February 2009 Issue

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WHAT EXACTLY ARE TEXMASTER™ MEAT GOATS?

Back in 1995, five years after I had begun raising fullblood Myotonics and about nine months after I bought Boers from New Zealand, I began to wonder what the big deal was about Boers as "meat" goats. My Myotonics had more meat on them and were much easier to manage, cheaper to feed, and had much less difficulty kidding. So I posed the following question to myself: Why can't I take the more heavily muscled fullblood Myotonic buck, breed him to a Boer doe, and start creating a MEAT goat with more of the meat that my Myotonics had and a bit faster growth rate offered by the Boer?

So in the summer of 1995, I started this multi-year process of creating the best commercial meat goat breed. I trademarked the name TexMaster™and the beginnings of a new breed was born.

NOTE: TexMasters™ are not simply a crossing of Myotonic and Boer. Producers cannot duplicate what I've done without spending many years of crossing, evaluating, re-crossing, re-evaluating, and heavily culling at every breeding. As a rule of thumb, a minimum of seven generations of breeding is required to develop an animal which breeds true. Breeding true means that the offspring consistently reproduce similar characteristics, i.e. they produce traits that are similar enough to be called a BREED. I have now been breeding TexMasters(tm) for 15 years. That's a whole lot of breedings and cullings.

The resulting TexMaster™ goat is significantly Myotonic; only Tennessee Meat Goat™ and OCR Myotonic bucks were used as foundation sires. Just enough Boer was used to put a slightly faster growth rate on the offspring. The precise amount of Myotonic to Boer is a secret known only to me.

The TexMaster™ breed retains the hardiness of the Myotonic influence with excellent mothering instincts, ease of kidding, lower maintenance and most importantly the higher meat-to-bone ratio.

If you desire to register these goats, Pedigree International operates the TexMaster™ registry.

TexMasters™ are in use in large commercial herds throughout this country. Go to www.texmastermeatgoats.com to read testimonials to this fine breed.

If you are interested in buying TexMasters™, contact Suzanne W. Gasparotto or Pat Cotten. OCR Marketing Director Pat Cotten is located at Bending Tree Ranch in Arkansas at btrocr@cyberback.com or call Pat at 1-501-581-5700. Suzanne can be reached at onioncreek@tennesseemeatgoats.com or call 1-325-344-5775. If you can't reach one of us, contact the other. We are in contact daily, share information about all inquiries, and work together to fill orders.

texteaser Suzanne W. Gasparotto
Onion Creek Ranch
TexMaster™ Meat Goats

TxMstrdoescom

Example of TexMaster™ does at Onion Creek Ranch

Subscribe FREE now! Monthly issues with new articles and other educational information on meat goat health, nutrition, and management written by Suzanne W. Gasparotto of Onion Creek Ranch and Pat Cotten of Bending Tree Ranch. In all cases, it is your responsibility to obtain veterinary services and advice before using any of the information provided in these articles. Neither Suzanne Gasparotto nor Pat Cotten are veterinarians. None of the contributors to this website will be held responsible for the use of any information contained herein.

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October 26 - October 30


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Bending Tree Ranch Murphy
TexMaster™ buck

Normal Values for Goats

  • Temperature - 101.5º to 103.5º
  • Pulse 60 - 90 beats per minute
  • Rumen Contractions - 1 - 2 per minute
  • Gestation - 150 days
  • Heat cycle 21 days
  • Sexual maturity 3-5 months

 

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All information and photos copyright © Onion Creek Ranch and may not be used without express written permission of Onion Creek Ranch. TENNESSEE MEAT GOAT ™ and TEXMASTER™ are Trademarks of Onion Creek Ranch . All artwork and graphics © DTP, Ink and Onion Creek Ranch.

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