Visit us on FaceBook for current news

People  often ask which Onion Creek Ranch breed will best put meat on the offspring of the does that they already own. I recommend that commercial meat goat producers whose herd influence is significantly Boer, Kiko, Spanish, or any of the dairy breeds should upgrade to Tennessee Meat Goat™ bucks to breed to their does. Since it doesn't take much Boer influence to take the meat off the offspring and because  Tennessee Meat Goats™ have no Boer influence in them, Onion Creek Ranch's TMG bucks will best accomplish that goal. Research has been done by Dr. Lou Nuti at Prairie View A&M University near Houston, Texas, proving that any goat having at least 50% Myotonic influence yields 6% to 10% more useable meat. The meat-to-bone ratio of Myotonic goats is 4 to 1; no other breed exceeds a 3 to 1 meat-to-bone ratio. Onion Creek Ranch's Tennessee Meat Goats™ are larger and more heavily muscled  fullblood Myotonics unlike those produced elsewhere.

Tennessee Meat Goats™ are short legged, deep and wide bodied, and carry lots of meat (muscling). They are built like muscled boxcars with legs.     This is a body conformation unfamiliar to most goat producers,  so  buyers usually have me  select breeding stock for them. The unique characteristics of this breed require producers owning TMG's to educate others about their great value to the meat-goat business. Tennessee Meat Goats™ are the Angus cattle of the goat world.   The TMG™ is the best meat goat  on the planet.

People who don't yet own goats but are searching for the breed to purchase for commercial production should consider raising TexMasters™. I began developing this breed in 1995 to meet the needs of the slaughter industry and to counteract the shortcomings  of the then newly popular Boer breed.  The TexMaster™ incorporates the heavier muscling  (MEAT) found on Onion Creek Ranch Tennessee Meat Goats™ with the slightly faster growth rate of the Boer. Producers breeding TexMasters™ can also expand into breeding TexMaster™ crosses  using commercial does of other breeds.

TexMasters™ look a bit more like the so-called "meat" goats that most people are used to seeing. This can be important in areas of the country that are new to meat goats where buyers with limited knowledge   are fixated on any goat having a white body and a red head. The strong color patterns that carry through with even small amounts of Boer genetics may give producers an additional sales tool in these immature  markets, although it is also possible to get  reds, blacks, and various "paint"  combinations.  TexMaster™ and TexMaster™ crosses  have proven  to be good choices for people who want to participate in market goat shows where meat on the goat is  desirable. Myotonia usually breeds out in the first cross, which means that (a) the offspring won't display myotonic characteristics -- the stiffening and relaxation that builds muscles that means more MEAT  but which may be considered a drawback in shows, and (b) "TexMasters™ will  be meatier than any other breed or crossbreed of goat in the show (unless there is a "Tennessee Meat Goat™ being shown).

If you already own commercial does, you  should purchase both an Onion Creek Ranch Tennessee Meat Goat™ buck and a TexMaster™ buck, divide  your  does into two herds, and breed  each buck to one-half of your  does.   Select for quality doe kids , and when they are old enough to breed, switch the  Onion Creek Ranch bucks.  Do not linebreed. Muscling (meat) is lost when these goats are linebred (inbred). After a couple of years, you will need to sell your bucks  and purchase new unrelated  genetics from Onion Creek Ranch.    You should have no problem selling them  if you've proven their worth in MEAT production to other local goat raisers.   Anytime anything is new, a seller has to educate customers  of its value over competing products.

I don't  sell Tennessee Meat Goats™ until they are at least yearlings because I cannot determine  earlier  how they will grow out and whether they will meet my criteria for TMG™ designation.      Buyers cannot look at a three-month-old kid and visualize what it will look like at two to four years of age, even if I place adult and kid side by side.  TMG's achieve full frame size at two years of age but continue developing muscling  until they are fully grown at four years old.  . The analogy I  use to explain this process is that a two-year old TMG is like a 16-year-old boy, while a four-year-old Tennessee Meat Goat™ has filled out its frame like a 30-year-old man.  This doesn't mean that you must purchase a four-year old buck; the genetics to produce MEAT are present in the not-yet-fully-grown yearling. TexMasters™ may be available to purchase as young as nine months of age.

I don't    sell semen or embryos nor do I sell pregnant does or provide live breeding coverage.   There are  sound reasons for these policies which I  explain in detail to prospective buyers.

Tennessee Meat Goat™ is a designation given to fullblood Myotonics out of Onion Creek Ranch genetics that are larger and more heavily muscled than typical Myotonic goats.   Onion Creek Ranch has a certification program for TMG™ status for goats born at other locations out of OCR genetics that is available when the goats reach 12 to 18 months of age.  There is no cost for this service and it can be done without transporting the goat.

Tennessee Meat Goats™ and TexMasters™ both have a significant role to play in the meat-goat world. While the appearance of TexMasters™ may be more familiar to the eye, understand that I used Tennessee Meat Goats™  to create  the TexMaster™ breed.