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Portuguese Native Breed Goats as Packer Prospects!

1K views 25 replies 9 participants last post by  Moers kiko boars 
#1 ·
Hi Guys,

[I also posted this to the Pack Goat Central forum so apologies if anyone sees it twice.]

So we're based in Portugal where the 'classic' pack goat breeds are hard to come by.

We managed to find one guy with a herd of alpines and alpine crosses, but they did not look well cared for nor healthy. We decided to walk away from those as unhealthy goats are obviously no good for packing no matter what the breed.

The healthiest looking goats we found are all Portuguese natives - extremely hardy, eat anything, go anywhere types of goats. They have floppy ears to cope with the heat (which can get up to 40c or 104f in the height of summer) and some do get quite big and leggy, helping them range over very rough terrain consisting of boulders and prickly brush.

These breeds tend not to be super well standardised. Mongrel native mixes are common and are appreciated for their rusticity. Native types are more popular here than globally-known commercial meat and dairy breeds as they tend to fare better!

We've got a couple of kids of a very local type that has been developed here for literally hundreds of years. I am no expert in choosing pack goat prospects, especially in breeds that as far I know have never been packed and don't look much like any of your guys' goats. We picked a very big yellow boy (the shepherd, who is breeding for size and docility, said this kid would grow up huge; he kept his brother as an up-and-coming breeder). This one was also very friendly and curious. We also picked a slightly smaller black boy (a week or two younger as well) who has what we thought was the nicest conformation of the kids available; he has a very gentle and pensive personality.

We tried to select for straight backs, long legs, straight pasterns, etc... This guy's bucks were massive goats but all extremely tame and gentle. They all go out twice a day for several hours to graze up the mountain with the shepherd.

One of my concerns is that I have heard 'floppy ears don't pack' a lot with reference to your American Nubians.... Despite having floppy ears, these guys are very much a European breed. They have a slight North African influence, but are more closely related to other European breeds such as the various Spanish breeds and (more distantly) Swiss, French, Carpathian goats and even, supposedly, traces of Iberian Ibex. I have no idea if they have 'the right stuff' in terms of personality, but they are bred to be extremely gentle, rustic and willing/able to walk all day with a shepherd, so who knows. They are definitely very loving and follow us everywhere, also walking on the lead beautifully.

I'd love to know your thoughts on their looks. They are 3 months and a bit old now and will be castrated soon. They were raised in a barn until we got them (not ideal, I know) and so I know they do need to put on some muscle - but do you think any raw potential is there at all in terms of their basic physical structure? They are perhaps a little more swaybacked than ideal (or maybe I'm being paranoid) but no goat has ever been bred to pack in Portugal and we would eventually be looking to improve on this type of genetics in future through a personal breeding project.

We're hoping to get a couple more of different native breeds and see which ones work out best to form the basis of our string, so this is very much experimental!

Pictures here! --->
 
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#4 ·
Thanks Boer Mama! I hope so too!

Personally, I think it’s a good idea to use a pack goat that is native to the area. You can always add animals that can improve your line. The person that you need to talk to about all things pack goat is @DDFN. I also think your two boys are beautiful especially the black one with the waddles😍
That was our thinking as well (although it still feels like stepping into the unknown somewhat!). Maybe we can add a drop of Alpine or Saanen somewhere further down the line, but hopefully these goats will give us a healthy baseline. We hope to have access to their in tact relations for breeding purposes. And thanks - we think they're adorable too - especially the wattles!
 
#6 · (Edited)
The sire of the blonde one was apparently approaching 100kg (or ~200lb). They're bigger goats than Alpines in general so weight and relative carrying capacity is one of the the things I'm not too concerned about, fortunately! Although as soon-to-be wethers they will probably be a bit smaller, we have high hopes for their size and carrying capacity.
 
#7 ·
I think it’s great to go with hardy, native mix, especially ones that are taken out to forage daily. One benefit of that is they’ve likely already started to learn what is good to eat and what isn’t. Theirs personalities sound perfect too. Plus, they are neat looking goats. I hope you’ll keep us updated on their training as they grow.
 
#9 ·
They look nice and big for 3 months old. To me, a native goat will survive the area,and have more immunity to pests. Are you going to breed for size and strength from your own closed herd?
For me, my boys grow in different stages. Theh do have an akward teenager growth stage around 6 months old. I like to watch them for a year, when chooseing a breeding buck. If they arent what confirmation I need, I sell them.
It will be interesting watching you develop your pack team. Good luck. Looks like your on a great beginning!
 
#10 ·
They look nice and big for 3 months old. To me, a native goat will survive the area,and have more immunity to pests. Are you going to breed for size and strength from your own closed herd?
For me, my boys grow in different stages. Theh do have an akward teenager growth stage around 6 months old. I like to watch them for a year, when chooseing a breeding buck. If they arent what confirmation I need, I sell them.
It will be interesting watching you develop your pack team. Good luck. Looks like your on a great beginning!
Thanks Moers Kiko! Yes, we'll be breeding for size and stamina, a gung-ho and friendly personality and strength/fortitude in general... I'm looking for tall, athletic goats with a long stride and good conformation.

It's hard to keep a completely closed herd here as it is an area well known for shepherding; by necessity, we'll be using a lot of the same tracks as the shepherds, so it's hard to keep our boys totally isolated. I also hope to use the shepherds' bucks until we're set up for keeping our own. But we're doing everything we can to ensure our founding stock is clean and keep them that way...

I can see them muscling up day by day - looking forward to seeing how they turn out. I'll come back here with updated pics.
 
#12 · (Edited)
They're getting good on their walks now and growing fast! Wednesday is wethering day though, sadly!
Sky Plant Working animal Grass Dog breed


While hiking, they follow behind like this the whole way until we stop for browsing breaks. They're such good boys and very loving.
Plant Dog Sky Working animal Tree


We've also picked up one more - a different mix breed. This one is Serrana x Serpentina. He's still a bit nervous. I'll try to get a better picture of all of him one he calms down a bit.
Plant Sky Working animal Grass Fawn


Serranas are little mountain goats from our local area. Serpentinas are huge long legged plains goats from a bit further south. We're hoping he'll bring the best of both worlds - mountain aptitude but longer legs and bigger size over all. The Serpentina sire was rather buff.

He is a totally different type of goat in build and personality - very pretty as well. He's less dopey than the other two and much more alert. I think he's probably more similar to how I imagine an Alpine.

He is a month younger but he is much more agile and bouncy than the two Charnequeira crosses at the same age.

For reference I will include some pics from Google of the parent breeds.

Charnequeira (blonde boy and black boy are mixes with a lot of this breed):
Plant Natural material Working animal Horn Fawn

Serrana (mountain goat):
Terrestrial animal Grass Snout Goat Livestock

Serpentina (plains goat) - I love this breed. We'd like a Serpentina doe as well.
Eye Goat Plant Goat-antelope Sheep
 
#22 ·
Thought it was about time for an update. They're growing so fast!

The black goat, Molasses has become the leader and is definitely the most enthusiastic hiker, despite being a bit of a weirdly shaped goat.

The white-ish goat, Ulysses is huge, with legs like a giraffe, but he's very gentle, calm and possibly a bit dim (or maybe just veeeery relaxed). Nevertheless, he enjoys a good outing too.

The little guy, Pascoa (aka Easter, in Portuguese) is still the smallest but he's also growing. He's the most agile and is a very quiet goat who enjoys exploring. He's become a lot more tame than when we got him and has settled in well.

We've also added a female goat - Calliope - who looks very similar to our other white one, but slightly more strawberry blonde. She's very attached to people. She's a cousin of Ulysses and Molasses, from the same herd, and we're hoping she'll produce nice kids when bred to another type of goat.

They're about six months old now and showing good potential as pack goats, as far as I can tell. They are friendly and seem to love hiking at least - so hopefully a good start, even if they're not quite as buff as some of your American Alpines!

 
#24 ·
Their looking really good! :love: Pascoa is really handsome and has a lovely build. From what I can see I think Molasses has a good build for a pack goat with a shorter back and it sounds like he has the right attitude. Ulysses sounds chill which is a good personality for the trail in my opinion. Calliope is a cutie and sounds like a sweet heart does she like hiking? Does are a lot of fun to have on the trail with all their trying to make the boys behave.
I think it is neat to try packing with different breeds. I am trying with Boers ( another floppy eared breed) which a lot of people have told me will not work but it is what I have and they seem to be doing well right now. You can see them here Dill and His New Buddies along with my new alpines that I am going to cross with the Boers. Thanks for the update it is fun to see how everyone is doing!:)
 
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