what are the thoughts on a breeding up program? Why not cross Arapawa bucks with commercial does 4-5 generations until you get at least a 15/16 pure Arapawa and call it an American purebred or something. With too many bucks and not enough females it seems like a good way to get breeding numbers up. When cattle breeds were first imported into this country we had breeding up programs and it quickly got the purebred numbers up. Then Fullblood semen was imported periodically to Keep the genetics fresh and pure. Just curious
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Hi Jeff,
I know breeding up programs have been successful for many breeds, but for the Arapawa, it would be disastrous.
The board has, over the years, discussed the option, and consulted with The Livestock Conservancy and their genetic experts, and the conclusion is always the same. Most of the successful breeding up programs are able to take advantage of having available breeds with similar genetics, or enough of a common history that they could be considered to have emerged from a similar genetic base.
There is no such option for Arapawa.
Due to the unique genetic makeup of the Arapawa, backed up by the extensive research done by our counterpart in New Zealand, attempting to do a breeding up program would only dilute the unique genetics of the breed, and render them no different than any other goat breed, and no longer worthy of conservation.