International Heritage Breed Week

It's International Heritage Breed Week, and you know what that means: a celebration of our breed!! Arapawa Island Goats go waaaayyy back, off to a small island in New Zealand. Said to be possible descendants of an Old English goat, they were left behind on the island by James Cook in 1773, where they thrived for centuries. Unfortunately, the Forest Services worried about more native and natural flora and fauna, something these goats were causing a bit of an issue with, and attempted to cull the entirety of them. They barely survived, and even to this day we still see encouragement to rid the island of this breed. This leaves us with an estimated 800 left in the world, with about 300 here in the United States. This dual-purpose breed has gotten a good name for itself amongst those that know of them. A smaller goat, ranging between 60-120 lbs on average, parasite resistant and tolerable to all sorts of weather, and friendly dispositions have given them all sorts of reasons to love them. Paired with high butterfat milk, some lines have seen a quart a day milking while kid sharing, opening up potential to see how much these animals can produce! They're good mothers and rarely need help kidding, often having twins and able to breed year round.

These goats can come in all sorts of colors, all black to creams and reds, shaggy white and black coats or a range of short, stock browns. All except for solid black goats sport badger patterning on their faces. Males often grow long sweeping horns while females are known to stay shorter and curl back. Given their dual-purpose, they hold good weight and structure without being too beefy like the common Boer, but not as long legged as an Alpine.

All in all, we love our breed. We wouldn't be here if we didn't, and we work hard in the Association for outreach and education to get more people involved. This breed has grown, slowly but surely, with close networks to the New Zealand Association, The Livestock Conservancy, and other conservation groups and museums around the US to protect this breed at all costs. They may not be wanted on that island, but old genetics like theirs deserve to be preserved. Our hope is that someday they thrive here, too, and we can see small farms seeking them out over heavy producers. Until then, we will not stop fighting to make that dream come true. Happy International Heritage Breed Week. To our breeders, who spend time, effort, and money to support their animals and help our efforts to move from critically endangered to stable. To our members, for supporting us and standing behind us even if they can't have a herd of their own. To our board, for volunteering their time to help keep this association running.

Last but not least, to our goats, for giving us hope and purpose. To Arapawas, and a future for all of them.