some people think that because we use the word “bloodline” when referring to a family of chicken or goats, the genetic buildup of our animals is in their blood.

my uncle took this word literally. when he noticed that his fighting cock could not fly very high during the sparring bouts, he decided to catch a swift and high-flying bird called “marakbak.”

he then took a syringe and drew blood from under the bird’s wings and injected this to the vein of his low-flying rooster. the following morning his rooster was dead.

there are two factors which could influence a child – hereditary and environmental. when the child looks like his father, that is hereditary influence; when he looks like the guy next door, that is environmental influence. that’s a joke, of course. he he he!

seriously, did you even wonder why ilocanos are dark-skinned, the maranaos are fair-skinned and the igorots are stocky? or why the japanese have almond eyes, the chinese are chinky and the indian’s deep-eyed?

my view is that because of the thousands of years of intermarriage among members of a clan or tribe, these nationalities have developed a genetic strain that sets them apart from other people.

when they marry among themselves, the offsprings will have predictable looks and traits.

but what would happen if you pair a long-limbed and fast-running ethiopian to the enormous samoan? honestly, i cannot predict the outcome.

the lesson here is that if you breed goats that belong to a strain of good milkers, you will certainly produce an offspring that will be a good milker too.

but even if you use an imported buck from a high milking line to cross with mongrel does, you will never be able to tell whether the offsprings will also be good milkers.

once in a while though, you hit a jackpot.

about 20 years ago, the philippine cockfighting community watched in awe as a flock of white roosters from zamboanga, popularly known as the zamboanga white, dominated the cockpits all over the country.

the white roosters were on top of all the other breeds for about five years and then they started losing.

this was the same story with the mitra roosters. they were hot for a while but soon they disappeared.

but there is a breed of fighting chickens which has consistently won over the years in the hands of different breeders. the line is called lemon 84 and this started from a lemon-hackled rooster that american breeder duke hulsey brought to the philippines.

until today, the lemon 84 line is still being used by big-time rooster breeders in major competitions and they still keep on winning.

the fleeting glory enjoyed by the zamboanga whites and the mitra asils was a perfect example of a genetic jackpot, a slam dunk of sorts. the only problem was the breeders did not know how to perpetuate the line. when the original breeding materials died, they lost the bloodline.

on the other hand, the lemon 84 breed is a perfect example of another genetic jackpot whose breeders were able to preserve the bloodline to the point that the lemon 84s of today still look like the original lemon 84 of 40 years ago.

how did the breeders of the lemon 84 preserve and perpetuate the bloodline and how can this be replicated in the perpetuation of outstanding lines of milking goats?

we will have the answers in our next installment when will talk about genetics from a layman’s perspective and in the process educate our goatraisers of how to preserve outstanding goat lines.

manny pinol

In the U.s., the most popular variety of milk for consumption is cow’s milk. This of type milk is popular among Americans of all ages. Nevertheless, if you are going to compare it with the rest of the people of the world, you will realize that in terms of global popularity, goat milk outshines cow milk by a large margin.

Unlike cow’s milk, goat’s milk is much easier to digest as it contains smaller fat globules. Furthermore, the good cholesterol and Vitamin A that can be found in goat milk are readily absorbed by the body and brain than cow milk, meaning it could be used almost instantly. Other advantages of goat milk over cow milk include: its alkaline reaction which is similar to a mother’s milk not like cow milk which has an acidic reaction; goat milk is better suited to asthmatics and people with allergies as it does not cause mucus build-up; it also contains more natural germicidal properties as it is richer in chlorine, fluorine and silicon; and goat milk aids in preventing constipation considering that it is beneficial to the intestinal tract.

Taking all these benefits into account it is no wonder that goat milk is one of the primary reasons why a lot of farmers are into raising goats than any other livestock in the world; and it is growing in popularity in the U.S. and here in the Philippines. The American Dairy Goat Association recognizes six types of goat breeds as dairy goats or those that produce good quality goat milk.

Here are dairy goat information for your appreciation:

1) Nubian goat – breed has different colors with long, floppy ears, convex nose, and large structure. The breed is known to be more stubborn compared to other dairy goat breed and their unique noise sounds like the goats are complaining. Its milk has higher butter fat and protein content than other dairy goats.

2) Alpine goat – breed can have different colors except all white and light brown with white markings. It has a straight face, standing ears, and medium body built. It is a common dairy goat breed because of the amount of milk it is able to produce.

3) La Mancha – breed can be of any color. One of its distinct characteristics is that it has almost unnoticeable ear. It is relatively small but very sturdy and still able to produce milk while undergoing a great deal of hardship. Its milk is high in butterfat.

4) Oberhasli – breed is chamois colored. It is medium built, energetic and active, and has a straight face. It is a Swiss dairy goat.

5) Toggenburg – breed varies in color from light fawn to dark chocolate. It is medium built, sturdy, energetic, and active. It is know to be the oldest dairy goat breed and noted for its highly developed udder and high level of milk production.

6) Saanen – breed is usually pure white in color. Its size is medium to heavy built, with straight or dished face. Its does are heavy milk producers and yield best in much cooler environment.

The many dairy goat breeds provide the goat raiser with a lot of choices; thus, making it easier for him to find out the most suitable breed of dairy goat depending on his requirement and farm environment. Given the right dairy goat, the goat raiser will then profit in the many benefits of goat milk. Pioneering dairy goat producers in the Philippines successfully breed and produce profitable volume for the local market.