Coaster Goats
In 2002 after using Boer goats as our herd sires unsuccessfully, we decided to find another breed of goat that would be more acclimated to the wet coastal lands of Texas. We did a lot of research on the different goat breeds and what stuck most in our heads was an article about environment of origin. The article recommended buying animals that were from the same type of environment as what we lived in. We found the New Zealand Cashmere in Blanco, TX. The New Zealand Cashmere, like the Kiko originated from feral stock. Although we had better success with the New Zealand we were still not quite satisfied with the production. In 2004 we bought some pygmy nannies from an auction and brought them to our ranch. They slipped through our fence immediately and proceeded to live across the road in a neighbors pasture without any attention. We finally fenced in our small pastures with a smaller goat wire and caught them and they were bred to our cashmere bucks. That was the first step in the creation of our new breed. A half pygmy buck was then bred back to the pygmy nannies and there we got a couple of ¾ pygmy bucks. We bred the ¾ pygmy bucks to our herd of cashmere nannies. This gave us the combination we were looking for. The combination of the pygmy and the cashmere produced a goat close to the size of the cashmere that was more parasite resistant. We called our new breed Coasters a term used by a relative who used to buy light calves along the coast and bring them to Texas to fatten them up. He called the light calves’ coasters.
Our goal was to develop a breed of goat that needed little or no maintenance. We wanted our goats to be able to live off pasture with very little interference from us. Since we started breeding the Coasters we have found that the kidding rate is much higher with fewer losses and they breed at a younger age than the standard meat goat a lot of our spring nannies will breed in the fall. We have reduced our worming schedule to twice a year. The nannies have nice tight udders so we don’t have problems of udders tearing in rough brush. The nannies have good mothering instincts but unlike the cashmere they aren’t quite as aggressive. Our herd is comprised of goats of all colors but since we used mostly white cashmere we have lots of white nannies.
Our goats serve a dual purpose, they are used for meat and for brush control. Rose hedge, tallow trees and other woody vegetation are controlled by the goats. We don't have the yearly expense of spraying herbicides for brush control which takes over fencelines and pasture of our neighbors.
The cost of spraying far exceeds the cost of putting up goat proof fencing. The cost of putting up goat fence is about $30.00 an acre. We use a 12-inch mesh so the goats don't get their horns stuck in the fence. The mesh is a high tensil wire that has lasted over 10 years and still looks new. The goats keep the fence lines clean so we don't have the added expense of hiring someone to clean out the fence.
