REGISTRATIONS - We Recommend NKR

Most people prefer to buy our goats unregistered. If you require registered goats, we recommend the National Kiko Registry due to its professional management, its support from major US breeders, and reasonable $12 registration fee.

Another major advantage is that NKR provides DNA testing services, but does not require it.

We are not believers in routine DNA testing except in special circumstances, due to the $35 cost. Goats are small animals, and at normal livestock sale prices, it is not practical to invest an additional $35 in every herd doe.

DNA testing can lead to a false sense of knowledge and security. The only thing DNA testing determines is whether or not the immediate parents of the goats are those listed on the pedigree. It cannot determine whether the grandparents are correct, the great-grandparents, etc. unless those also were tested. Kikos were first imported to the USA in the early 1990s. However, DNA testing has only begun in recent years. Since the original imports are long dead, and most were never tested, DNA testing does nothing to assure that today's "100% NZ" goats really are descended from original imports.

We think DNA testing is generally a waste of money. We appreciate that NKR leaves it up to the breeders to determine whether or not to test. We test only when requested by our buyers or when needed to resolve questionable parentage.

AKGA - Our Concerns

We also can provide AKGA registration - however, as of 2008, registration now costs $50, since AKGA requires every goat to be DNA tested. We have found it is impractical to manage a herd under this cost burden, and expect to discontinue our membership eventually.

Additionally, in 2011 the AKGA Board decided (improperly, we believe) to block members' access to the DNA file information (VGL numbers) for the goats they own. This is a serious concern and we hestiate to recommend investing in AKGA registrations, under these circumstances. We have trusted the AKGA with our money, only to find that now, they've blocked our access to the VGL numbers we need in order to verify progeny on our own, or via another registry. We have filed this ethics complaint and hope the matter is resolved soon.

IKGA

We do not do business with the IKGA, due to our concerns about their use of the potentially misleading term "fullblood."