Circle W Ranch Roots

A Look Back At How We Got Started Raising Kiko Goats

We love talking about our Kiko goats. Many of our customers ask how we got started with this wonderful breed. So, we decided to give a little about our roots and how Circle W Ranch started raising Kiko goats.

Let’s take a look back…

It all began one day when I said to James. I need the steep hillside weeds cleared in front of my Bridal Shop. So I hired some teenage boys to come out. Quickly I saw it was a bad idea as the job was much more work than those kids could do. That evening James said, let’s go down to the stockyard and pick up some goats. That sounded like an easy enough plan. We went and came back with two blue milk goats and a crossed-up buck. James made a place for them in front of the store, and in a few months, we had four more. So now my bridal shop looked like a Formalwear Farm.

Soon, we all fell in love with the goats. Even my customers loved the goats so much that they stayed outside longer than they looked at prom gowns. One of my close friends came in with her boyfriend looking for a wedding gown. However, they didn’t find what they were looking for… instead, they bought five goats. We couldn’t wait to get more goats. That is all we wanted to do, so we sold our boat and started searching for the best breed for us.

Why Kiko Goats?

We knew we wanted to stay with a goat that would earn its keep. At first, we looked at Boers. They were beautiful to look at, but we wanted more information. We found Goat Rancher magazine in our Tractor Supply and saw a section in the back with a listing for some Kiko breeders near us. We called them up, and just like that, we were off to our first farm visit. It was the best learning experience of our life. A beautiful lady named Kim Spencer invited us out for a tour of her farm. She explained how Kiko goats thrive on about anything that grows. She had a beautiful herd, and it was evident that she truly loved what she was doing.

Getting our feet wet with bucks and does.

We knew then that we needed to visit more Kiko farms. We even attend a few Kiko sales. At the sales, we met breeders from all over America. Goat Rancher magazine came in handy again, helping locate more breeders and find all the big sales. We went to our first registered Kiko sale in Georgia. All of the goats looked great, and we had no idea what to buy. The bloodlines meant nothing to us because we didn’t know one line from another. I remember all of the National Kiko Registry breeders were so kind and helpful that day. Looking around at all the pens was really exciting. And they gave us a catalog with all the goats in it and pedigrees. We still had no idea what to bid on at the sale. I remember James said, let’s talk to the people in charge of this event. That is when we met the Seleska family Marilyn and Bob.

Putting our sales background to work in the goat industry.

We paid close attention to the pens where the biggest crowds kept circling. The most popular was Bear Creek Kikos. That is all we had to go on, and it was time for the sale to start. So for two days, we spent hours looking at goats and talking to Kiko breeders getting ready for our first registered goat purchase. That night, in the hotel, were stayed up for hours going over that catalog. We wore the book out from turning the pages before the sale ever started. James’ hunches were right about who we need to be interested though we still didn’t have a clue what to buy...yet.

Our first Kiko Goat sale.

The sale began, and right away, we felt the sticker shocker. We just sat there with our jaws dropped open while our hearts were racing. These goats really do sell for big money, and James and I didn’t have any more boats to sell. He leaned over and said, “We came all this way ain’t going home with nothing.” I said, “I hope they take credit cards.” One of the goats we had been looking at came up, and the bidding began. We noticed that Bob and Marylin were bidding, and James said, “Ok, that must be a good one.” So James started bidding against the sweet lady who was in charge of the sale. The big white doe went for $750, and the hammer dropped! James said, “Well, it is ours. I sure hope we can keep it alive.” And just like that, we were goat ranchers.

Funny thing, that big white doe is still in our herd, ced Carmel, and she has an offspring worth well over $8000. Thanks to Edd and Caroline Drexler for bringing that doe to the sale. We left that sale with one New Zealand and one Purebred doe. On the way home, we were still scouring that catalog until only ragged edges were left. I noticed the pens with the crowds were Bear Creek Kiko from Illinois. Again, we pulled out Goat Rancher and found Dick and Sally Rutherford as the owners. We decided those folks had the highest selling prices at that sale, and we needed to go to their farm and see what there were doing. Whatever it was, it was sure selling goats. We called and set up a time to travel eight hours, one way, to learn more about the Kiko breed that had charmed us.

Making more friends with our fellow Kiko goat ranchers.

Bear Creek Kikos was more than just a farm visit, and they quickly became our mentors. We have met a lot of breeders in Kikos, but none of them were more in touch with the foundation of Kikos and how to cross each bloodline to produce a better goat than the Rutherfords. Dick and Sally sold us our first New Zealand Buck, sdr Beauregard Bear. Soon we had outgrown our 10 acres. So we bought 15 more acres, and in one year, we were busting at the seams. Kikos were becoming more significant than we ever imagined.

Big changes coming

James and I decided it was time for a career change for both of us. After 30 years in retail and 30 years in construction, we were now full-time Kiko goat farmers! It was scary to think about, but the passion we had developed for our herd was powerful, and we never looked back. We sold our 25 acres, including our home and our formalwear business. We purchased 90 acres of forest and moved all our belonging into storage. While we were clearing our 90 acres, we lived in a fifth-wheel camper. James quickly got 15 acres cleared, fenced and prepped for our herd using a dozer and excavator. It was not easy, but it was worth it. Soon, it was time for more Kiko kids to hit the ground, and we decided to invest in a barn. That’s right...we chose to build a barn before a house.

It would take us another year to fence the entire 90 acres and introduce an automatic water system. We also built our house during this time and finally said goodbye to the camper.

Home “Sweat” Home

Circle W Ranch now sits on 90 acres with 12 different lots. Every moment has been worth the sweat and sacrifices we have made to get here. We are so blessed and enjoy sharing our passion with everyone who will listen. If you are considering raising Kiko goats, just let us say the “Work is Worth it.”