Accessorizing to Accentuate

Recently, while perusing show result web sites, virtual show pages and breeder’s pages in general, it became obvious that what the goat wears around its neck really affects HOW that goat looks, so the topic this time around will be collars.

While not the highest score on the score card, “dairy character” certainly does play a part in the final score.  The long, lean, smoothly blended neck should also display a clean throat latch.   What you chose as a show collar may be killing your score in this category before you even get your goat set up for the judge the first time.

Our model was pulled in out of the pasture and had not been clipped or bathed, but you can clearly see the difference that a collar can make!

 

In this first photo, our lovely, aged Mini LaMancha doe is being shown in a nylon “barn” collar.  The collar is new, unfaded and clean and is in the proper position for controlling the animal.  The color of the collar, however, shows in sharp  contrast to the coloring of the doe.  It also creates a visual line, which causes the eye to see the neck in two short, choppy pieces.



In this second photo, our model is being shown in a collar made from plastic dairy chain.  The chain fits into the doe’s throatlatch neater than the nylon collar does and we can see more of her neck – see how much longer it looks?  But, the chain is still “clunky” and the color is distracting.



In this photo, our model is wearing a narrow dog show lead made of nylon cord.  We do see this in the show ring quite a bit – But I would prefer to see the cord match the color of the goat as closely as possible.  Also remember – dairy goats are NOT to be shown with any type of lead or leash, so any extra  “lead” should removed or held discretely in the hand.

The most commonly accepted collar for show ring use is a metal chain collar.  Most exhibitors use a dog “choke chain” collar.  They come in various lengths and the chain links even come in various sizes.  It is important to note that the collar should NOT be used at choke chain!  Oval quick link fasteners are inexpensive, discreet and work very well.

The photographer had the models attention in this “win” photo.  Aaron had a very fine “herringbone” choke chain on her that we’d purchased off eBay.  It fit right in the groove of her throat latch and the Judge and onlookers barely noticed it!

 

I truly believe that most of our animals know that when the show chain goes on, it is time to be serious and settle down to work.  We work with them at home in a show collar a few times before a show to get them used to the feel  - it does feel different to them than a worn barn collar or frayed piece of baling twine.

 

The same care should be taken when posing goats for photos – you are selling that goat to the public and the goat should look its absolute best.

 

Feel free to contact us with any questions or comments at cherrybutte@msn.com

Good luck in the show ring and may your spring be filled with many bouncing baby kids!



Cari and Aaron Zisk own Cherry Butte Dairy Goats in Southern Idaho.  They breed and show ADGA/AGS Nigerian Dwarves as well as miniature Alpines, Lamanchas, Oberhasli and Toggenburg goats.

Our Road Trip to the National Goat Expo

When I found out the National Goat Expo was going to be held in Bloomington, IL, I knew I had to find a way to get there.  I’ll be honest, the idea of showing is a little nerve wracking to me.  I’m defensive about my babies.  (Hey, I’m human!)  Conformation and style are only part of the package.  Like most Mini breeders, we consider our goats part of the family.  We know which goats are hardy and resistant to parasites, which goats rarely need their feet trimmed, which goats are good mothers and will foster another doe’s young, which goats will stand quietly on the stand for an hour at a reenactment and let little children try to milk…  These are factors that make for a beautiful breeding plan and create an exceptional breed, yet they are not evaluated at a show.  But I digress, there have been so few opportunities to show minis, I felt it was important to go in support of our registry and breeds.

We packed up the truck the night before and laid out our clothes, so all we had to do was get up, dress, and load up the goats… and toss hay to everybody left behind, and fill water buckets…  We woke at five in the morning and drove most of the two and a half hour trip from Indiana to Bloomington by cover of darkness.  As we gained an hour, we arrived at the fairgrounds to check in around seven.  I’m not sure the geographical layout of Bloomington, IL, but it feels like being up on a plateau.  The sky is very large and the sun seems very near, making one feel quite small.  The fairground where the Expo was held consists of several long open shelters.  The shelters are airy, and on this early fall day, I was quite comfortable in their shade.  It was perhaps a little too dusty there.

 

I’ve been wary about showing for biosecurity reasons, but I can honestly say my goats really had no meaningful exposure to other goats.  Although I had reserved a stall in the goat barn, I ended up housing them in a pen ring side all day where they were quite comfortable.  It appeared it would be possible to show from the trailer quite comfortably there.  Many folks staying overnight protected their goats from contact with other herds using tarps.

The turn out for the show was light.  As I was coming by myself with my three younger elementary children, I had decided to bring four Mini Nubian doelings who could fit comfortably in two dog crates in the back of the pick up.  The Studdard’s of J Bar G Farms in Missouri are to be commended.  They not only brought their herd of Mini Manchas and Mini Nubians, but they picked up goats from other herds in order to round out the show.  We showed all the minis together, as we did not have enough goats to break it down into breeds.

We had two TMGR shows – the first judged by Denise Fraser and the second judged by Donna Elkins.  The results of the first show were accepted as the first MDGA show as well, and a second MDGA show was judged by Tim Flickinger.  It is important for our members to note that TMGR does have different breed standards and a different score card.  It is important to note that when making breeding selections and considering feedback.  However, we try to maintain good cooperative relationships between registries, being something of a necessity with participation numbers remaining low.

 

This was my family’s first showing experience, and the judges were kind and patient with my children who are still learning the routine and my doelings who are still learning to lead well, but thankfully for the most part walked willingly around the ring.  It was a good learning experience, and I think everyone had a nice time.  We returned home after dark, returning our babies to their dams who were uddered up and ready to nurse.

I’m not quite sure why there was not more interest in this show.  As a member of the Board of Directors and Mini Nubian breeder, I am interested in hearing from TMGR members and Mini breeders, particularly in the Midwest, about what interests them.  Do you wish to show?  Or have more of a fun family playdate with costume classes and milking contests?  Or have a get together for a one day milk test or for classification?  Or hold a clinic or cheese-making classes?  Is there a time of year that is better for an event?  If you have thoughts, please feel free to comment on this article, post to the TMGR facebook page or Yahoo! group, or email me directly at swgoats@yahoo.com.

Angelia Mercer

Editor

www.stillwatersfarm.blogspot.com

Mini-Mania Minutes- Not Just A Goat Show

TMGR sponsored two Mini Dairy Goat Shows at the recent Mini-Mania event on July 14th in Norco, CA.  Exhibitors of many minis made a showing at this weekend long event which included shows for pygmies, nigerian dwarfs and the mini-dairy goats.  There was also an exhibition of the mini-silkie fainting goats!

The days included a special guest speaker, Lorrie Boldrick, DVM along with a Goat Agility course that anyone could participate in as time allowed throughout the day.  The Tri-tip BBQ was an excellent source of dining cuisine for our lunch break as Dr. Boldrick explained the structure and components of the goat.  There was a question/answer session and we were so fortunate to have her present the information at our show.

Judges Dotty Clark and Rusty Repp kept things moving on Sunday and the exhibitors appreciated the upbeat atmosphere and camaraderie among the breeders and show personnel.  MJ Midstokke really helped encourage folks to support the silent auction and raffle, and overall, the general consensus was "we need to do this again!"  So stay tuned and we will post the next dates for Mini-Mania 2014 when they are available.

 

Donna Elkins

Shedding Light on Breeding Livestock

With breeding season rapidly approaching, there are a few things breeders have to keep in mind. The ongoing issue of In-Breeding, Line-Breeding & Out-Crossing our livestock can boggle the mind. I’ve had many new breeders tell me they would never breed a buck to a doe that is related. Please, let me put some light on this subject. I will go over each kind of breeding practice to shed some light.

 

First and foremost: Don’t put the human aspect into breeding livestock. They are not humans, they are not our babies, they are the animals that we care for and give us food or others things, such as wool, in return. Do we love them, yes.

 

There are 3 different ways to breed when it comes to their genetics. First is In-Breeding which for most people, is a no-no and I do agree with this. This is when a sire breeds his daughter, son breeds his dam, uncle breeds a niece, nephew breeds an aunt, or a full brother to a full sister. As an example: if the sire of a doe has a twin brother, or the dam of a buck has a twin sister. For me, they are just too closely related and I won’t take the chance of getting kids that won’t sell. They aren’t worth a flip at the auction either. That is from my own experience for “oops’’ that have happened over the years. And they do happen when your favorite buck decides that a 7ft fence is not high enough to keep him from breeding that sexy little doe that he knows is in her cycle. He doesn’t know she’s his daughter and could care less.

 

The 2nd way, and in my opinion the best way, to breed your girls is Line-Breeding. This is done several ways and I can’t list all of them. The closest is a half brother to a half sister.They carry 50% of the same bloodlines. The other 50% are 25% from the buck and 25% from the doe, say they have the same sire, they have different dams. Using 50% of a common bloodline, for the most part, will give you the best qualities in their kids. It can also go the other way. Line-Breeding is also when they are cousins and may be a generation or more back. A grandson breeding his grandmother is close but I’ve had some very good dairy goats come from this breeding as I was adding her genetics for a wonderfully attached udder into the offspring. For me, this is the way I like to breed my herd.

 

There is also Out-Crossing and this can add genetics that are good and awful. This is adding in the human thinking of breeding, when the animals are not related at all. Over the years I have Line-Bred but this year I am adding 2 young bucks that are not related to my herd. In time it will be an interesting kidding season but these boys will be too young for this years breeding season so their job for a year is to grow.

 

All this is an investment and no matter how you breed your livestock, it’s all a gamble anyway.  

 

Suzy Minck

milkmaid@embarqmail.com

www.milkmaidranch.com

 

Welcome to the New Online Version of "Have U Herd?" !

The Miniature Goat Registry is run by and for it's members to develop and promote the production of well-balanced miniature dairy goats.  Part of our mission statement is to provide information about the miniature dairy goats.  Gathering and disseminating this information is not something that one person or a few people can do.  I've bred Miniature Nubians for six years, and I know what has worked and what has not worked for my herd, but that is a very small part of the picture.  When I accepted the role of Editor for "Have U Herd?", I tried to think how we could best reach our members, foster dialogue, and start building a body of information for our members and those interested in breeding miniature dairy goats.  In this fast paced world we live in today, I think we will be best served by an online newsletter.  I hope to update the newsletter at a minimum every other month, but if we get a lot of interest and input, I'll be happy to publish updates more often than that.  This blog allows for comments.  Please feel free to comment and discuss the articles posted.  We welcome contributions!   Send your ideas, recipes, discussion topics, and photos to swgoats@yahoo.com.  I think we have a great tool here for developing our herds and promoting our breeds.  I hope you enjoy it!