Breed History

"Making the World a Little Kinder" by Pat Showalter
In the late summer of 1985 Zederkamm Farm found itself with a problem. The old Nubian buck who had kept our two Nubian does fresh for a continuing milk supply unexpectedly died in his sleep one morning. The idea of hauling our does off to another farm to be bred just
didn't appeal to us after an unsuccessful preliminary search for a replacement buck. Our real interest was in the milk. What would it matter if the resulting kids were purebred or not? One of our Pygmy bucks stepped up (way up) to volunteer his services, and so began the Kinder goat. Briar Rose was born first, then Liberty and Tia in the summer of 1986. We were surprised and delighted with the appearance and rate of growth of these little does. Liberty stayed with us, while the other two little girls went to nearby owners. In 1987 Liberty freshened for the first time with triplets, and proved to be a steady and reliable producer of the best milk we had ever tasted. On her next five freshenings she produced two sets of
quintuplets, a set of sextuplets, a triplet, and a twin set. She led the way as the first Kinder doe entered into official milk test (DHIA). Liberty earned her star by fulfilling the same requirements as those set by ADGA for standard dairy goats. Other local goat enthusiasts soon became involved in the Kinder project. Three of them organized what became the
Kinder Goat Breeders Association (KGBA) in 1988. Kinders were introduced nationally through a front page article in United Caprine News, January 1989. This small nucleus of a few goats and a handful of breeders in the Snohomish, Washington area was soon followed by the entrance of Bramble Patch Kinders of Miami MO into the project. They were inspired by the UCN article to start building their own herd of fine Kinders, and in turn encouraged others in MO to join in. Kinders are now distributed throughout the United States, with
another large group in California, and on into Canada and Brazil. There are presently close to 3.000 Kinders in the herd book. Along the way we have had the help and encouragement of many individuals, including other goat breeders and judges. Special note should be given to the Considines of Herd Evaluation Service (HES- Portage, WI). The KGBA has refined the Kinder Goat Breed Standard with their expert help. In addition, HES designed a scorecard
specifically for the dual purpose (milk and meat) Kinder.