We love our LaManchas, but they are hard to market. We've recently decided to change our strategy. We will have a few registered ADGA LaManchas that well qualify for the breed standard along with something else we wanted to try--our own breed standard. We are outcrossing LaManchas to create what I am coining as a 'Gem LaMancha'. The end goal is to have a heavy producing LaMancha with more flair. We will breed for broad animals that are uphill in stature, have correct facial features and produce a lot of milk. These are the main goals, as I have found the LaMancha breed is becoming taller in size than is the breed standard, roman nosed--underbites are more common--along with many other faults that seem to be getting overlooked because of body capacity and good udder attachment. If I have to pay these high feed prices for my herd and look at them everyday I want them to fit my ideal, more than someone else's.

These animals will not be papered (which I have found papers do not sell anyway) as they currently do not breed to ADGA or MDGA standards (ADGA allows no outcrossing to dwarfs, MDGA has a type-to-type breed standard which doesn't match my goals). We are breeding for a colorful LaMancha here, not a true mini goat but something close as LaManchas are supposed to be a smaller breed.

The inspiration for this idea began with an accidental outcrossing between one of our LaMancha bucks and one of our dwarf does. The result was a lovely first generation doe that caught a lot of attention from visitors. She is no longer with us but is pictured below. We are aiming to breed for a higher standard than her, but she was the first.