Best Goats For Meat - 4 Common Types You Should Know

If one is aiming to raise goats for meat, then it is really important to know what the best goats for meat are for the meat marketers and meat producers. Goat meat or chevon, while not as popular as other types of meat such as beef, pork, or chicken, is actually a great tasting alternative meat if one is getting tired of the usual choices of meat typically available in the market. Goat meat can be cooked in various ways ranging from barbecued, fried, grilled, stewed, baked, curried, minced, and could be even canned or made into sausages as well as jerky.

The following are some of the best goats for meat:

1. Kiko goat: originally from New Zealand and actually came into existence by crossbreeding dairy goats with feral goats. They are a fairly more recent breed as they were created during the 1980s. Its unusual sounding name is actually the Maori word for meat. Kiko goats have several traits that made them quite favorable to ranchers such as being low maintenance, quite resistant against parasites or at least a high tolerance against them, high growth rate, and most especially favorable for crossbreeding with other type of goats. It could also easily adapt and survive to almost any type of climate, even to cold ones. Aside from their meat, their milk tastes particularly good.

2. Boer goat: a product of selective breeding, it was originally developed from South Africa around the year 1900s. Despite its South African origin, its name Boer is actually a Dutch word meaning farmer. The Boer goat is really one of the best goats for meat around since they are a breed specifically raised for their meat and not because of their milk. Their favorable traits for breeders include high resistance to disease, high fertility rates, and that they also grow up fast. Boer goats could adapt well into hot, dry environments such as semi deserts. Boer goats are perhaps one of the biggest goat breeds around. Boer goats are also well known for the high quality of their meat, making them higher priced as opposed to most goat meat in the market.

3. Black Bengal goat: hailing from north eastern India and Bangladesh, it happens to be one of the most well known best goats for meat around because of their tenderness, leanness and distinct flavor. Its favorable traits for breeders include its high fertility, productivity, as well as adaptability and minimal production cost. Aside from its meat, its hide is also a good source of superior quality leather. Despite the name black, it is actually a misnomer, since most of them just happen to be black, but some of them happen to have a brown, gray, and even white coat.

4. Verata goat: another breed of goat originating from Spain and is an alternative for the Spanish goat since the Spanish goat is already under conservation status. They are known for being easy to handle, extremely hardy, adaptive, and they are able to survive in various temperatures. They are able to breed all year round and are a great source of milk aside from goat meat.

Now that you know what are the best goats for meat, consider this a jump start and take advantage of this niche market.

Goat meat production is the fastest growing segment of U.S. agriculture. Raising goats for profit can be easy if based on those who have done it. If you are looking for more tips on breeding boer goats and want to avoid the common painful mistakes made by novice farmers, go to: raisingmeatgoats.com