# Body scoring on dairy goats



## genuck (Jul 24, 2011)

Is there any difference in scoring or the 'right' score for dairy/fiber/meat goats? My angora and pygoras  just don't seem to get as big as boers do. They look kinda scrawny by comparison. Should I just keep stuffing them until they are borderline fat?


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## Ariel301 (Jul 25, 2011)

They won't have the same body type as a Boer goat has, ever. Angoras and pygoras put all their energy into growing a hair coat (just like dairy goats put it all into milk) so they do not get as meaty as Boer goats, who put all their energy into growing meat. So you can't really compare across the two breeds. You can compare your animals to others of their own breed to make sure they are of good size and condition.


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## ChksontheRun (Jul 25, 2011)

Is there a good site with pictures for recommended body condition for dairy goats?  I have a friend with some that look really thin, and she says mine are really fat for dairy goats.  I keep trying to see what is recommended.  When I look at the tools on line, they all refer to meat goats.  Mine are 2-3.5 so that doesnt seem bad to me but I am so new to goats that I would like to see some pictures.  Any ideas?????


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## Ariel301 (Jul 26, 2011)

If you've got pictures of yours, you can post them on here and we can have a look at them. 

Here's a few pictures that might help you out.

This buck is in ideal condition. He's not excessively fat, but his bones don't stick out either. You can't see his ribs, but if you were to put your hand on them, you can feel them easily through a reasonable layer of padding. 






This doeling is also in good shape. 





This doe is thin--not so much that her health is in immediate danger, but she could certainly use more padding on those bones.





It's hard to really see with the small picture and fuzzy coat, but this doe is VERY thin. Her ribs can be seen from a few feet away, and her muscle is wasting away as her body metabolizes it for energy. If you were to touch her, you could feel all of her vertebrae in great detail. She developed bedsores on her hips from laying down without any cushion on the sharp points of her bones. (She was also pregnant here, developed toxemia a few days later, and kidded 3 weeks prematurely)


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## Susyr22 (Aug 3, 2011)

Ariel That was very helpfull! Thanks for posting all the pics. I wonder the same thing all the time


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## Melissa'sDreamFarm (Aug 3, 2011)

To my eye, what I see the big difference is the legs. The last picture the poor thing has tooth picks for legs. I do see the hip area also and through the chest I see more bone. Am I looking in the right areas?


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## Ariel301 (Aug 3, 2011)

The body will be more important to look at than the legs--that last doe is super thin all over her body, but she also had poorly put together legs, so even in great condition she would have had toothpick legs. She was super small-boned. Primarily, you will look at the ribs, spine, and hips for the amount of padding on them. The legs are pretty much just bone, tendon, and skin, they don't store fat there.


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