History of the Heritage Spanish Goat:
In the 16th century the Spanish came to the Americas, bringing goats.
By Leslie Edmundson
www.spansihgoats.org

We can assume that the goats chosen for Spain’s early trips overseas represented the average all-purpose Spanish goat before selective
breeding and breed differentiation became popular. We might guess that the Royal Purse would pay for top-quality goats to send on such a
voyage, but chances are that no one in Spain had a ‘better quality’ goat to sell. Cattle and sheep gained fairly early popularity with selective
breeders in Europe, and would show on livestock census reports, but goats have been overlooked for centuries—a goat was just a goat, and
would not have been particularly noticed or documented beyond its immediate use until 300 years later.

Still, we should not be deceived by the simplicity of the goats brought to the Americas. They originated in the days of natural sustainable
agriculture, and represented genetic lines that could stand up to the simple care and knowledge of the 1500’s. This guaranteed that only the
hardiest goats survived to breed. Spanish goats in the Americas are now some of the few goats that still reflect the ancient, efficient Spanish
genes—it has become increasingly difficult to find such goats, even in Spain. But until British voyagers hit America, Spanish goats were the
only goats we had.

Let’s focus on the Spanish goats that made their way to what is now the United States.
The Spanish colonized the Americas from both sides. They left a goat trail. Some goats were brought from Spain to the Caribbean, through
Florida, and onto Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia. In the west, the goat trail runs from Mexico to California and Texas. So we have a mix of
origins and possibly a little interbreeding in the middle. Remember that goats never received much documented attention, so the history is
hard to verify, but Spanish goats in this country show their DNA to be of Iberian origin.

For the next couple of centuries the goats were used for milk, meat, hair, and hides. The goats survived well with minimal management, and
those that became feral survived with no human management at all. They adapted well to their regions, and natural selection was the norm,
producing a breed of goat that was an exceptionally well-adapted survivor.

Goats were some of the last animals to captivate the interest of large-scale livestock breeders and commercial markets. Cows and sheep had
all of the attention, and next to that were pigs and chickens. The Spanish goats thus escaped the intensive and industrialized livestock
management practices that became so popular in the 19th and 20th century. In this country, in the 1840’s, a goat was still just a goat.

History of the Pape Bloodline
Adapted by the interview with Shirley Pape , February 2008.
source spanish goats.org

Pape
Named after Elgin and Shirley Pape, Harper, Texas
Shirley Pape was raised in Texas on a ranch that had bred sheep and Angora goats since the 1920’s, with Spanish meat goats kept separate
from the Angoras. But Elgin and Shirley Pape did not raise goats themselves until one day, in the 1960’s, their daughter returned home with
eight does and a buck, all purebred Spanish. She had been rewarded for her helpfulness by Mr. and Mrs. Midkiss of Kerville (now deceased),
and thus began one of the largest purebred Spanish goat herds in Texas today.

The Papes added to their growing herd through the years, but only with stock from trusted friends and neighbors. They also raise Savanna and
Savanna-cross goats, but the Papes keep the different breeds on separate ranches in the area. The Spanish goats are in ‘Hill Country’—a hilly
area that is dry, rocky, and quite open, where Live Oaks, Shin Oaks, Mesquite, Yucca, and cacti grow amongst other shrubs and forage. It is a
constant task to keep the Mesquite and cacti in check. The goats forage extensively on brush and Live Oak leaves, but the Papes supplement
their feed with round bales of Sudan hay, protein blocks, cotton seed, corn, and grain cubes, which are a composite of pressed grain. The goats
love the grain cubes, and the rustle of a feed bag will bring them running to their owners, showing them to be a pretty tame bunch. The goats
have constant access to both mineral blocks and loose minerals, and drink from troughs as there are no natural streams or water sources in
their pastures.

The Papes deworm twice per year, running the goats through a chute and using a worming gun to dose the goats with oral dewormer, usually
Ivermectin. The availability of rocky surfaces in the area ensures that there is never any need for hoof trimming.

Buyers of their Spanish goats usually want weaned kids that are 30–50 lbs., and want them at different times of the year. The Papes meet this
demand: most kidding occurs in January and July, allowing for the availability of young goats throughout the year. The bucks are never
separated from the does, and mate selection occurs naturally. Because of this, the herd uses a mixture of inbreeding and linebreeding, which
has worked well for decades. The Papes enjoy a reputation for having great goats, and have shipped goats to breeders throughout the United
States.

The Papes do cull goats continually, but always for conformation, size, and udders, never for color. Their herd is comprised of a variety of
colors, and includes slight variations in horn shapes, some curving slightly, some rising straight.

The success of the Papes’ Spanish herd is only marred by one thing—predators.
Bobcats, mountain lions, coyotes, eagles, buzzards, and hawks have all taken their toll on the herd. When there are thousands of acres of
pasture, pastures are hard to defend. The Spanish goats are now kept close to home and protected by one jenny per group. Each group
consists of 300–350 goats and ranges over a few hundred acres. The Papes find that jennies stay more focused if not in pairs, but sometimes
will run ragged protecting the herd and still have difficulty keeping coyotes at bay. Eagles pose another problem. There is no dense tree
coverage protecting the land, and a constant supply of young goats also means that when the eagles return to the area after migration, there
are kids to be had. Lately the eagles have been staying year-round. One day Mrs. Pape, grandchildren in tow, was horrified to find 16 kids
killed by eight eagles who were perched at the water troughs. There may have been more kids missing—eagles will dive down at their prey and
swoop back up, carrying it off in their talons. They’re daring and fast, and seem to defy the abilities of any livestock guardian.

In the early 2000’s, the Papes lost almost 60% of their stock to predators, but every year that percentage lowers. In 2007 losses due to
predation still amounted to almost 20%. For Shirley Pape, who has loved goats since childhood, the losses are heartbreaking.

The Papes use government trapping and control programs, including aerial shooting, to help with predators, but these methods are not
completely effective. The Papes have participated in many meetings with other Texan ranchers to increase government intervention in
predation, but would like to see more results from the effort.

The Papes believe that predation is one of the main reasons why many local ranchers are giving up goat ranching, and see this as a great threat
to the preservation of purebred Spanish goats. But the Papes won’t give up yet, and continue to do their best to conserve this endangered
breed.

Smoke Ridge Bloodline
Story by Yvonne Zweede-Tucker, Fall 2008
www.smokeridge.net

The Smoke Ridge herd was started in 1991 with a small group of Spanish does acquired through Texas auctions. A new venture, the production
of Montana-hardy meat goats with a cashmere byproduct was the original business objective. After a few years, Smoke Ridge concentrated
solely on meat production, with fertility, maternal abilities, and longevity heading the selection criteria.

The Smoke Ridge herd resides in north-central Montana, at the base of the Rocky Mountains. The environment is dry (14 inches of
precipitation per year) and holds great potential for generation of wind power! In the cold winters, with temperatures falling to 40 below zero,
the cashmere undercoat that the goats still produce helps keep them warm and fuel-efficient while being fed grass-alfalfa hay (when the
ground is snow-covered). Smoke Ridge feeds no grain or concentrates. The goats always have loose mineral available. The goats are used locally
to help curtail the spread of weeds, including the noxious weeds Leafy Spurge, Spotted Knapweed, and Canada Thistle, and do brush
reduction on nearby ranches, which benefits the community and provides extra forage for the herd. Smoke Ridge deworms their goats twice
per year, one month before kidding and one month before breeding.

The original goats were trained to electric fences, subsequent generations were raised with them from birth. Although there are Golden and
Bald eagles, Grizzly bears, wolves, coyotes, foxes and badgers, Smoke Ridge has no losses to predation thanks to their guardian dogs.
Anatolians, Maremmas, and crosses thereof, guard the goats at home or off property at weed projects, at approximately one dog per 100 goats.

Nearly one third of the doe herd is purebred Spanish, and every few years those does are bred to a purebred Spanish buck to make a new
batch of "mother goats." The entire Smoke Ridge doeherd is sorted into groups of approximately 75 animals, and a single buck is put with
each group for three and a half weeks. Then all the does are put back together, with only a single cleanup buck, for another week Does are
exposed to kid in the late Spring (May/June) so that the slaughter kids can be sold in the late Fall/Winter, when prices for milk tooth kids are
highest. Even when more than 500 kids are born within four weeks, all kids are eartagged and recorded on the day of their birth. Does wean an
average of 1.9 kids each.

Smoke Ridge primarily raises Spanish/Boer and Spanish/Savannah crosses for meat production, but maintains purebred Spanish does and
bucks to keep the genepool available for the herd. Craig and Yvonne select does for fertility and their ability to successfully bring kids to
weaning weight, on forage only, in half a year. They keep accurate records to monitor the performance of each individual goat. It is this
attention to detail (and the bottom line), that enables Smoke Ridge to evaluate each goat and cull accurately. It also reinforces the decision
to keep raising purebred Spanish goats, as they are such a valuable component of the enterprise which has been successful for over 17 years.
Pape Heritage Spanish Goats
Rising Sun Ranch