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.

Breeding Memo

 

Send a Breeding Memo each time you send in a registration application for a kid which is a result of that breeding. Scan and copy the memo so you will have one for each kid’s registration application from that particular breeding.

Trade Mark

How we began and why the need of a trademark:

A group of breeders in the State of Washington convened on May 30, 1988 to form a committee for the organization and promotion of the Kinder goat. These same breeders gave this specific cross, Registered Nubian and a Registered Pygmy, the name Kinder. With the guidance of Harvey Considine a Kinder® Breeder Standard was set up. Harvey Considine also made a Score Card specifically for the Kinder® goat. The other crosses of these same breeds done before 1988 did not have a name and were not bred according to the Kinder® Breed Standard, Score Card and not registered with the Kinder® Goat Breeders Association. The crossing of Nubian and Pygmy lines before 1988 had no specific name, being known only as cross bred. This same statement holds true for other crosses done today. The Kinder®goat is a goat that is bred according to the Kinder® Breed Standard and Score card and that can be registered with the  Kinder®Goat Breeders Association. The crosses done in the past and those done today that do not follow the Kinder® Breed Standard and Score Card and cannot be registered with the Kinder® Goat Breeders Association are not Kinder® goats and should not carry the name or be recognized as a Kinder® goat.

Trademark: Kinder® Goat

A trademark offers protection somewhat similar to a copyright. A copyright helps to protect a thought or an idea, while a trademark protects more business specific such as names, symbols and etc. In our case we are talking about a name, Kinder® goat. By trade marking this name we have separated ourselves from other competitors in the market.

You ask why this is needed. There are lots of people that are breeding a Nubian and a Pygmy but not according to our breed standards and score card. They may be breeding an experimental Nubian to a non-registered Pygmy for instance. In this case there would be no way to trace ancestry lines of either breed. Those doing this breeding are calling the off-spring goats and they are not truly Kinder goats. A true Kinder® goat is one that is bred according to our standards and Kinder® score card and registered with the Kinder® Goat Breeders Association.

Many problems have surfaced since the breeding of the Kinder goat in the 1980’s. Animals of unknown origins have been sold to unexpected buyers then that buyer is unable to register those animals with the KGBA because of the unknown origin. Now the buyer is out all the money spent and has no animals that can be registered with the Kinder® Goat Breeders Association. This is a sad situation but nothing the  Kinder®Goat Breeders Association can do.

In order to start your own lines of Kinder goats you must use a Nubian that is either registered with American Dairy Goat Association (ADGA), American Goat Society (AGS), or the Canadian Goat Society (CGS). This Nubian must be a Purebred or full American Nubian. The Pygmy must be registered with National Pygmy Goat Association (NPGA), American Goat Society (AGS), or the Canadian Goat Society (CGS). The crossing of these two registered breeds results in a first generation Kinder. After this initial breeding the Kinder is bred within their own breed. All Kinder® goats are registered with the Kinder®Goat Breeders Association.

Copies of the Nubian registration papers and the Pygmy registration papers are sent along with the application of this first generation animal where they are recorded and kept on file. In this way the breeder and the buyer can trace the ancestry of those animals. All registration applications, pictures, transfers and etc. are kept on file in the KGBA data base.

It is because of unscrupulous sellers just looking to make a dollar that it was felt we must protect our name as well as buyers, by trade marking the Kinder goat name. Now these people can no longer legally use the name Kinder goat to sell their animals.

It should be understood that by trade marking the name, Kinder® goat, that the Kinder®Goat Breeders Association has no legal right of ownership to your Kinder® goats. It is not the commodity (the goat) that is trademarked but the name only.