Showing?

I have a FF that is 8 weeks and 4 days fresh. She is milking easily and well once a day and feeding her baby the rest of the time (second twin sold). This morning I decided to take a picture of her udder at 12 hour fill.  After the picture she milked out 2 #.  I have purchased a buckling with great background (I know I am only getting potential) and want to breed her and or her daughter to him to improve my herd and see what happens. I actually am thinking down the road, well not too far, as my 7 th decade is looming, I might want to show a bit. 

Is this crazy or am I moving in the right direction? 

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Replies

  • Thanks, Deborah,

    No, she wasn't milked out in the second picture I was just trying to get her udder from another angle.  

  • Thank you Deborah, if only you had time to do more of that I believe I could learn a lot from you even online. That sounded beautiful, just reading. I guess like poetry does to some people! I know enough to understand and even see the same thing you are seeing. But, also learned a great deal from that description! You always word things just right for those of us who still have a lot to learn. I only hope you realize what a blessing you are. The Lord has used you to help so many of us. Thanks for everything you do for all of us. And JAN, I feel that if you get the chance to do any showing then you should go for it because that is what it is suppose to be about. Showing what you have, learning what needs to change and how to do that. It will be both fun and educational. Just remember that you need to be prepared for hearing the truth and sometimes it is not what we want to hear, but constructive criticism will help all of us decide were we need to go from where we are now. I am trying to give you and myself a pep talk here because I use to get my feelings hurt easy but am finally growing out of that.

  • That's decent capacity for a first freshener. Is she milked out in the second picture? I can't see the top of her udder in the first picture, but in the second one, it looks like it's probably pretty wide, which is important. The top of the udder should look like an upside down U, not a V. That's what judges mean when they say that an udder is "high and wide in the rear." Teats could be more plumb, but they're only worth 4-5 points, depending upon which scorecard you're looking at. The angle in the first picture may not be the best, but it looks like she could use a better MSL (medial suspensory ligament), which delineates the two halves of the udder. (And if she's milked out in the second picture, that's why I'm not seeing it there.) Production generally increases with a second freshening, as well as capacity. The fore udder is also important, but you don't have pictures of that, so I can't say anything there. And of course the rest of the body is also important. I always say that the mammary system will make or break a show animal, because it is 1/3 of the scorecard, but is it only 1/3, so a goat with a gorgeous mammary system still won't do well if the rest of her body isn't good enough.

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