# Time for Fair: Shows are done!!



## 20kidsonhill (Aug 14, 2011)

We weighed the goats in today, and things are going pretty well. We have 4 meat goats(4H), 3 meat lambs(4H) and a replacement heifer(FFA) going. I will keep updating photos on the facebook page as the week goes along. The goats weighed in at 80, 83,84 and 91lbs they were all born in beginning of February so they are all 6 months old. 

They would have weighed an additional 5 to 6 lbs had we kept feeding them as normal, but we like to get the bellies off of them and take them down 5 lbs the last couple days before weigh-in so they are in as low a weight class as possible. 


http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.177067459031779.44397.100001855770147&l=429fe32cad&type=1


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## Goatherd (Aug 14, 2011)

> but we like to get the bellies off of them and take them down 5 lbs the last couple days before weigh-in so they are in as low a weight class as possible.


I sense this is an advantage.  Would you mind explaining?


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## RPC (Aug 14, 2011)

I just looked at your pictures and they all look really nice my only question is how do you know your heifer is pregnant with a heifer calf. I am assuming its threw the blood test but I just didn't know they did that.


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## ksj0225 (Aug 14, 2011)

When is your fair?


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## 20kidsonhill (Aug 14, 2011)

Goatherd said:
			
		

> > but we like to get the bellies off of them and take them down 5 lbs the last couple days before weigh-in so they are in as low a weight class as possible.
> 
> 
> I sense this is an advantage.  Would you mind explaining?


The theory being they would still have the muscling on them, but be down in a lower weight class. 
example: instead of showing with a class of 10 goats that weigh 95 to 98 lbs you would be showing with a class of 10 goats that weigh 91 to 93lbs, but you would still have the same muscling on them. 

Our goats were getting an average of 2 lbs a feeding twice a day, but starting 4 feedings ahead of weigh-in we would start cutting back their feed. by 1/2 lb each feeding, the morning of weigh-in they get 1/2  lb of feed. AFter weigh-in we then feed them them 1 1/2 lbs, but we never go back up to the full amount until after the show. So they don't get a big belly on them.  No hay, no grass for a week before the show.

Weigh-in was today(Sunday) the goat show is WEdnesday afternoon.


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## 20kidsonhill (Aug 14, 2011)

RPC said:
			
		

> I just looked at your pictures and they all look really nice my only question is how do you know your heifer is pregnant with a heifer calf. I am assuming its threw the blood test but I just didn't know they did that.


They do an ultrasound that shows a picture.  very cool. last year our heifer was pregnant with a bull-calf. The auction for replacement heifers is at the end of the fair, and is a new program for FFa students, Something different than showing steers. We like the program a lot.


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## RPC (Aug 14, 2011)

O now that is awesome. I did not know they did the 3D ultrasounds.


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## 20kidsonhill (Aug 14, 2011)

ksj0225 said:
			
		

> When is your fair?


Fiar officially starts Tomorrow(Monday, August 15th and runs through Saturday. 

Lamb show is Tuesday, Goat show is Wednesday, heifer show is Thursday 

The meat auction for the lambs and goats is Friday

And the replacement heifer auction is saturday. 

We have 200pigs, 200 lambs 100 goats and 100 steer in the 4H/FFA meat show, I beleive there will be around 35 replacement heifers being shown with in the open cow show this year. 


I am sure that was more infor than you wanted.

The goats and cow are at the fair right now. Lambs are wieghed in tomorrow(monday)morning.


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## Roll farms (Aug 14, 2011)

Good luck!


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## 20kidsonhill (Aug 14, 2011)

Roll farms said:
			
		

> Good luck!


Thanks Kim, I
 don't think the goats look as good this year as last year, The one on the shearing stand that is done being sheared is atleast 10lbs under weight, he just was a picky eater and slow grower, he should have been the best one and just wouldn't eat well. I wormed  him as much as all 3 of the other goats combines, gave him B complex shots, an extra bo-se shot, red cell, he would improve for a few days and then just start picking again. Oh well, that  is the way it goes. 


We had extra onse weighed in, but then had someone needing show whethers, and it was all we had left so we sold the onse that weren't the kids first picks for the fair. 

We have the best chance with one of the lambs. who I don't have pictured yet. But our lamb show is very very competitive with 200 lambs in it.


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## 20kidsonhill (Aug 14, 2011)

Here are some fair pics from past years, for those of you who are interested and haven't seen them yet. 


I am assuming everyone can view these, let me know if you are unable to. 


Share this album with anyone by sending them this public link:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.115659718505887.18594.100001855770147&l=6dbbb13338&type=1


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## redtailgal (Aug 14, 2011)

z


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## 20kidsonhill (Aug 15, 2011)

redtailgal said:
			
		

> worked for me.......and I saw spots!


that was a really fun year, the goats all looked great, the paint doe we showed and the spotted whether were so much fun, Plus we had a soled red whether born that year. The paint doe we purchased out of indiana.

The spotted whether's dam is standing behind him in the picture. See the couple little white spots on her neck?  I have since learned that all you need is a couple spots on the head or neck where there is color and that means they are carrying the spotted gene. It can be hard to detect the spotted gene on a boer that is traditional color, since most of their body is white. That particular  sire we used always gave us a lot of color, that was the only spotted one in the 3 or so years that we used him on 15 does or so, but he gave us a few reds as well.  Keeping in mind these are all percentage does. The sire was full-blood. 

Dam was papered 50% boer, we have no idea what else was in her. she was a very big doe. She looked


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## 20kidsonhill (Aug 15, 2011)

I will have to take a moment to brag, since this is about showing goats at  the fair.   See the picture of the 4 kids lined up showing goats, 3 girls and a smaller boy, that is my son showing last  year, there were 16 in the novice showmanship class and those are the final 4 kids. 

Guess what?   He WON      He looked so good, You couldn't have asked for the goat to listen any better.  Ofcourse we worked hard getting ready for the show, but sometimes that isn't enough and the goat decides it wants to be distracted or not stand still.  

He beat several older girls, he had just turned 9, that is the youngest you can start showing in 4H for us. Although in some of those pictures you can see him showing Pepper in our open boer show at our county fair when he was 7. We entered her for my son to get some practice.


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## chels24 (Aug 15, 2011)

I have to say that I think it's great that your son is not only in 4H, but that he takes care of his own animals. It really irritates me when I see parents doing all the work and getting the animals ready to show and all the kids do is step into the show arena and take the credit. 

Congrats on the win last year, hopefully he will do just as well this year


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## marlowmanor (Aug 15, 2011)

I'm subscribing to this topic and looking forward to updates. If I can convince DH, and my oldest son who will turn 5 in December is interested I'm going to try to get him into 4H, hopefully he will want to show something, whether it be goats or something smaller. Definately interested to hear how it all goes. Our county fair in in September and I already looked up what day they are doing the goat show, if I can get someone to go with me to help with the kids (DH works that night) we will be going to check out the goat show this year.


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## 20kidsonhill (Aug 15, 2011)

chels24 said:
			
		

> I have to say that I think it's great that your son is not only in 4H, but that he takes care of his own animals. It really irritates me when I see parents doing all the work and getting the animals ready to show and all the kids do is step into the show arena and take the credit.
> 
> Congrats on the win last year, hopefully he will do just as well this year


It still feels like we do plenty of the work, but you can tell from those photos that he is no stranger to handling the animals, They are expected to do many of the chores on their own, ofcourse my 18 year old has been doing all of it on her own for several years now But she does work 40 to 50 hours a week. We had hoped our 18 year old would be a better mentor for our son, but she is grouchy with him, so we help him instead. This her last year and his 2nd year, so we have a few more years of this, i am sure he will keep showing he really likes the farm work. 

 He is expected to be right there with us learning at all times, if it is something too difficult for him to do yet, Like the majority of the shearing we did, he did the main body part and then the legs, tail, neck head and belly was left for us to do. He watches and learns or works with other related chores.  

The heifer had pink eye so that is something my 18 year old can't handle on her own, so my husband and I took care of all the treating, It isn't easy treating a large cow with no type of system for restraining her. 

We actually have 3 children, but one of them wanted nothing to do with the chores, we wont let the animals go hungry so her last year I stepped in and did many of the chores myself. She wasn't allowed to show after that, and she would really like to. Her idea of showing would be for someone to raise the animals, get it ready and then she would fix her hair and put on nice clothes and wait in the show ring for the animals to be handed to her.   Let's just say, that isn't happening.


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## 20kidsonhill (Aug 15, 2011)

marlowmanor said:
			
		

> I'm subscribing to this topic and looking forward to updates. If I can convince DH, and my oldest son who will turn 5 in December is interested I'm going to try to get him into 4H, hopefully he will want to show something, whether it be goats or something smaller. Definately interested to hear how it all goes. Our county fair in in September and I already looked up what day they are doing the goat show, if I can get someone to go with me to help with the kids (DH works that night) we will be going to check out the goat show this year.


Good luck, I can tell you are really looking forward to it. We even take a camper to the fair grounds, I think that is the kids favorite part of the whole thing. This year they ran electricity and running water to the campgrounds for all of us. The down side was instead of charging $35 for the week for a camping spot they charged $120 for the week if you wanted an electric hook-up. We had been spending near $50 for the week for fuel for a generator anyway, so it probably was worth it to have the convenient hook-up and not have to listen to the generators running and smell the fumes from them.


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## marlowmanor (Aug 15, 2011)

I am excited to see the show, I wouldn't mind seeing the chicken show too but it's a different night and don't know that DH would want to have the kids at the fair twice in one week. Ticket prices to get in plus paying for rides and games (which of course the kids want to do) gets costly. I'm so excited about getting our own goats too! Got the chickens so far (DH just got the coop built this weekend) now for the goats. I will have a mini farm here even with the small amount of land we have available!


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## Ms. Research (Aug 16, 2011)

Thanks 20kids for sharing your memories.  Loved the workout with the tractor and the goats.  Good walk about!  Get em unstressed.  I envy you.  I know it's all hard work but seeing your children and their faces along with the healthy animals all are the reward!  Good for you!  

Good Luck this year at the Fair.


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## Roll farms (Aug 16, 2011)

Yeah...we bought our first goats for our daughter to show in 4-H....she was 4.  She did 2 yrs of mini 4-H, one of 'regular' 4-H, then quit.

I still have 40-odd goats. 

What's wrong w/ this picture???


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## 20kidsonhill (Aug 16, 2011)

So far everyone is still alive, we are upset with our 18 year old that isn't taking it as seriously as she needs to be, and  one of myson's goats,(bullseye) bloated last night. 

When I went to checkon them at 10pm, he was laying with all four legs tucked under him, looking as round as a beach ball and sivering from end to end.   We consulated with the goat manager at the barns, fed him and drenched him with 4 ounces of mineral oil. and walked him for an hour. He peed twice and pooped normal twice. 

this morning my husband said he ate just a little, but appears to be feeling a little better and not looking so puffy. The show is tomorrow(wed) and 3pm.   this is my son't showmanship goat, he sets up better than the other one, pretty hard to use him for showmanship if he is feeling sick and bloated.  

This morning we sprinkled baking soda on his feed. and last night we gave him goat preferred powdered probiotics.  

Other than that we are getting ready to wash the sheep for the show this afternoon.


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## genuck (Aug 17, 2011)

Roll farms said:
			
		

> Yeah...we bought our first goats for our daughter to show in 4-H....she was 4.  She did 2 yrs of mini 4-H, one of 'regular' 4-H, then quit.
> 
> I still have 40-odd goats.
> 
> What's wrong w/ this picture???


I'm pretty sure any animal bought for a 4 yr old is really for the parent. I know that's how I got my first pony 

 Good luck at the fair! I can imagine how stiff the competition is. I remember when I did horse judging in 4-H Virginia was the team to beat! A rare feat I might add.


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## Ms. Research (Aug 17, 2011)

20kidsonhill said:
			
		

> So far everyone is still alive, we are upset with our 18 year old that isn't taking it as seriously as she needs to be, and  one of myson's goats,(bullseye) bloated last night.
> 
> When I went to checkon them at 10pm, he was laying with all four legs tucked under him, looking as round as a beach ball and sivering from end to end.   We consulated with the goat manager at the barns, fed him and drenched him with 4 ounces of mineral oil. and walked him for an hour. He peed twice and pooped normal twice.
> 
> ...


Sorry to hear about your son's show goat.  Hope all is well!


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## 20kidsonhill (Aug 17, 2011)

UPDATE!  I have added the lamb photos from the show. 

We did pretty well. In showmanship  both the kids were asked to come back from their class and try for the chamioship drive in the division, My oldest was in the senior division there were near 40 kids in this division overall, so she was in the top 10, but did not place in the top 5.

My son was in the intermediate division, and he placed 2nd overall out of  19 kids in this division. He did great. Having a boy place that high up in showmanship is really really good, the girls always do better.  The judge said, " this young man is a testiment of working really hard at home, he does a fantastic job for his age."  He was showing up against much older kids, Since the intermediate doesn't mean how old you are, it is number of years of experience showing that particular species. He started right away, so if he is showing up against a 13 year old that just started when they were 12, he is at a disadvantage, because of the maturity of the 13 yr old. 

To be a senior you had to have showed for 4 years.


The lambs did very well

My daughter's lambs:

119 lb ewe lamb placed 1st in class 12, in the heavy mid-weight division
130lb ewe lamb placed 1st in class #16 in the heavy weight division

My son had one lamb:

122lbs in the heavy mid-weight division class 14, He placed 2nd but the judge too forever to decide between the top two. He said, "given another judge and another day it could easily go the other way." The lamb that beat him placed reserve champion in the division. We were so close. 

We had no championships. 

I know this is goats, but I figure I will just keep posting here for my goat friends to enjoy. 



Pictures added on my first facebook link at the beginning of the thread.


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## jodief100 (Aug 17, 2011)

Congratulations!  I hope Bullseye is doing better today and good luck with the goats.


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## 20kidsonhill (Aug 17, 2011)

My son's goat isn't doing well. We have decided to have him use the other one, cottonball,for showmanship. and hope that Bullseye can atleast make it throw the show and the week.  WE gave  him mineral oil twice, and baking soda, and prbios. We can't give him any antibiotics. I am going to take his tempurature this morning. We hadn't done that yet, since we figured it was an upset stomach from eating shavings. 

That is very disappointing, but it is the way it goes, and I feel sorry for Bullseye,who is sitting at the fair sick. If he is running a fever, we will will talk about taking him home and pulling him from the show all together. But then he can't go through the auction and we will be stock selling him off the farm for meat. That wont be easy either, my son has formed an attachment and selling him at auction would be easier for him.

well, I need to head to the fair for the day, We have too many kids to stay at the camper, so I bring some of them home.


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## aggieterpkatie (Aug 17, 2011)

Congrats to the kids! THey did great and everyone (lambs included) looked great! Hope the goat pulls through.


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## Goatherd (Aug 17, 2011)

Congratulations to you and hope the goat rallies for you quickly.


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## 20kidsonhill (Aug 18, 2011)

goat show is done, and here are the photos, I put them under a new file so there wouldn't be so many pictures on the same page to load. 

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.178721358866389.44725.100001855770147&l=68c25a6768&type=1



The final results are: there were 7 or 8 goats per class


Clyde 80lbs placed 4th
Princess 83lbs placed 2nd
cottonball 84lbs (in the same class with Princess)  placed 3rd
bullseye placed 4th,91lbs  

Bullseye hadn't eaten for 3 days before the show, he probably would have placed one place higher had he not been off feed. He completely lots his top-line and wouldn't brace at all for my son. My son had a hard time keeping his head up during the show.

My husband called this morning and said Bullseye is finally looking better and brighter eyed. So atleast he will make it through the week and to the auction.


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## Pearce Pastures (Aug 18, 2011)

Congratulations.  Love the pic of your son showing looking at his goat all lovingly in the ring.  So sweet.


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## Roll farms (Aug 18, 2011)

Congrats, not bad placings at all.  Hope Bullseye continues to improve.


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## Ms. Research (Aug 19, 2011)

Congratulations!  The "Kids" looked Great!  Thanks so much for sharing those pictures.  Also Hoping Bullseye is continuing to recover.

Edit to say:  "Kids" meaning both your children and the goats.  All of them looked really good in the ring.  Thanks for sharing.  Your son really impressed both of us.  Hubby commented how well he had control of his goat at his age.   FWIW, we think they all did really well.  Congratulations!


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## 20kidsonhill (Aug 19, 2011)

Thanks everyone.   

Our son didn't do as well in showmanship this year as he did last year.  He did use bullseye for the showmanship class and bullseye and our son seemed to be off their game. Our son made a couple big mistakes. the judge gave him a chance for a while to recover, because he could tell he new what he was doing, but then he spent too much time trying to set up the legs, forgot to look at the judge and the judge was able to sneak around to the other side without our son noticing,  so he still had his back to the judge. If he would have showed as well as he could he would have likely won the intermediate showmanship.  

He was asked to help another child with their goat when they had two in the same class, and this goat was wild, the father apologized to us later for putting our son in that position, but about half way through the class he had the animal settled down and set up squarely. My husband said he was very proud of him. This goat was actually standing on back legs trying to ram into him when they first went in.




Heifer show was yesterday:  Here are the updated photos of the hiefer, My daughter placed 2nd in her showmanship division our of around 15  and the heifer placed 2nd in her class out of 5. 


I added the heifer photos to the last facebook link above 

The auction is today, from 1pm until about midnight, it is a long night ahead of us. The stock trucks load up the animals right after the auction is done and start taking down the pens so we need to take our pen decorations down after the auction.  

the heifer sells tomorrow(Sat), then the kids go back to school on Monday. They are going to be sooo tired.


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