The Udder Side - Milk Test Report

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the following Does and their Owners who have completed milk testing in 2014 to date.  We appreciate the hard work these Does and Owners do in completing the program’s milk star requirements.
 

305 AR(Advanced Registry) Milk Star:

Rocking Goat Tasha, 3rd Generation Mini Nubian - Peggy Boone

Blue Unicorn GB Zigzag Czarina, 2nd Generation Mini LaMancha - Myra Bamberger 
Blue Unicorn GB Belle Cadence, 1st Generation Mini LaMancha - Myra Bamberger


One Day Milk Star:

Almosta Farms Violets, 5th Generation Mini Nubian - Christina Griswold

Paradise Moonlight, 4th Generation Mini Nubian Mini Nubian - Christina Griswold

Paradise Sundae, 3rd Generation Mini Nubian - Christina Griswold

Blue Oaks Pumpkin, 3rd Generation Mini Nubian - Christina Griswold

Echo Hills Snowflake, 6th Generation Mini Nubian - Christina Griswold

Caldwell Creek’s Fanny, 3rd Generation Mini Nubian - Angela Bugni

I will continue to post the other participating animals, currently on test, when they have finished their requirements.  If you would like to milk test, but have questions, please contact me at backpacker2@outlook.com

Norm Geiser - TMGR Milk Coordinator

CALLING ALL PHOTOGRAPHERS!

This year Have U Herd is hosting a Photography Contest!  Participant photos will be featured on TMGR’s Facebook page.  Winning photos will be selected to be featured on the blog and in our 2015 calendar! 

 

Winners will be selected from the following categories:

1.     Best Mini Alpine Photo

2.     Best Mini Nubian Photo

3.     Best Mini LaMancha Photo

4.     Best Mini Oberhasli Photo

5.     Best Mini Saanen Photo

6.     Best Mini Sable Photo

7.     Best Mini Toggenburg Photo

8.     Best Goat in Winter Photo

9.     Best Goat in Spring Photo

10.   Best Goat in Summer Photo

11.   Best Goat in Fall Photo

12.   Best Goat Kid Photo

If we do not receive submissions to any of the categories, we will use runners up from the other categories in the calendar.  Please submit new photos that have not been featured in previous calendars.

The contest is for TMGR members only. 

To submit your photos, please send your photos to swgoats@yahoo.com with the Subject: TMGR Photo Contest.  Full size files are best.  If you are submitting multiple photos, please submit each one in a separate email.   

In the body of the message, please supply the following information:

1.     Your Name

2.     Your Herd Name

3.     Name(s) and breed(s) of goat in the photo

4.     Any contact information you would like shared with your photo on Have U Herd (email, website, etc.)

5.     Which category(ies) you are submitting the photo to.  (The same photo can be considered for up to 2 categories.)

 
We will be accepting submissions until June 30^th.  We will start posting submissions to Facebook on June 11^th.  We will allow the general public to vote for their favorites by “liking” the photos.  This is a great opportunity to get publicity for our registry and our farms.  We look forward to seeing your photos!!

Notes from the February Board Meeting

The Board of Directors had a meeting February 8th.  We have added two new board members. MaryLisa Lynch of California raises Mini Nubians with the herd name Irm’s Girl.  Cari Zisk of Idaho raises Mini Oberhasli, Mini LaMancha, Mini Toggenburg and Mini Alpine goats under the herd name Cherry Butte.  We look forward to what they can bring to the board! 

We discussed the need to edit the TMGR website.  If anyone sees something they do not understand or that does not function properly on the website, please email your suggestions to Donna Elkins - reg@tmgronline.org or Douglas Clark info@tmgronline.org .  We are making the final tweaks on the I-Goat online evaluation program and hope to have that up and running shortly.  If anyone has advanced skills in web-design, html, etc., we would welcome your volunteer services.  We appreciate your patience as we work through these issues. 

A committee has been formed of Mini Nubian breeders for reviewing the Mini Nubian breed standards.  We will be reviewing photographs of high generation Mini Nubians.  If you have Mini Nubians, be looking for an upcoming post about the kind of photographs we need.  Our goal is to create a group expectation for quality based on an informative breed standard reflective of a truly obtainable goal. 

We are also working to get new registry software for Donna to make her work easier and more efficient.  We experienced an increase in memberships and registrations in 2013, and in 2014 we are experiencing a membership and registration boom.  We thank Donna for her service as registrar as she works to process the new registrations in a timely manner. 

We are scheduling our next board meeting for March.  We are discussing forming a by-laws committee to review the by-laws so they can be updated and published online.  We are also discussing forming a show committee to help members start new TMGR shows and discussing how to make dual sanctioning go smoothly, so there will be more opportunities for our members to show and get recognition or our Mini breeds.  As always we welcome input from our membership. If you have an item that is high priority for you, please contact one of the board members.

Mini Nubian Goats Bring History Alive

We think of our Mini breeds as something new, but in fact they are not all that different from the first domestic goats brought to North America by English settlers.  The Old English goat was a small, thrifty dairy goat, with excellent feed conversion, thriving primarily on forage – sound familiar?  After more than a century of “improvement” is the dairy goat industry starting to come full circle?

Goats certainly were some of the first domestic livestock to be brought over from the Old World.  The first dairy consumed by the colonist came from goats and sheep, and we all know that goat milk has saved many a baby whose mother was unable to provide.  Goats are ever present in human history.

Interest in living history events, reenactments, is alive and well.  My family has found this to be an excellent way to get the word out about our wonderful goats.  We attend two events a year in Indiana – The Spirit of Vincennes Rendezvous in May and The Feast of the Hunter’s Moon in October.  We dress in colonial costume and demonstrate goat milking, cheese making, and sell homemade goat milk soap.  In Vincennes we are allowed to let the children young and old try milking, and this creates a lot of excitement.  I have trained my goats to stand patiently on the stand without feed.  The Mini Nubians were super sweet with the kids.  I don’t know when I’ve been prouder of my little goats!

Reenacting may not be for everyone.  We do primitive camp right next to our goats who sometimes feel the need to talk to everyone who walks by in the night.  Proper tentage and costumes are not cheap, but goat milk soap sells well and helps offset the costs.  Taking goats requires temporary fencing and shelter, buckets, feed, hay, and milk stand.  Even though it is at times hard, I have found it hasn’t really ruined the pastoral fantasy.  If anything it is strengthened it for me, because when I let go of how I feel (hot or cold, uncomfortable or dirty, tired or thirsty) and look around, there sure is a lot of beauty in life!  The greatest part is seeing people enjoy the goats.  We may take them for granted and even see them as a chore sometimes, but when we see them through the eyes of others – goats are magical creatures indeed!

Angelia Mercer
Editor
www.stillwatersfarm.blogspot.com

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.