Kalahari Red Goat: Origin, Characteristics, Uses, Photo

The Kalahari Red goat is a meat goat breed originating from South Africa. Many high quality meat goat breeds have been developed from South Africa.

The Savana and Boer goats are world famous breeds, and the Kalahari Red goat is a new addition to this list. It is a new breed in terms of recognition and the breed is becoming more popular and very important meat goat breed in South Africa, and some other neighboring countries.

The name of the Kalahari Red goats is derived from their red coat and the Kalahari Desert, which spans the borders of Botswana, South Africa and Namibia.

Some people believe that the ‘Kalahari Reds are related to or may have derived form the Boer goats, mainly because of their Boer-like appearance’. But this is not true, the Kalahari Red goat is a distinct and separate breed of goat.

Genetic and blood testing from the Agricultural Research Council of South Africa has not shown evidence of being developed from a particular breed, specially the Boer.

The Kalahari Red goat breed has additional advantages to the original Boer goat. They can enhance the hardiness of the animal, the tenderness of the meat and the camouflage and hence the survival of their kids.

In South Africa, the Kalahari Reds are considered as an important goat breed and mainly raised for their meat production. Some populations of the Kalahari Red goats are also being developed in Australia, Brazil and the United States. Read more information about this goat breed below.

Table of Contents

Kalahari Red Goat Characteristics

Kalahari Red goat is a very beautiful animal and has similarities in appearance with the Boer goat. It is a large breed of goat with red colored coat (white or light shades of red are not desirable). In their native pasture, the white or light shades of red do not provide as much camouflage from predators.

The Kalahari Red goats also have strong herding instincts for protection as well. They have long, floppy ears. They have loose skin in their neck area. They have moderately-sized, sloping horns above their ears.

Their skin is fully pigmented, which allow them to forage and increase weight gains through the heat of the day. The does have full and properly attached udders and teats.

The Kalahari Red goats can be used as a good crossbred for increasing hardiness and carcass size. The bucks are usually larger than the does.

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Average body weight of the Kalahari Red buck is about 115 kg. And the does on average weight about 75 kg.

Uses

Kalahari Red goat is a very good meat producing breed of goat. They grow relatively fast and also very suitable for commercial meat goat farming business.

Special Considerations

The Kalahari Red goats are very active and extremely hardy animals. They are ideally suited to the harsh and outstretched conditions of large parts of South Africa. They are very adaptable and bred well in the arid and semi arid areas.

They are excellent foragers, and are usually feed on a vast variety of plants, grass and grains. They can go far in search of food and water. The Kalahari Red goats are usually resistant to diseases and parasites, and require less care and management than other goat breeds.

It is possible to organically raise the Kalahari Red goat, due to the limited use of vaccines. Organically raised goats will produce lean meat with an excellent taste and texture.

The Kalahari Red does have excellent mothering instincts. They look after their kids very carefully, and a doe usually give birth of kids three times every two years.

The newborn Kalahari Red goat kids are generally strong and have a strong urge to suck. The kids grow very fast, and the young kids usually show weight gains of about 1.5 kg per week, sometimes even more.

However, the Kalahari Red goat is an excellent meat goat breed. They require less care and management, and can give maximum profit when raising goats commercially. Review full breed profile of the Kalahari Red goat in the following table.

Breed Name	Kalahari Red
Other Name	None
Breed Purpose	Mainly kept for meat production. The breed is considered among the best commercial meat goat breeds.
Breed Size	Large
Buck	Up to 115 kg
Doe	Up to 75 kg
Horns	Yes
Climate Tolerance	All Climates
Coat Color	Red
Good for Stall Fed	Yes
Rarity	Common
Country/Place of Origin	South Africa