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Getting started

It would be possible to start with local goats, but the process will be fastest starting from low-grade Boer crosses:

First generation crosses of pure Boer goats with local goats (i.e. 50% crosses) would make selection of the desired appearance very easy, but disease resistance would not be as good as the lower grades. This approach is therefore not recommended, but the rules do not exclude it.
The ideal starting stock would be the offspring of either 50% or 75% Boer males with local goats. (I.e. 25% or 37% crosses.)
As high-grade Kabulya Meat Goats become available, it would be possible to mate them successively with local goats and use the second generation offspring as foundation stock.

The Grades

Our breeding programme makes it possible for anyone to get started, but also provides a framework for breed improvement. The grading pattern for the KCG is not based on the amount of exotic blood, but is similar to the one for the Kabulya Smallholders’ Goat (KSG), and is according to performance. In this case, the weight at 6 months of age. In order to qualify as a particular grade, the goat must either have both parents of at least that grade or the weight must be measured at 270 days of age. A full table of the weights required to achieve each grade is given in the rules. Some examples are:

For Grade 3 males: 20.2 kg at 270 days of age
For Grade 10 males: 30.1 kg at 270 days of age
For Grade 15 males: 40.0 kg at 270 days of age

With good quality fresh fodder it may be possible to achieve grade 10. For the higher grades it would be necessary to feed bran and other concentrates. If this is done, international experience suggest that even 50 kg at 9 months of age is possible, corresponding to grade 19. But feeding concentrates to meat goats may not be economically feasible, and our working target is grade 10.

Appearance

Colour and ear-size have no effect on the economics of meat production. But they can affect the marketing of breeding stock. For this reason, our current plan is to breed goats that resemble Boer goats but also have their own distinct character. However, this should not be given so much emphasis that growth-rate and other important productivity-related traits are neglected.

This requirement makes this breeding programme distinct from the work being done by NARO, NAGRC and others to develop and promote the Mubende Goat. That is also a very good initiative.

Disease resistance

Meat production can only be economic if the animals are easy to keep healthy. In the wet tropics the most important factor is worm tolerance, followed by tolerance to diseases such as heartwater. Local goats satisfy this criterion, but are slow growing. Only by planned selective breeding can we combine good disease resistance with fast growth.

Productivity

The most important characteristic of a meat goat is that it should grow quickly. In addition, it should be well muscled all-over - not just tall and thin like dairy goats and not merely pot-belied like well-fed local goats. It is also advantageous for it to have many kids - i.e. regularly give twins or triplets and have a short kidding interval. That has to be coupled with having enough milk to give its kids a good start.

Our Vision

The Kabulya meat goat (KCG) is targeted at people who keep large numbers of goats as a main business, and manage them under free grazing conditions. It needs to be fast-growing and tolerant to the climate and prevalent diseases.

Kabulya Meat Goat

Background

We started with dairy goats because we believe that they have the greatest potential to improve nutrition and income for the poorest farmers. And people who are breeding dairy goats can still sell their surplus animals for cash - ideally as breeding stock, but if not they can still go for slaughter for meat.

But we are aware that raising goats for meat will still be an important economic activity. And many of the same issues arise for keepers of meat goats - local goats are not very productive but the Boer goat is very difficult to keep healthy. Crossbreeds are a good compromise, but they are not as fast growing as the pure Boer goats and not as disease resistant as local goats.

This is a new area for us. That means that the following general specifications as well as the accompanying rules are only provisional, and subject to change. We would welcome discussion with any interested person or group, in order to improve them.

Provisional Specifications

The Rules

The description above gives a basic framework. The detailed rules are a bit more complicated, but still feasible for a well organised breeder they are available here.

Get Help

You are free to apply the Kabulya breeding system for yourself. But you may also choose to partner with us, to benefit from technical advice, verification of your breeding stock and help with marketing your surplus offspring.

Download them in PDF format here.

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