I am wanting to keep one of Peachy's bucklings for myself. I have to make a decision between two of them. Both are blue eyed, both buckskin, one has fancy white overlay the other has moonspots.
The fancy white overlay buck is a little bigger and appears to have a longer body. Moonspot boy seems to be kind of short bodied. They are only a week old.
Another pair of bucklings I had born earlier this year were similar to this, one long bodied and one shorter, and by the time I sold them at 9 weeks they were still different from each other that way.
Can you really tell a conformationally superior goat as a teeny baby or is it a crapshoot? I like the look of the longer buck but if it is not likely to carry to adulthood then I might keep the moonspot boy instead just because his kids might sell better. Any thoughts? How do you choose a baby to keep?
Replies
If the dam is long bodied, I would probably keep the wider ended of the two.
I'd say Moonspot boy is wider in the rear. What a tough call! My one complaint about the sire is that maybe he is a little short bodied. Otherwise I am quite pleased with him on all fronts. This boy won't replace his sire but The mother is my hardiest Nigerian, I am so impressed with her, so I wanted to keep a buck out of her to try and breed that hardiness into some of my less hardy animals.
Another thing according to the link Julia shared (also a favorite of mine) is to look for a goat "wide in the hocks" which is where an udder would be on a doe. Even though you're talking about bucks, it's important to choose a buck that will contribute traits you'd like. Space for a good udder is one of those.
I like this blog about confirmation in Nigerian Dwarfs. http://www.debpnigerians.com/choosingyourgoat.htm I guess the better choice would be the longer-bodied buckling but you know their shapes may change since they are so young. You have some time yet, so maybe it will be easier as you get closer to time to sell one. Good luck! (Would love to see pics of your boys!)