthy breeding stock and establish a suitable starter herd
• What to consider when evaluating does, bucks, kids, and replacement animals
• Planning secure fencing, shelters, handling facilities, water systems, and essential equipment
• Nutritional principles involving browse, pasture, hay, minerals, supplementation, and clean water
• How nutritional requirements change with growth, pregnancy, lactation, breeding, and age
• Body-condition scoring and practical methods for monitoring herd nutrition
• Pasture and browse management, rotational grazing, stocking considerations, and seasonal forage planning
• Understanding goat behavior, herd hierarchy, communication, stress, and safe handling
• Routine hoof care, grooming, identification, and everyday health observation
• Preventive health planning, vaccination discussions, quarantine, biosecurity, and veterinary support
• Recognizing changes in appetite, weight, manure, coat condition, breathing, movement, and behavior
• Internal and external parasite management and the importance of responsible treatment strategies
• Breeding preparation, buck management, doe selection, mating, pregnancy, and reproductive records
• Preparing for kidding and recognizing normal labor as well as warning signs of complications
• Newborn kid care, colostrum management, bonding, identification, growth monitoring, and weaning
• Caring for weak, rejected, orphaned, or compromised kids with appropriate professional support
• Managing bucks, does, kids, and growing replacements safely throughout the year
• Record keeping for identification, breeding, kidding, growth, health, treatments, and herd performance
• Emergency planning, financial preparation, responsible sale or transfer, and long-term herd improvement
KIKO GOAT HANDBOOK emphasizes preventive management rather than waiting for problems to appear. Good nutrition, appropriate stocking, careful observation, strategic parasite control, sound facilities, and accurate records can help keep a herd healthier while improving management efficiency.
Special attention is also given to breeding and kidding. Productive herd development requires more than simply producing kids. Responsible selection considers health, structural soundness, maternal performance, growth, temperament, parasite resilience, and suitability for the keeper’s goals.
Whether you are purchasing your first Kiko goats, expanding a homestead herd, developing a breeding program, preparing for kidding season, or improving pasture management, this handbook provides a dependable foundation for success.
Raise healthier Kiko goats, manage your land wisely, prepare confidently for breeding and kidding, and build a strong, productive herd for years to come.
