Red River Savannas'Â Story
In 2016, my parents and I decided to try our hand at goats. We thought that since we had a background in cattle, horses, and sheep, that goats would be a breeze. Saying we were wrong is an understatement. We went with Boer and Boer cross does on a Fullblood Boer buck. When kidding season came around, that was the most horrendous 3 months that we had ever experienced. Does wouldn't claim kids, kids didn't want to eat, and the whole lot of animals were just unthrifty. Parasites (both worms and coccidia) were out of control more than ever, and they were bad before that. We lost several animals, both kids and adults, and the kids that did make it to weaning averaged about twenty pounds! We probably had about ten bottle babies, and they were the ones that weaned the best. Since we knew there is always a learning curve with any type of livestock, we just chalked that year up to bad management and moved on. We did more research, changed some things around, and researched some more.
When the second kid crop came in 2017, it wasn't much better. We lost fewer kids, but they didn't wean any heavier at 90 days. At that point, my parents sold out and never looked back. I kept my little herd of ten, and was determined to make goats work for me. I kept researching, and stumbled on the Savanna. I was intrigued by the breed, so I bought a Fullblood buck (Fury) and put him on my does. With the introduction of Fury, Red River Savannas was born. That next kid crop was out of this world compared to the previous two. Kids had a will to thrive that was not present before, they were more parasite resistant, and they averaged a healthy 45 pounds at weaning! It is important to note that I kept the management system the same as the year before. Needless to say, I switched to Savanna influenced goats and would not DREAM of ever going back to full Boer.
I applaud all Boer breeders out there and have the utmost respect for them, because I do not know how they do it with that breed and their parasite intolerance. All I know is that the Savanna is the breed that works for me, and I'll keep producing them as best I can for as long as I can. Every kid crop is better than the one before, so don't feel too down if we are sold out for the season, as the next kid crop that rolls around we will definitely have some kids just as good as were in the past group, if not even better!