I am narrowing down my search for my first doe and have found a sweetie pie but realize that I don't know what I'm looking at? I don't know how the desired conformation translates to a baby? Her legs look so long ???
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I have not heard of Margarete. There is a farm near you that I've heard about called Velvet Acres. They have a good website, prices are a little steep though. I know Wes and Marsha in Wellington. We have shown together for some years now. They have a good selection of milk and show goats at reasonable prices. They are really nice people and know their stuff. Their number is 970-222-9469.
Thank-you! Have you heard of Margarete Fisher? I am looking at one of her goats. I would love to find more breeders in Colorado. I really appreciate allof your help!
Amy Bell said:
Hi Amy, hope your enjoying the fabulous weather we are having! Here's what I have listed for shows: April 24-25 Hairy Dairy, Island grove Fairgrounds, Greeley. May 28-29 WDGA Fuzzy Quad Show, Laramie County Fairgrounds, Cheyenne. July 10-11 Tri-County Goat Show, Longmont. TBA Boulder County Fair and CDGA fair show, Longmont. Sept. 3-5 Colorado State Fair, Pueblo. Sept. 11-12 CDGA Harvest Show, Boulder County fair grounds, Longmont. Some people that you could contact in your area are Vicki Larson 970-686-6672 and Pam Barthoff 303-828-3120. They could tell you more about the shows and perhaps get you signed up with the local clubs. My local club, the Wyoming Dairy Goat Association, is holding a linear appraisal in June. Its a great way to learn what to look for in dairy goats. I also know some good breeders in your area so just let me know if you need any help.
Hi Amy, hope your enjoying the fabulous weather we are having!
Here's what I have listed for shows: April 24-25 Hairy Dairy, Island grove Fairgrounds, Greeley. May 28-29 WDGA Fuzzy Quad Show, Laramie County Fairgrounds, Cheyenne. July 10-11 Tri-County Goat Show, Longmont.
TBA Boulder County Fair and CDGA fair show, Longmont. Sept. 3-5 Colorado State Fair, Pueblo. Sept. 11-12 CDGA Harvest Show, Boulder County fair grounds, Longmont.
Some people that you could contact in your area are Vicki Larson 970-686-6672 and Pam Barthoff 303-828-3120. They could tell you more about the shows and perhaps get you signed up with the local clubs. My local club, the Wyoming Dairy Goat Association, is holding a linear appraisal in June. Its a great way to learn what to look for in dairy goats. I also know some good breeders in your area so just let me know if you need any help.
Hi! Yes I would like more information! I can't wait to go
Amy Bell said:
Amy,
There are some great shows in our area coming up. April 24-25th Hairy Dairy in Greeley Co. and May 28-29th WDGA Fuzzy Quad Show in Cheyenne, Wyoming. There are others in Colorado later on as well. Let me know if you want any more info.
There are some great shows in our area coming up. April 24-25th Hairy Dairy in Greeley Co. and May 28-29th WDGA Fuzzy Quad Show in Cheyenne, Wyoming. There are others in Colorado later on as well. Let me know if you want any more info.
Thank-You!!! You make a lot of sense. I am going to try to find a show to attend. I really appreciate all your help
Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:
If you haven't already attended a few shows, that would be a good thing to do, because you'll learn a lot from the judge's comments about the goats. If you want show goats, you should look at show results, ADGA linear appraisal scores, and/or AGS classification scores of the parents. In other words, you need to buy from a herd that takes part in these programs. If someone doesn't take part in these programs, and you're new to goats, you only have the breeder's opinion to go on, and their opinion about their goats could be totally off the mark.
Don't get too excited about grandparents, except for the sire's dam. Since the sire doesn't have an udder, he's going to pass on mammary genetics from his mother, so she is important. I don't get too excited about champion bucks as sires, because I've heard of too many that threw terrible daughters. A buck can become a champion, even if his mother had a terrible udder. There are a lot of websites for ND breeders, and you can learn quite a bit from them, even if they're not close enough for you to consider buying their goats. Study the pictures of goats that are champions, so you start to develop your eye for what a "good" goat looks like.
Not everything you read on a website is good advice. I just saw a site yesterday where someone said that they breed for confirmation first and udders second. Not surprisingly, they didn't have a barn full of champions. (I don't think they even showed their goats.) An udder makes or breaks a dairy goat. Even if she has perfect conformation in every way, if her udder is saggy in the back with a huge pocket in the front and triangular teats pointing out, she is not going to do well in the show ring. My philosophy is to breed for good mammaries first, so if conformation is not good enough for show, you at least have a good milk goat. If you're just breeding for conformation and that's bad, you've got nothing but a pet. Besides, these are dairy goats. If someone is raising pygmies or boers, then udder could be secondary. In boers, they don't even care if a goat has three or four teats.
Finally, don't expect to buy a goat, take her into the ring and win. Most people don't do very well when they start. There is a lot to learn. And it's better to take at least three goats to your first show. Over the years, I've seen quite a few people bring one goat to a show and look so disappointed when they don't do well. Even if the goat is good, you don't know how to show yet. And don't get disappointed with a junior. One of my finished champions got last as a three month old in the first show that we took her to. She actually never showed well as a junior.
Yikes, I've said a lot! If you have any other questions, just holler. As you can tell, I love talking goats.
If you haven't already attended a few shows, that would be a good thing to do, because you'll learn a lot from the judge's comments about the goats. If you want show goats, you should look at show results, ADGA linear appraisal scores, and/or AGS classification scores of the parents. In other words, you need to buy from a herd that takes part in these programs. If someone doesn't take part in these programs, and you're new to goats, you only have the breeder's opinion to go on, and their opinion about their goats could be totally off the mark.
Don't get too excited about grandparents, except for the sire's dam. Since the sire doesn't have an udder, he's going to pass on mammary genetics from his mother, so she is important. I don't get too excited about champion bucks as sires, because I've heard of too many that threw terrible daughters. A buck can become a champion, even if his mother had a terrible udder. There are a lot of websites for ND breeders, and you can learn quite a bit from them, even if they're not close enough for you to consider buying their goats. Study the pictures of goats that are champions, so you start to develop your eye for what a "good" goat looks like.
Not everything you read on a website is good advice. I just saw a site yesterday where someone said that they breed for confirmation first and udders second. Not surprisingly, they didn't have a barn full of champions. (I don't think they even showed their goats.) An udder makes or breaks a dairy goat. Even if she has perfect conformation in every way, if her udder is saggy in the back with a huge pocket in the front and triangular teats pointing out, she is not going to do well in the show ring. My philosophy is to breed for good mammaries first, so if conformation is not good enough for show, you at least have a good milk goat. If you're just breeding for conformation and that's bad, you've got nothing but a pet. Besides, these are dairy goats. If someone is raising pygmies or boers, then udder could be secondary. In boers, they don't even care if a goat has three or four teats.
Finally, don't expect to buy a goat, take her into the ring and win. Most people don't do very well when they start. There is a lot to learn. And it's better to take at least three goats to your first show. Over the years, I've seen quite a few people bring one goat to a show and look so disappointed when they don't do well. Even if the goat is good, you don't know how to show yet. And don't get disappointed with a junior. One of my finished champions got last as a three month old in the first show that we took her to. She actually never showed well as a junior.
Yikes, I've said a lot! If you have any other questions, just holler. As you can tell, I love talking goats.
I agree with Deborah, at that age unless it is a glaring fault you have only pedigrees and the confirmation of the parents to judge by. What do you want from the doe when she grows up?
Yes, a five-day-old kid looks a LOT different than it will as an adult -- so much so that I know some people who don't even show juniors, unless it's a fair where they're basically getting paid to show them (premium $$s). I personally tend to buy kids based on pedigrees and parents' accomplishments, but I can't really help you unless I know what you're looking for in a goat. Why do you want goats? Do you want them as pets, for show, or for a home dairy?
Replies
I have not heard of Margarete. There is a farm near you that I've heard about called Velvet Acres. They have a good website, prices are a little steep though. I know Wes and Marsha in Wellington. We have shown together for some years now. They have a good selection of milk and show goats at reasonable prices. They are really nice people and know their stuff. Their number is 970-222-9469.
Amy Bell said:
Here's what I have listed for shows: April 24-25 Hairy Dairy, Island grove Fairgrounds, Greeley. May 28-29 WDGA Fuzzy Quad Show, Laramie County Fairgrounds, Cheyenne. July 10-11 Tri-County Goat Show, Longmont.
TBA Boulder County Fair and CDGA fair show, Longmont. Sept. 3-5 Colorado State Fair, Pueblo. Sept. 11-12 CDGA Harvest Show, Boulder County fair grounds, Longmont.
Some people that you could contact in your area are Vicki Larson 970-686-6672 and Pam Barthoff 303-828-3120. They could tell you more about the shows and perhaps get you signed up with the local clubs. My local club, the Wyoming Dairy Goat Association, is holding a linear appraisal in June. Its a great way to learn what to look for in dairy goats. I also know some good breeders in your area so just let me know if you need any help.
Amy Bell said:
There are some great shows in our area coming up. April 24-25th Hairy Dairy in Greeley Co. and May 28-29th WDGA Fuzzy Quad Show in Cheyenne, Wyoming. There are others in Colorado later on as well. Let me know if you want any more info.
Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:
Don't get too excited about grandparents, except for the sire's dam. Since the sire doesn't have an udder, he's going to pass on mammary genetics from his mother, so she is important. I don't get too excited about champion bucks as sires, because I've heard of too many that threw terrible daughters. A buck can become a champion, even if his mother had a terrible udder. There are a lot of websites for ND breeders, and you can learn quite a bit from them, even if they're not close enough for you to consider buying their goats. Study the pictures of goats that are champions, so you start to develop your eye for what a "good" goat looks like.
Not everything you read on a website is good advice. I just saw a site yesterday where someone said that they breed for confirmation first and udders second. Not surprisingly, they didn't have a barn full of champions. (I don't think they even showed their goats.) An udder makes or breaks a dairy goat. Even if she has perfect conformation in every way, if her udder is saggy in the back with a huge pocket in the front and triangular teats pointing out, she is not going to do well in the show ring. My philosophy is to breed for good mammaries first, so if conformation is not good enough for show, you at least have a good milk goat. If you're just breeding for conformation and that's bad, you've got nothing but a pet. Besides, these are dairy goats. If someone is raising pygmies or boers, then udder could be secondary. In boers, they don't even care if a goat has three or four teats.
Finally, don't expect to buy a goat, take her into the ring and win. Most people don't do very well when they start. There is a lot to learn. And it's better to take at least three goats to your first show. Over the years, I've seen quite a few people bring one goat to a show and look so disappointed when they don't do well. Even if the goat is good, you don't know how to show yet. And don't get disappointed with a junior. One of my finished champions got last as a three month old in the first show that we took her to. She actually never showed well as a junior.
Yikes, I've said a lot! If you have any other questions, just holler. As you can tell, I love talking goats.