Kalahari Reds

Ha! I've been wondering on the Reds too- if they're truly a legitimate breed, or if someone figured out a way to make extra money on solid red boers. I've done some haphazard research- it'd really help if I could read Dutch.

From what I have read it sounds like they're a lot like Boers were when they were originally imported- bred to be an easy keeping, high producing animal with minimal inputs. I've been curious enough to look into importing semen/embryos, but I'm not convinced they won't have the exact same parasite problems that the Boers do. At the end of the day you're still bringing an animal that has been bred to thrive in a hot, dry environment to a hot, humid environment.

The genetics side of thing interests me just enough to make me curious about experimenting with different crossbreeds- I've been reading up on Savannas quite a bit lately too. We had family that recently visited the Glacier National Park and texted some pictures of the mountain goats there, and I have to admit it made me go "hmmmm...."

Tenacross said:

I read that too, but I also read the story about how they were developed and it's a very similar story to how the boers were. We know the South Africans were supposed to cull anything that wasn't white with a red head. We also know there are color genes in Boers. The SA's even admit one of the founding buck was dappled. Check out this website from a SA breeder. He was also a founder of the Boer breed. The pictures of the goats are identical to good red boers from this country. I don't think there is any way in heck those goats wouldn't have some in common DNA with Boers. Both "breeds" were developed in Africa from the indigenous goats. There is just no way you can develop two meaty breeds of goats that look exactly alike except for color in the same country without them being related. It's just not logical. Even if you disagree, check out this website. Cool goats.
http://www.kalaharireds.net/

Click to expand...

I also read both relation and genetic difference of Kalahari reds to boer goats.
Here is one breeder supporting the later:

Kalahari Red's are a distinct and separate breed of Goat (as verified by DNA testing for SA Stud Book). They are not related to the Boer Goat (don't believe anyone that tells you so) and have additional advantages to the original boer goat breed - they can enhance the tenderness of the meat, the hardiness of the animal and the camouflage and hence the survival of their kids.
http://www.stonehavenstud.com.au/kalahari_red.htm

Click to expand...

This site states it as well:

ORIGIN OF THE KALAHARI REDS STUD

The Kalahari Red Stud was selected from Red and Red-and-White indigenous African goats of no particular breed. The outstanding qualities of these Kalahari Red goats - hardiness, colour, size and mother abilities were the reason for starting this breed. Breeders have selected and retained these unique qualities for the past 25 years. The Kalahari Reds were improved, and much emphasis was placed on carcass mass and growth rate.

A BREED IN ITS OWN RIGHT

The Kalahari Red is in no way related to any other South African goat. The breed was not selected from animals of any particular breed. Blood tests and genetic distance testing were conducted on the animals of some breeders by the Agricultural Research Council of South Africa to determine whether or not it was a separate breed. The test showed no relationship to other South African breeds. This was a condition stipulated for the breed to be registered.
http://www.kalaharireds.co.za/

Click to expand...

To me they look very similar to boer goats accept for the colouring.

There will be an auction of Kalahari Reds next month and that should enable me to obtain more information and take many pictures of course.

The other breed or group of breeds we have are indigenous veld goats:

http://www.indigenousveldgoats.co.za/
But perhaps I should start a separate thread on this!